Cinematography Costuming & Wardrobe Stop Motion Acting Directing & Producing Film & Photography Lighting Puppetry Editing Sound Set Design Film & Theater WonderHowTo

Everything Else

iOS 17 Tips, Tricks, How-Tos, News

How To: Make a breakaway cardboard chair prop

A breakaway chair is one of the best pranks, or one of the easiest effects for your indie film project. A breakable chair can be made out of simple household items, and is very cheap. The biggest material needed is cardboard. So basically, you'll make a cardboard chair, that breaks. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a fake movie prop brick.

How To: Build a breakable cinder block to karate chop

Show off your karate skills by breaking a cinder block in half! Everyone will be amazed when you karate chop that block in two, without getting hurt. But is it real? That's up to you. If you don't want to break your wrist, it's best to make a fake breakaway cinder block. This is a great movie prop for any martial arts flick, but also good just for showing off. Just don't let anybody pick up the foam pieces. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to build a breakable cinder block to karate chop.

How To: Build a fake wall that you can smash

This video will give you tips on how to make your very own fake wall that is perfect for smashing, thrashing, or just plain old throwing people through. This backyard special effect should really spice up your amateur film making. Just be careful, this fake wall can sometimes look like a real wall.

How To: Build your own DIY police taser for your film

If you remember in the Hangover, there was an incredibly funny scene where the guys were stuck getting out of going to prison by helping the officers demonstrate a police tazer in front of a group of kids on a school field trip. If you've ever wanted to make your own prop police tazer for one of your films, check out this hilarious and informative video! In it, you will learn how to create your own police tazer!

How To: Make a prosthetic glasgow smile like the Joker in Batman

In this video, we learn how to make a prosthetic Glasgow smile like the joker. First, smooth the material onto the face and around the lips. Follow the shape of the lips for the sides of the mouth to make it look larger. Use a Q-tip to push on the prosthetic onto the face. Once this is attached, you can add in the color to the lips to make it look more realistic. Makeup will need to be added to the entire face. White should be on the face, black should be around the eyes. Go for a cracked and...

How To: Make a military-style night vision goggles prop

Night vision goggles are one of the iconic pieces of equipment of the modern military. Getting a real pair is prohibitively expensive, especially if you just want to use it as a prop in your film instead of actually seeing at night. This video features instructions for making your own set of prop night vision goggles for cheap, giving any action or spy movie that you are making a much more modern, authentic feel. Also, now your characters can see at night, opening up all sorts of potential sc...

How To: Make Realistic Fluffy Cloud Props from Things Around the House

If you need a cloudy background for a photo or video, you can always turn an old aquarium into a DIY cloud tank. But, if you want something more fun and less creepy, these fluffy cloud props by Serena Thompson might be more what you're looking for. It'd even make a good Halloween costume if you tweak it a little. All you need is some balloons, tape, flour, newspaper, and a bunch of pillow stuffing. Serena made them by taping balloons together and applying a mixture of water and flour, then co...

How To: Create a realistic looking cinema style head shot

In this video, we learn how to create a realistic looking cinema style head shot. First, you will need a cheap toy gun, colored wax, and fake blood to create this. Now, you will need to get some footage of the shooter shooting the gun and flinging fake blood in the persons fake as they shoot. Then, take shots of the other person being taken back by the bullet coming at them. After you get several of these shots, apply the makeup to create a fake gun shot and then mesh all of these together to...

How To: Make DIY Hatsume Miku Vocaloid headphones for cosplay

Vocaloids have to be one of the weirdest of the many weird things to ever emerge from Japan. They are basically synthesizer software programs that can sing any song a user creates in the voice of a character created for that Vocaloid. The queen of these Vocaloid characters is Hatsune Miku, who has become something of a cosplay darling since her software caught on. This video will show you how to make her cosplay replicas of her iconic headphones.

Make edible prop bodily fluids: poop, vomit, snot, and blood

The human body is full of different kinds of fluids, most of which are either gross or dangerous to remove from a person for use in one of your films. Fortunately, most of them are pretty easy to replicate using household materials. This video will show you how to make edible prop fake blood, feces, vomit, and snot. They all look great, are safe, and will make you movie much more realistic.

How To: Make a car-mounted rocket launcher prop for a film

Do you want to make your own action movies? Do you feel like your artistic vision would be enhanced by having a car with a rocket launcher on top of it in the film? You aren't alone. This video will show you how to make a car-mounted rocket launcher for $20 dollars out of simple materials. It won't blow up another car, but it will look really cool.

How To: Make a breakable baseball bat movie prop

There are plenty of films out there with baseball bats, but if you want your bat to explode on impact, you'll have to make it yourself. A smashable baseball bat is perfect for any gangster flick or sports movie. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a breakable baseball bat movie prop.

How To: Make fake blood with household items

In this tutorial, we learn how to make fake blood with household items. You will need: 5 ml flour, red food coloring, 20 ml syrup, and blue food coloring. You will also need a container, spoon, and mixing sticks. First, place the flour in, followed by the syrup and the food coloring. Mix this all together with the mixing sticks until it's well combined. If it's not to the color or consistency that you would like, then you can add more color or ingredients until it's how you like it. After thi...

How To: Build your own prop shotgun

In this tutorial, we learn how to build your own prop shotgun. To make this, you will need: one 2x6 that is 2 feet long, one 1x3 eight inches long, two 8" diameter PVC piping 2 feet long, two one inch PVC end caps, picture hangers, assorted nuts, bolts, and crews. First, draw on the shape of your gun on the pieces of wood, then cut them up with a saw. Then, cut out a prong shape in the front and stain the gun to your desired color. Next, connect all the pieces together and attach the wall han...

How To: Make a realistic Fallout 3 dart gun prop

One of the many reasons for the Fallout series enduring popularity is the wide variety of creative and retro-futuristic weapons available for the player to lay waste with. Most of them are not real, but by gumption this girl has made one of them so! This video will show you how to make something like, but probably not as good-looking as, this amazing replica of the dart gun from Fallout 3. It's made of pretty much the same materials you make it out of in the game, and might be the single best...

How To: Make a latex prosthesis chest wound effect

There is no such thing as a sucking chest wound. All chest wounds suck. Except perhaps for fake ones, which are essential to making a really gritty, gory film in most cases. This video features detailed instructions on how to make a fake chest wound out of latex and other special effects materials. Since it is a prosthesis, it can even be reused! It is a little complicated, but the end result looks great, so try this out in your next movie!

How To: Make realistic claw marks on the face with makeup

If you want to have a character get attacked by a predatory land animal in your movie, you are probably going to need to put some claw marks on their body to make it look realistic and visceral. This three-part video will show you how to create a really realistic open claw mark wound on an actor's face, or any other body part. It looks really, really good, now try it yourself and scare your family and friends!

How To: Make a time bomb prop and

Time bombs are a stimulating and ubiquitous part of action films. This video features a handy tutorial on how to make a realistic-looking time bomb at home out of basic, cheap materials that can be used to add tension and drama to any of your movies. Warning: do not let the authorities see your bomb without knowing what it is first! It is very realistic.

How To: Recreate Freddy Krueger's burnt skin makeup

Okay you saw the super-detailed reproduction of Freddy Krueger's clawed glove, now complete the Freddy costume with this "burning" makeup tutorial. In celebration of the return of "A Nightmare On Elm Street", starring Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger, Indy Mogul's BFX brought out the pain with burnt skin, but they won't burn a hole in your wallet. This burned up skin makeup recreation is the perfect companion for the knived glove. Complete the horrific Freddy look.

How To: Make a cardboard shield

In this tutorial you'll learn how to make a cardboard shield, quickly and cheaply. All you need is some stuff you've probably already got around the house. Get to work, so you'll be ready to defend yourself against any barbarian invaders with cardboard swords!

How To: Build a P-90 prop gun

The FN P90. Everybody wants one, but more than likely, you can't get your hands on one, especially if it's illegal in your area. Designed by FN Herstal back in the 80's, the P90 personal defense weapon is the cream of the crop. It's full name, Project 90, specifies a weapon system of the 1990's. If you want this firearm for a weapon prop or just to have, you can easily build one yourself with household materials, mostly cardboard. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to build a P-90 prop ca...

How To: Make a fake movie prop brick

A fake brick is a great movie prop for any action film. You can break through brick walls, smash a brick in two, or throw a brick at someone without being charged with murder. The majority of this fake brick is made of foam. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a fake movie prop brick.

How To: Make a breakable prop computer

Everybody has that destructive feeling sometimes, when you just want to smash your computer to bits due to a glitch or virus or freeze up. If you're making a film, it's a little more plausible that the computer would actually get smashed, considering it would be a fake prop computer. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a breakable prop computer.

How To: Make a blood spurting knife wound

It's time for Halloween, maybe it's time for your ultimate independent horror movie you've been dying to make, whatever the case may be, you're going to need some blood, you're going to need some weapons... you're going to need a bloody knife wound.

How To: Make a latex skin over carved foam

Are you in need of some kind of mold or cast for your next feature film, but need to save a few bucks? As an alternative to casting (making a shape from a mold) one can carve foam into a desired shape and then coat the foam with liquid latex. This will not create a perfectly smooth surface, but is much less expensive than casting as it requires fewer steps and less resources. So, with this video tutorial, you can learn what you need to know about making a latex skin over carved form.

How To: Build a lightsaber prop for film making

Backyard FX shows how to build a real lightsaber. Erik Beck unearths the original lightsaber blueprints from the special effects creator for Star Wars, and show you how to buy parts to a real lightsaber so you can have your own custom Star Wars weapon. In the test film you'll see our rotoscoping technique on how to complete the effect with some simple computer animation. You will need chrome plated slip joints, black vinyl rubber, a nylon slip joint, a rubber slip joint, rubber O rings, and m...

How To: Build a smashable guitar prop

You're not really going to smash that guitar are you? It's a piece of art. Parker put together this tutorial to show how to build a prop guitar you can smash and let out all that rock and roll angst. You will need a glue gun, chess pawns, cardboard, duct tape, a gift box, glue, a garbage can, paper, paint, string, and a ruler. Watch this video prop-making tutorial and learn how to build a prop guitar for smashing.

Prev Page