In the end the process I used to make was also quite simple.
First I sourced a few different sized rods all about a metre (1 yard) long. I initially thought that one rod that was 18mm (3/4 of an inch) was about the right size for the cord but as it turns out one that was 9mm (about 1/3 of an inch) was the one that I made the finished product on. The 18mm one was way too big.
Then I taped the rod to cardboard, tinted a small batch of silicone to a skin tone, thickened it and then brushed it onto the rod.
After this batch had cured, I flipped the rod over, taped it down again and brushed another batch of silicone onto the other side of the rod to form the basis of my tube - cord.
Then I brushed on two further layers of silicone onto the rod which I tinted blue. This was to give a bluish hue under the surface of the umbilical cord to give the impression of blood flow.
After these had cured I pulled the tube off the rod and had the basis for a cord. As I was not happy with the first two cords in terms of size and colour it was a case of third time lucky!
I then adhered the tube to a flat blob of silicone to create an end to be stuck on the baby. Then I stuck this new flat end to a piece of glatzan - for a fine edge and to give something that could be blended off (as it turns out Alana decided against blending it off on set because of risks of acetone, which was the right decision - plus I should have just got a bald cap plastic that could be blended off with 99% isopropol alcohol). I then used a little more silicone to cover the edge between the silicone end piece and the piece of glatzan.
And before you can say 'Umbilical cords attached to placentas seem a bit strange when you actually think about it...' I had made a lovely prosthetic umbilical cord:
HI! This is amazing! I'm an sfx artist and I have to make an umbilical cord for a low budget film as well, I was thinking silicone because of how realistic it looks, however do you have any tips to save on cost? Should I just use latex? Or can I buy a smaller batch of silicone? Also, most importantly where/how did you make/find a baby?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your time!
Carmen
carmencwilson@gmail.com -email address
www.flickr.com/carmencwilson - portfolio
Hi there Carmen, thanks for your interest. You've got a really good portfolio started there.
ReplyDelete1. In terms of cost saving there is always going to be a certain amount of wasted materials when making prosthetics of any kind. With this piece start with small batches. (Larger pieces will obviously require more materials)
2. I'm not sure the same method would work using brush latex, but it might. Let me know if it does!
3. You can buy quite small amounts of Platsil Gel 10 here, as small as 200gm but you'll probably need about 1kg (about half a pound in the US), given some wastage.
4. You also need some silicone pigment and flocking to tint it, something to thicken the silicone with as well as a small amount of deadener to make it a little softer. Accelerator is also useful for fast work time, but unnecessary if you can wait 30 minutes between each batch (if using Gel 10). I didn't worry about release for this. You'll also need either some Glatzan or Super Baldiez bald cap plastic (a bit fumey so wear a mask) to make the fine blendable end.
4. In terms of baby, the baby was a real 3 month old child (the director's friend's kid) that this was attached to. You can buy lifelike silicone babies, but be prepared to pay anywhere between a few thousand and $10,000. The better ones look like they are either crying as they can add a track in later or asleep. Some SPFX shops have them that you can hire for a day.
Hope this helps.
what kind of rod did you use?
ReplyDeleteThe one I planned on using had a chrome finish for ease of getting it off the rod. But it was too big, so ended up neatly wrapping duct tape around much thinner wooden dowel rod. Metal would be best to avoid silicone sticking to surface of rod. Hope it goes well. Cheers, Ed
ReplyDelete