Props, lots and lots of props.

I've been making movies now for over 14 years. And today as I was working on some props for a shoot tomorrow, on the Bimbo Zombie Killers! web series (was making a impromptu MacGyvered bow and arrows), I started thinking about just how many props I've made over the years.

I've made some weird ones, like a plywood board with severed penises nailed to it (Man-Eating Hookers from Hell), some huge ones that took up a large portion of my living room, specifically a cockpit for a one man anime looking jet (The Supposed Prophets) to simple stuff like a gateway key to Hell (The Conspirators).

I wished I thought to catalog all these things. I supposed I could just go back and capture stills from the movies, but it's not the same. 

I've even had some costumes made, although not by me, a cloak for the Grim Reaper (The Last Days of Death), 5 identical dresses for a demon band (Bert Palmerro's Addicted to Love) and even some Viking and Barbarian garb (The Secret Lives of Demons). I myself made 4 demon suits of leather armor and various bits for 4 Lord of the Rings looking fellows (Malice).

I have probably most of my props, going all the way back to the Happy Fun Beer from Supposed Prophets, I wouldn't drink it, it's a little cloudy looking these days. I'm kind of curious just how many I've made in the last 14+ years, so I went to my film resume (as pretentious as that sounds) and went all the way back to the beginning.

My first completed movie (and hopefully lost to time),Grey, I made a few things, but I can only really remember this weird, bulbous device with an indent of a hand in it. Part of that stuck around all the way to shooting Cronus.

The Last Days of Death I don't think I made anything, I think even the cloak was from Grey. Aside from a noose and a letter of dismal from the DOD, I don't recall making anything.

Getting Dead, I don't think I made anything for that, aside from maybe a few weird little alien props - I don't really remember though. I think I took some parts from an old video camera that looked odd out of context, but I didn't really make anything that I recall.

The Conspirators I made "The Gateway Key", a black obelisk that would supposedly unlock the gates of hell.

Grim...Nope, don't recall much about that movie, other some it made no sense and I did make some fake blood for it.

The Supposed Prophets I think was my first prop fest of a movie. The whole cockpit was bizarre. We made a plywood shell, all constructed and housed in my living room at the time. We got a funky looking car set and scavenged parts from several different electronic devices. Made some guns. I know there was other stuff, but nothing's coming to me at the moment - aside from the Happy Fun Beer. There was a lot of digital stuff in that movie, so I could be confusing it with that.

Bad Karma was an attempt at one day filmmaking with my brand new GL1. No real props made, but I did make fake spit that got drooled on Greg Webster.

The next few, I won't bother mentioning because they were very simple "quirky" little movies. I bought, but didn't make stuff for Sinister Consequences. And then moved into some animated movies and more simple stuff. They That Did Dream has some weird little rocks that looked like large Skittles.

For The Scourge, a movie that worked so much better on paper, I made a whole leatherbound journal with Kim Bradford and a 4 or 5 foot seal painted with runes. I think it's finally long gone since I've moved.

I guess really until Malice I didn't make that much stuff now that I look back on it. Most was purchased Even with Malice I remember buying a shitload of stuff and probably only made a handful of things. I had a book stand made, a plant hanger reworked to stand alone on its own. The Voodoo Spirit Bombs were the first real prop I made from nothing I think on that movie, mostly it was a lot of makeup and props bought online. And a lot of weapons. There was a funky little Hellboy inspired talisman I made with a fingerbone inside - which I've since redesigned and now can mass produce.

There were some odd little background trinkets and stuff. The "prophecy" scroll which I still have framed and I was quite proud of. And still am, it looks awesome. A huge warhammer and lots of costumes for a flashback scene as well.

Demon Rum saw the creation of the Demon Rum bottle, which I still plan on recreating for mass production some day. I've the plans worked out, just need to put it all into effect.

For Cronus I did a lot. I would have to say that I did a lot. I reused the Gateway Key, but the entire office was almost a prop. The most detailed were the framed pictures you never really got to see that had Cronus photoshopped into real images of celebrities and prominent figures of the 1930s and 40s.

For Bimbo Zombie Killers! I made my first fake weapon, a foam axe. That was pretty cool. I had David Bennett make some authentic ceramic moonshine jugs, which I then moulded and produced almost a dozen duplicates.

The Invasion of the Horrible Alien Brain Monsters from outer Space in 3D, I created a lot. From the alien masks, to a lot of the funky gadgets Dr. Hammer used. That was kind of cool. I even created a little cheap-assed looking UFO and model of Earth.

Grayson and Gortch I made a few things. This was pretty makeup heavy as well. I made some severed Trolls feet, several of them still linger about in various place of the house. The Tibetan Fire Starter, used by Grayson. Some fake demon drug paraphernalia and some weird demonic CSI device.

Home Sweet Hell was meant to be assembled from stuff I already had, so there was really nothing new created there.

Man-Eating Hookers from Hell...yeah. This was weird. There weren't so many props as various makeups and stuff. Aside from the severed penises the best thing was the Fangina. I think I still have one copy, but I've since given the original away.

Bimbo Zombie Killers 2! Undead by Dawn, I made a pretty awesome (also goofy) severed arm stump. Reconditioned the backpack from The Alien Brain Monsters and parts of the cockpit from Supposed Prophets into a moonshine cannon. And some pretty nifty foam hammer heads - the handles were real wood, so they were only so stunt worthy.

Finally with Bimbo Zombie Killers! Undead in the Water, I've got a lot of stuff on the go, from prop zombie frogs, to the aforementioned bow and arrow. I'm doing a fake arm this week and eventually a fake severed hand. And a lot more I don't want to mention because it'll ruin some of the surprise.

I'm sure there's been way more, but I've also collected about three times as much stuff as I've made, and still have most of it all packed safely away. Might never use it, but it's cool it's there should I need some background stuff.

4 Days to go...

The clock is kind of winding down on me these days as the date I take off for the Canadian Haunted Attractions Conference looms closer and closer. I've still got a huge pile of work to do and I'm slightly behind schedule on a couple items. It wouldn't have been so bad had a few freelance things not popped up - but money is money, so things went a little off schedule.

Just got 2 items left to mould, one I should get done today, the other probably by Saturday it'll be ready to go and then I just have to make sure I have enough. That's been my ever flip-flopping concern about this, it's either "Am I making too much stuff?" or "Am I making enough stuff?" I reckon too much isn't that big a deal in the long run, what doesn't sell simple becomes stock - which is great for the resin props since they don't have a shelf life, they're pretty much permanent. If they don't sell next weekend, then they'll be around until they do, so nothing's wasted really.

Been taking a look at the list of items I wanted to make vs the items I did make. I made 3 foam weapons/tools, intended to do 5 but there wasn't time or materials. 17 props/Demonic Antiquities, ranging from a couple Cthulhu variations, the Cyclops Fingerbone Dagger, Shrunken Demon Heads, a Golem Icon and even (still working on it) a Calcified Vampire Heart. And there were 6 or 7 items I just didn't have time for.

I'd also hoped to make about 7 latex masks, 3 full 4 just a face. Never had a chance to even think about it those. But they're on the agenda for when I get back.

In total, I did make 20 totally new items for the shop in the last couple months, that's not too bad. Got a few ideas for some new stuff. And while I intend to keep doing the prosthetics, now that the book is done I'll be letting that slide for a little while, just producing them from the moulds I've got rather then cranking out new ones constantly.

Also I'll have some of the books, The Secret Lives of Demons, for sale and some DVD of some movies. And I'm hoping to have some prototype T-Shirts I'll be taking order for should anyone be interested and I'll even be showing off my silicone mask I made. I've never put that online for sale, mainly because it was being hidden away for a project that's now never happening, so it's going to see a little more daylight now. I want to see what the reactions to it will be, I've put it through some major abuse so I know what the problem spots are - so I'm hoping a few folks might be interested in one at the low price of $300 (most silicone masks are $600 and the material cost alone is pretty steep).

Now I just have to see how much more I can make. I'll either run out of time or supplies, whatever comes first.

Trade Show banners and other various crud.

Just sent these things off to get printed. I needed a couple banners for the trade show coming up and decided to go this way. They'll be 2'x4' and hopefully awesome.

And yes, they're very Mike Mignola inspired, for those of you familiar with his work. A lot of companies doing FX work and the like usually go with images of their work or overly tacky images of who the hell knows what. My logo is just the one on the left, the right is something I did up just this weekend because I wanted 2 different ones.

I'm still working away on some new props, hoping to get to making some new epoxy prosthetic moulds before too long as well. So far the only snags I've it are with the "Thing in a Jar" props, looking like they may not be happening. So far it's been impossible to find a decent supply of the right sized bottles/jars I'm needing. With the first "Thing" already made, I need a very specific jar size, around 2 1/2" wide x around 4" high, and obviously nothing with relief designs on the the glass, that'd be a little retarded looking.

I found some stuff, but in the US and most ship by UPS only - which pretty much rapes you on customs fees. Anything I've been able to find in Canada doesn't have the proper sizes listed or demanded a minimum order and blah, blah, blah. It's been pretty annoying to say the least. I'm sure I'll find something, but so far after 3 or more weeks of hunting I haven't been able to find anything.

Hoping to get the first "Shrunken Demon Heads" out this week. As well as a couple of the foam weapons. Ran into a bit of an issue with the hatchet handle mould, but hoping the 2nd try works out okay.

And the "Magnet Sculptures" turned out great. Had an issue there too with actually finding a decent supply of magnets that were strong enough to hold up a 40 gram resin disc - not too easy. In the end I went with a self adhering magnetic tape and after a bit of work they seem to work pretty damned good.

Other then that, got a few other things planned, just need the time and materials to see them through before the show.

Creating Cthulhu, Part 5...and other stuff.

The sculpture has been done for awhile now. I ran out of steam updating about it specifically and now I'm just waiting on some silicone to come in to make a mould of it and off we go again.

Otherwise, I've been busy with "The Secret Lives of Demons" project, it's coming along really well. Just did my 45 photo shoot for the book today (that's a bit of an approximation, I lost track a long time ago). Just 5 more to go and this bad boy is done. As much as I've enjoyed, and still do enjoy, working on the book, I've got so many other things rattling around in my head I'd really like the time to focus on them - since there is something of a deadline looming.

Next week I'm hoping to get some new product prototypes out, such as the Cthulhu statue, the Mayan Cthulhu Totem, the Shamanistic Demon Head, a demon fetus in a jar specimen, another demonic antiquity that's just a charm of sorts (very simple looking and rushed for a photoshoot on Sunday) and I think that might be it. Otherwise I'm starting in on some Shrunken Demon Heads and a couple other minor little pieces and foam weapons.

Bimbo Zombie Killers 2! Undead by Dawn - DVDs!

Finally got these bad boys all done. I got myself a printer for printing directly onto DVDs so I'll be slowly releasing all The Monkey Rodeo movies on DVD for sale on the website. For right now, we just have this one here, Bimbo Zombie Killers 2! Undead by Dawn the Grandma's Douche Edition. It was called that by request of a couple of the actors, not my first choice, but what the hell.

The plan is for all the DVD's to be $10 each. I'm really hoping the future to do a more elaborate edition of some movies, including something besides just a DVD with some extras.

Next up, Home Sweet Hell and even Man Eating Hookers from Hell, with some extras - this one might not be available for sale, we'll have to see how it turns out.

BZK2! Behind the Scenes Stuff, Part2

One thing that sets this apart from my other projects is that this is the first time I had other folks doing the makeup - totally untrained, maybe they observed it a few times or something before at best. Overall I think they did a decent job - especially when you consider, they really had no idea what they were doing, other then a quick run-through a few days before.

While we were waiting around for the last couple zombies to show up I shot this:



I'm in the middle of editing the movie right now, it won't be long, it moves pretty damned fast. I shot it handheld and pretty much made things up as I went since I kinda wanted it to feel a little awkward and amateurish - I think it worked. As well, it does heighten the panic a little bit and made the shoot faster.

In terms of where I am with the editing, rough editing, I'm on about page 12 of a 17 page script and I just hit the 8 minute mark. I reckon it'll be about 12 minutes. The original was around 11.

To be continued...

BZK2! Undead by Dawn, first images

We're getting closer to the shooting date of July 31st. We got about 17 pages to shoot in one day, we'll see what happens. BZK2! is going to look a lot different then the first one, totally handheld - kind of like The Bourne Identity, with zombies and cheesy effects.

A lot more props and junk this time around. Most notably that zombies will be in prosthetic makeup this time around, not just doused in gore. I've got enough pieces for 13 zombies if needed, 12 piece were created specifically for this project.

Here's a look at about 6 of the pieces - no full faces, just not necessary for this and it's way easier to fit smaller pieces to a large random cross section of people, taking even facial hair into account.

And a pair of ball pein hammers, because only wimps would anything but a damned hammer to take out the undead. The heads are foam, the handle are real wood. I would've done the handles in foam as well, but it was too expensive for the moment, but I will be doing it later when I put these bad boys online for sale.

These are fresh from their moulds, there will be some serious aging done to them for the shoot.

There's a few more pieces, but I'm keeping things under wraps until the movie is shot and release. That's the plan at least for the moment.