Tag Archives: effect

Video: Fake Hairspray

This week’s companion video for The Prop Effects Guidebook is the last one before the book releases this Friday! It is a short one too, demonstrating a can of fake hairspray, sometimes known as “haze in a can.” Though short, I think props people should see this product in action, since it can solve a lot of “burst of steam” type of challenges.

Hairspray

You can watch all the companion videos on YouTube.

The Prop Effects Guidebook is available for pre-order now at most major retailers.

Video: Blood Knife

The companion videos for The Prop Effects Guidebook just keep on coming. This week I demonstrate how to build the most basic type of blood knife you can. A blood knife is a specially-prepared knife that administers blood as it “cuts” an actor.

Blood knife

I will be releasing more of these companion videos as we draw closer to the book’s release. You can watch all of them on YouTube.

The Prop Effects Guidebook is available for pre-order now at most major retailers.

Video: Glowing Coals

I am back with another companion video to my upcoming book, The Prop Effects Guidebook. This is a quick and simple effect for making red hot glowing coals without the use of flame or heat. I first learned it from Jay Duckworth, who probably learned it from his mentor, who learned it from his, on back through history to Ancient Greece, when Propcrates invented props.

Glowing Coals

I will be releasing more of these companion videos as we draw closer to the book’s release. You can watch all of them on YouTube.

The Prop Effects Guidebook is available for pre-order now at most major retailers.

Video: Kabuki Drop with Solenoid

I am back with another companion video to my upcoming book, The Prop Effects Guidebook. The kabuki drop mechanism is simple (and the following video is short), but it can be helpful to actually see it in action.

Kabuki drop with solenoid

I will be releasing more of these companion videos as we draw closer to the book’s release. You can watch all of them on YouTube.

The Prop Effects Guidebook is available for pre-order now at most major retailers.

Video: Running Water with an RV Pump

Here is a new companion video for my next book, The Prop Effects Guidebook, coming this February. Our technical director, Chris Simpson, built a nice little rig to provide running water for a sink. I have since used it in multiple shows, and am in the process of configuring all of my sinks to be able to connect to this rig.

The book will have some photographs of the rig, but I also filmed this short video to show how it all works.

Running Water with an RV Pump

These companion videos will continue to be released as we draw closer to the book’s release. You can watch all of them on YouTube.

The Prop Effects Guidebook is available for pre-order now at most major retailers. If you need a Christmas gift for that special props person, be sure to check out my first book, The Prop Building Guidebook: for Theatre, Film, and TV.