Fake Blood

Like I said last night, I helped my buddy Jason and his friends shoot a movie last night. I played a Big Badass Zombie.

Part of my costuming as the Big Badass (or is it Stupid) Zombie was a nice little bit of fake blood that was to congeal and look goopy when it dried a bit.

Which it did, with the exception of the bit that ran into my right ear, and though we got most of it out, I think there's a little bit that will be in there for the rest of my life.

The problem was, my scenes took an hour and a half to two hours to film, and underneath the rubber mask, it got quite a bit warm. And the body heat un-congealed the fake blood, which caused it to run down my shirt and all the way down my torso.

This is insidious stuff, folks. I took off my makeup last night first, and then took a shower to wash any of the remaining stuff. And this morning, I took another shower.

Now, two hours later, I blow my nose, and what comes out is a combination of a little the black used on places my face showed through the mask, especially around my nose, and a disturbing amount of the fake blood, which was dabbed around the nostrils a little bit.

The bad part is how real the stuff looks, and you panic at first: Jeebus! I have a nosebleed.

But it's just the fake blood. Blew my nose as clean as I could (with much cleaner results).

And a minute ago, I scratched my ear, and what turns up on my fingernail? More of that fake blood.

Well, got the ear cleaning solution out, and even used that little ear-sucker thing. I think I got a lot of it out. Maybe even most of it. But I kind of think I'll be pulling theatre blood out of places on my person for some time.

I'm just wondering when it will show up.

I did have a lot of fun shooting last night, though. Don't want my bitching and moaning to overwhelm that fact. Jason and Jesse look like they've got some funny stuff going on with their little zombie movie (it's a comedy, albeit a gorey one). It's a short film, and though I even thumbed through the script, it was late last night, and the title of the thing has slipped my mind completely. Maybe Julie or Jason will clue me in.

As for my part? Got there at 4 or so for makeup.

We shot one other scene before mine. The highlight of this was when shooting got stopped when the pizza guy showing up midway through.

And then, Jason's roommate Chris and I were in full zombie makeup, with Chris tied up in a garden hose to boot. He stood there, made up to look like his jaw was falling off. I stood there, made up as the gooey giant zombie. And the pizza guy stood there in the garage, doing anything he could not to make eye contact with anybody in the garage.

One of us even asked him, as we waited for somebody inside the house to come out with enough money to pay of the pizza, "Hey, how's it going?"

"Fine," the man, who was somewhat older than the college-age drivers who usually drive for Pizza Hut, told us without looking up from his delivery.

It was later in the evening, after dark, that we got to shoot my scene. Long and short of it? A confrontation between the two heroes and the Big Stupid Zombie.

Got to backhand Jason pretty good (it was an "accident") in one scene, and in another, I was to sling Jesse around. I think he tripped on one of my giant feet....but between the two of us, he got driven shoulder-first into the ground. Got to play with a sword.

I had fun. So the fake blood isn't really a complaint...just a price you pay.

As I was leaving, without my mask but still wearing quite a bit of the fake blood (which had run onto my shirt, for quite a gorey effect, melting with my body heat), with my eyes and nose blacked out, I looked quite a bit like a deranged Peter Criss.

Yep. A good night.