Episode 021 - Crackin Some Heads and Blowining Crap Up

Blood-tober continues as Ryan lures Josh into his ploy for revenge, then shows us how to smash a head without killing your talent.

Episode Run-time - 12:55

Head Smash Effect
Known as the "The Brain Beatdown" in the episode, this effect is inspired by the film "The Signal." Ryan added a second footage of the watermelon/pumpkin strike to show more ground meat spilling out along side blood from the Action Essentials 2 pack to add more gore.
 * Difficulty: Medium
 * Needs:
 * Pumpkin or watermelon (which ever is in season)
 * Ground meat
 * Fake blood
 * Make-up (specifically liquid foundation that will match your actor's skin tone)
 * A desire to waste food for the effect
 * Tripod
 * Adobe After Effects
 * Cost: $25 USD
 * 1) Cut a hole on the top of your watermelon or pumpkin. Empty the innards of the fruit or squash in question.
 * 2) Fill the cavity with ground meat. Fill the watermelon or pumpkin with fake blood.
 * 3) Paint one side of the fruit/squash with the foundation.
 * 4) Lock down your camera onto a tripod and have your actor play out the scene. Once done, move your actor out of frame and place the watermelon/pumpkin where your actor's head was previously located.
 * 5) *Tip: Use pieces of tape, may it be gaffer's tape, masking tape or duct tape to mark where your actor's head is located on the ground. If your actor was standing, use a light, sign or visible object in the background to keep track where your actor's head was located.
 * 6) "Now beat it like it's a pinata, and you're done shooting." -Ryan
 * 7) *Don't budge the camera. If you do, it'll make post production very difficult. This will allow you to avoid the stress of having to do tedious motion tracking later on.
 * 8) Import your footage into After Effects. Put the footage of your actor on the bottom and the footage of the watermelon/pumpkin beat down on top.
 * 9) Using the pen tool, go frame-by-frame and mask around the bat to reveal the actor on the bottom footage. Then as the bat hits the watermelon or pumpkin, expand the mask to reveal more of the gory fruit/squash and ta-da! Your actor's head will look like it exploded!

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