Wigs 'r' Us

[tkmac]

Hello, all. Forgive me if I don’t post on here as much, Shane has such a legion of fans, I find it hard to keep up with the threads. I’ve made a couple of short films in the vein of ‘Shane’s World’, have got the bug, and was wanting to go a bit more pro. Hearing Shane mention that he and Paddy would drive around in his car with a box of props (DMS commentary) to film some of the ‘Shane’s world’ shorts, I was wondering if anyone could advise me on the best way of attaining props: wigs, false moustaches, glasses, etc? I’d rather purchase than loan-any good local or on-line shops?

[jody]

erm, in the past i have often borrowed or briefly pinched various props from friends and family! All in the name of good nature of course! other than that, simple crafting is always a good one. if it's retro memrobelia, loot your uncles house, hehe, good luck man.

[Dazza]

Hi its definately worth getting some props. We have built up quite a good prop box over the years with lots of wigs, face paints, glasses, moustaches, masks, hats, etc. Most of it came from ebay or local fancy dress shops. Its amazing what a wig can do and get you into character.

[tkmac]

Looks like E-bays the way forward. Cheers lads.

[Chewbaxter]

What about a root around the charity shops?

I'd suggest you suss out your 'character' first and then find applicable clothing - that's what I did for my 'Reggie' character...

I used my jacket zipped right up to give more emphasis to my many chins...

Glasses - well, they were an old pair of mine, pre-contact lens days...

I wanted a 'daft s*d' bobcap - don't say owt, but I borrowed my wife's Wigan Athletic hat!

And finally, I added a plaster to the face for effect.

Here's the result:
Click Here

I've done that sort of thing before for other ideas... '70s gear? straight off to Oxfam - helps things work out cheaper.

Wigs though... I don't bother with, a combination of hairspray and gels can often be effective.

Hope that's a bit of use to you - look forward to seeing your vids.



Neil.

[tkmac]

Great acting man, cheers for the tip. I was looking to go seventies and am trying to get some people on board for a one page script. As for the gel-allas, I have gone the way of Shane, the old Eightball look.

[Chewbaxter]

tkmac said:

I have gone the way of Shane, the old Eightball look.

lol, I've often a 'Number One' crop too - but when I ain't, I do the 'messing about with the air' stuff.

I really would suggest you pester someone for old glasses - some b*gger's go to have 'em that are no longer any good...

Try 'em out, but if they're WAY too strong - knock the glass out otherwise prepare for some serious headaches and nausea (unless you're just doing 'shorts').

Cheapest effect I got was using home-made cack for a 'zombie' vid - all I had here was flour, water, ketchup, bog roll and a bit of mascara I nicked off my wife (she'll kill me) - this was the result:

Click Here

Material might be cack lol, but I'm impressed with the effects - all done 'on the cheap'.

Another cheap tip - any props needed such as guns - kids toy shops and again charity shops... the charity shop may become yer best friend, and often, you can ask folk in there to look out for stuff for you... especially if ye bung 'em an extra quid for helping - worth a go, you'll save plenty.



N.

[tkmac]

Thanks mate, very helpful. Video made me piss, assume the dialogue was improvised, in which case, top marks. Effects worked well, very gross.

[Chewbaxter]

Cheers for that - apologise for the loss of bladder control!

By the way... have you seen 'Shane's Shorts' which is often mentioned on here - a lot of good tips on there on how to do stuff for film-making - especially the Tank Bullock stuff!



N.

[tkmac]

Yeah, I've seen 'Shanes World' a few times, mate-it's what made me want to have a go in the first place.

[Chewbaxter]

Yep - I reckon it's inspired a lot of folk.

And these days - not hard to do a bit of camerawork... okay, the quality of mine's p*ss poor and very 'blocky' but it does the trick... and it means that I've always got the opportunity to record stuff when out and about...

Compare that with a few years back and the old vid. cameras... short battery life... bulky as hell etc.

At some point I'm thinking of updating to a 'proper' camera, but have to say, the stuff I've been managing with hasn't been too bad in my opinion!




N.

P.S. I've yet to find a character to match Tank Bullock though lol - ruddy inspired!

[tkmac]

Yeah, and what a soundtrack, too. Bullocks voice is beautiful.