Blood & Special Effects | School of the Arts Academic Information

Blood and Special Effects Timeline

No Later than Design Revisions Production Meeting: 1 Week Before Fittings
Decision to be made on blood or special effects usage. This should be brought up in production meetings as soon as you determine you want to use blood or special effects: Blood Proposal Form is Due

No Later than Design Revisions Production Meeting: Thursday before Fittings
Decision to be made on blood or special effects usage. This should be brought up in production meetings as soon as you determine you want to use blood or special effects: Approval of Blood / Special Effects proposal

No Later than Design Revisions Production Meeting: Fittings Week
Decision to be made on blood or special effects usage. This should be brought up in production meetings as soon as you determine you want to use blood or special effects: Blood/special effect fittings to be scheduled either within the performer’s costume fitting, or as a separate fitting

No Later than Design Revisions Production Meeting: Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday prior to Tech Rehearsals starting
Decision to be made on blood or special effects usage. This should be brought up in production meetings as soon as you determine you want to use blood or special effects: Pre-Tech Blood and Special Effects Rehearsal (see below for more details)

Checking out and Accessing Blood Products

All blood is stored within the costume shop. The first step to using blood in any Columbia production is to fill out the Blood Proposal Form. After receiving and reviewing the Blood Proposal form, an approval (or denial) will be sent to the creative team. After approval, the creative team can make an appointment with the Costume Shop Manager to look at the blood and eventually check out the blood for your production. Both of these steps need to happen before blood can be used in a rehearsal room or performance.

Once blood has been checked out from the Costume Shop, it should always live in the theater. In Lenfest, it should live on the black cabinet backstage right. At Schapiro, a location will be determined between the SM team and APM for each show. The backstage area for blood should be taped out with instructions.

Pre-Tech Blood and Special Effects Rehearsal

A blood and special effects rehearsal needs to be scheduled prior to the start of tech. This is so that the blood can be worked with outside of the tech schedule, and so that any notes or changes to blood plans can be done before tech begins. The following people are required to attend the Pre-Tech Blood and Special Effects Rehearsal:

Rep from production’s creative team - the person who designed the effect
Director
Fight/Intimacy director
Stage Manager
Costume Shop Supervisor and/or a Production Manager
Performers who interact with the effect/blood

The Pre-Tech blood rehearsal is the only approved rehearsal prior to tech where stage blood can be used. If the production would like to work with blood prior to the Pre-Tech Blood rehearsal, or after that rehearsal (and before tech) they can either use water in place of blood, or those additional rehearsals would need to be approved by the Costume Shop Manager and/or a Production Manager. Water can be used in place of blood at any time.

Other Special Effects

If your production is looking to use scars, prosthetics, speciality makeup, and/or wigs all of those things must have a separate special effects fitting with the Costume Shop Manager, designer, and the actor. This means that actors utilizing these effects will need to be scheduled for 2 fittings, one for their costume, and one for their effects. These fittings cannot be combined. Please discuss these special effects with the Costume Shop Manager during your initial design meetings.

Blood Costs

Blood products and accessories need to come out of a production budget. Once approved, the Costume Shop Manager can assist with quoting the cost and ordering the blood products. Costs for blood and common accessories are detailed below. This chart will be used to bill the production for blood and supplies we have in stock.

Blood Costs Table

Item: Gravity Momentum Stage Blood
Price: $3.00 per ounce or $24.00 per cup
Example Link: Gravity Momentum Stage Blood Link

Item: Squibs (for palming)
Price: $0.02 per bag
Example Link: Squids Link

Item: Pills (for mouth capsules)
Price: $0.07 per pill
Example Link: Pills Link

Item: IV Bags (for large blood rigs)
Price: $0.19 per 250 ml bag or $3.58 for 1000 ml bag
Example Link: Small IV Bag link Large IV Bag link

Item: Tubing (for blood rigs)
Price: $1.34 per tube
Example Link: Tubing Link

Item: Towels (for wiping up and showering)
Price: $1.17 per towel (can use stock towels for free if available)
Example Link: Towels Link

Item: Dawn Powerwash (for cleaning blood from costumes)
Price: $6.27 per bottle
Example Link: Dawn Powerwash link