Bullet Hit Squibs

A bullet hit squib or a blood squib is a practical, pyrotechnic special effect device used in the film industry, theatre productions and first responder moulage training to simulate a bullet wound spurting blood. Typically, the effect is carried out with clothing instead of on bare skin in order to conceal the device. Even if the portrayal is not necessarily accurate or is exaggerated compared to real-life (in the example of the main figure, blood spews out of a thick coat while emitting smoke), filmmakers and the audience have become accustomed to associating this aesthetic with a gunshot wound.

A bullet hit squib device comprises a squib (a small, firecracker-like explosive), an electric match, a small pack of simulant (most commonly fake blood), a protective plate and some padding attached to the actor's costume. The device is then connected to a battery and a remote, with which the squib can be triggered by the actor or a crew member, creating the visual effect of a gunshot wound.

History

Bullet hit squibs was first used in the film industry as early as 1943 in Bataan and 1955 in Pokolenie, with the latter using fake blood added in a condom and a squib, a technique still widely in use today.

Preparation of the visual effect

A special effects pyrotechnician technician builds blood squibs devices, while a costume designer prepares several identical dead-character costumes, typically at least three, depending on the budget and sometimes, as many as six. The time taken, personnel costs and materials for several takes of the actual stunt, dress rehearsals, backups and tests can therefore be costly for independent and low-budget filmmakers. Bullet hit squib devices are incorprated into the costume in such a way that their presence is not obvious to the audience. For instance, the squibs should be made with a low profile and not bulge significantly, and the fabric does not appear deliberately cut, although the bulge can be digitally erased in post-production with a reference frame and content-aware fill. The mini gallery below shows examples of the amount of bulge on various costumes without digitally erasing the implanted squibs.

Blood pack and bullet hit squib.jpg, A 15 ml packet of fake blood next to a 0.5 grain squib with a solid polycarbonate backing/shield.
Bullet hit squib assembly.jpg, An assembled bullet hit squib device filled with approx. 25 g of fake blood contained in a plastic pouch, secured onto a base with duct tape.
Step 4 - aligning and attaching the squib device.jpg, The squib device aligned to the pre-scored area and attached with duct tape to the inside of the jacket shell.

Bullet hit squib device

The squib itself is typically a 0.5–1.0 grain/0.03–0.06 g of a flat disc-shaped encapsulated explosives (by comparison, a party popper is ~0.25 grain/~0.015 g, and a small firecracker is ~2.5 grain/~0.15 g), suitable for approximately 10–30 ml of fake blood, simulating an entry or an exit wound, respectively. The amount of fake blood also depends on how quickly it will soak the fabric, taking into account the overal aesthetic of the visual effect. It is then filled in a small balloon, packet or condom, which sits atop the squib, followed by a grooved metal or plastic protective plate and padding material approximately 25 mm in diameter. The entire build is assembled with duct tape, leaving a small front window where the simulant can burst through the path of least resistance. Wet simulants such as fake blood, non-staining varieties like water (for rehearsals), glycerine (for night time shoots) or dry simulants like dust, down feathers (for the desired gunshot aesthetic on a down jacket) are employed. The size and weight of the entire bullet hit squib is in the order of ~50 mm diameter, ~15 mm thick, weighing ~30 g. The bottom half of the blood packet is aligned to the squib to produce an aerosolised burst, followed by a stream of fake blood like the main figure.

Dead character costumes

Dead-character costumes are modified stage clothes worn by actors whose characters are killed off. Bullet hit squibs simulating a gunshot wound are usually concealed beneath the wardrobe. For bare skin gunshot wounds, other methods such as prosthetics may be used instead. Typically, at least one hero piece (used in prior scenes and closeups without squibs) and several more stunt pieces (with squibs and prescored bullet holes) are prepared for the planned number of takes, backups and tests. Bullet holes on the clothing's fabric must first be weakened (by law) by cutting, sanding, scoring, grating or plunging a scoring tool, after which they are loosely glued or taped back together. In most cases, each replicate of the dead-character costumes is used once per take, although some types of clothing can be reused. Fake blood can be wiped off waterproof jackets, parkas and down jackets for a new take, as long as the bullet holes are cleanly cut beforehand. Using the aforementioned dry or non-staining simulants can also help reuse the outfits for another take. Jackets are also better at concealing the device's bulge due to their padding compared to e.g. a t-shirt, better at supporting multiple squibs and are easier to wear and remove. The downside however is that the thicker fabric requires significant weakening beforehand and/or a more powerful squib.

Bullet hit squibs hidden beneath the wardrobe (cycling jersey, with arrows).jpg, Bullet hit squibs with 15 g of fake blood each beneath skin-tight wardrobe on a cycling jersey.
Bullet hit squibs hidden beneath the wardrobe (scrubs, with arrows).jpg, Bullet hit squibs on loose, thin and light-coloured fabric. Each squib contains 15 g of fake blood.
Bullet hit squibs on costume (jacket, with arrow).jpg, Bullet hit squibs (labelled) on a padded jacket and dark-coloured fabric. Each squib contains 25 g of fake blood.

Assembly and costume donning

The squibs are aligned to the precut bullet holes and are taped or sewn to the costume securely so they do not move when worn by the actor, and more importantly, allowing the fake blood to be propelled out of the bullet hole instead of running down on the inside of the costume. The squibs are then connected to a trigger, a power source (e.g. battery) and sometimes also a programmable controller to sync with multiple squibs. The electronics can be placed in the clothing or off camera.

The actor can change into the prepared outfit immediately prior to the shot (if hero and stunt pieces are available), wear it throughout a scene (e.g. in stage productions) or even the entire day, although a two-step ignition procedure should be used to avoid accidental triggering. Squibs can be triggered with a wired or wireless remote by a crew member off camera or by the actor him/herself. A wireless solution would enable the actor to walk around, and the electronics would therefore be self-contained. A wired, but much simpler solution would be to run a wired remote to the actor's hand or down the pants to the crew off camera.

Firing the bullet hit

When the trigger button is pressed on cue, the squib detonates and bursts the blood packet and rips open and the pre-made bullet hole, creating the visual effect. The actor jolts his/her body simultaneously to portray the impact of being hit by bullets, which is further enhanced with post-production sound effects. While using squibs for filmmaking is safe, the device should be built by qualified special effects pyrotechnicians, and safety instructions must be followed. The actor should also avoid looking directly at the squibs and keep their arms away. After the stunt, the technician checks for any misfires before the wardrobe department photographs the 'aftermath' for continuity. The spent wardrobe may be removed for a new take, bullet holes enhanced for the next scene or clean up.

Alternative practical bullet hit devices

Low- or no-budget filmmakers also achieve the visual effect using the same setup, but without squibs. A fishing line tied to a washer superglued onto the blood pack can be fed through the precut hole and pulled to trigger the effect. A rocket igniter or an electric match could also be used instead. These methods largely reproduces the same effect of a stream of blood flowing out, but without the initial puff propelled by the squib.

Alternate, more advanced methods have also been developed in recent years with pneumatics (compressed air). These devices are generally safer and do not require specialised pyrotechnicians, which also reduce cost. While they are reusable, they are bulkier and heavier, and is not preferred for multiple bullet hits, as well as being more difficult to control, less consistent and less reliable. Pneumatic alternates may still be referred to as "squibs", even though they do not use explosive substances. The pneumatic-based devices were originally developed from garden sprayers in the early 2000s and then further refined. The resulting look is less convincing as a jet of blood sprays out instead of a 'burst'. Tubing was also difficult to conceal, as it is generally quite rigid.

Miscellaneous

The record for the most squibs ever set off on a person is held by Mike Daugherty in 2005, on whom 157 out of 160 squibs successfully detonated.

See also

* Bodily mutilation in film
* Dead-character costume
* Fake blood
* Firecracker
* Practical effect
* Pyrotechnics
* Special effect
* Squib (explosive)

References

{{Special_effects

Pyrotechnics
Special effects
Stagecraft