Thread: Need "Shadow Surgery" help

Tweet

OK, I know this isn't a prop, but I wasn't sure where to put it. Anyway . . .

One of the surgeons I work for was trying to decide what he was going to do to spook TOTs at his campsite in October. He doesn't have a lot of extra time and was looking for something simple but "cool" and effective. He mentioned he'd like to do something medical, like a mad doctor (obviously, he can get the scrubs, gowns and other supplies).

When he told me this, I was reminded of the fake "surgery" we did with shadows when I was a kid (OK, at 48 I'm still a kid, but that's not important right now). The setup is a simple white sheet with a single light source behind it. The patient (victim) lies on a table between the sheet and the light source, and the surgeon pretends to cut him open, bringing the removed body parts out from behind the screen. All the spectators see is a shadow of the procedure, and the produced body parts.

??? Any ideas, tut files, PDFs, etc, I could send him so he has a better idea how to go about this?

Also, any ideas for cheap squishy body parts he could produce?

Tx,

Cray

Hoses could be guts, a deflated volley ball could be a brain, some rolled up socks for a heart...just a few ideas.

All good ideas. Actually the sock would be awesome, soaked in warm colored water -- he could let the kids touch it. You know, my fear is that he has access to real body parts . . . Our surgical group is vascular, and we remove a limb or two each week. I just need to make sure the path lab stays locked.

Thanks fer the ideas!

Cray

You could tape some bed pillows into lung shapes also.

Thanks again! Good idea.

I just went to the local Dollar Tree and found several smaller body parts also.

We did this and found that a 700watt strobe light was much more effective than a regular light. Keep in mind that the actor needs to be VERY close to the screen because the light will magnify everything. The farther away from the screen, the more magnification. Also, things away from the screen are blurry. Finally, play with the height of the light source. We ended up at about 5 feet.

For our screen, we used thin black plastic sheeting (like trash bags are made from).

Good Luck

Tx, Skylighter. Just the info he'll need. I hadn't considered suggesting a strobe light. Nor would I have picked black plastic. But it makes sense.

The light height is certainly something he'll have to play with, but it's great to have a starting point. And I'll remind him he has to stay near the screen.

Thanks again!

I should also of mentioned that you need to make sure he can withstand the bright strobe light. Our actor said that it made him physically ill after 3 hours, and that most of the time he had his eyes closed. But, it was the scariest effect we have ever done.

We did it at the end of the hallway, as people approached, the surgery went from him pulling out guts to him using a chainsaw.

The problem was that people would refuse to go down the hallway toward the scene.

BTW, I dont know if this is true, but we used the black plastic, figuring the white would reflect the light and minimize the shadow effect.

Good Luck,
Danny

Danny:

Well I'd sure hate to see him have a siezure from the strobe while he's cuttin' somebody up! Good point!

The chainsaw is an excellent idea!

Thanks!