Burning Material for Burning Corpse Scene

mvaefx

New Member
Never burned any props before. What would be a super cheap material to burn but slowly burn for multiple takes? It's for a no budget short. I was thinking poly foam impregnated/coated in wax or lamp oil.
How well does latex burn?
How stupid is it to burn poly foam? (06/19/2020 - VERY STUPID!!)
Thankfully this shoot takes place outside on location-rural area.
9/23/19:
I don't know why i even asked about the burning of poly foam. I know that working with the raw ingredients of poly foam is toxic so...?? Anyway i came across a fireproof material called Starlite, or a derivative of it. A Youtube demo shows that the mixed materials made a putty/clay like end product. When put under a torch it formed a charred crust on the surface but did not catch fire. I will probably use this with possibly alcohol or lamp oil as a flammable carrier for the shoot. I'm about to do a materials test soon so I will give the end results on this forum.
This is my idea thus far:
Make corpse armature using pvc, wood dowl, aluminum stock. Skulls out of Task 7 Flameout resin. Bulk forms using aluminum foil. Exposed charred skin/flesh out of Starlite. Pre burn the costuming then paint with Bar-B-Q grill high heat flat black paint.
For the shoot, this is where the materials test needs to be done beforehand, place flammable material ie; lamp oil, alcohol, or?? on the surface of the corpse to burn and flash off so that way as to not actually burn the corpse so multiple takes, repositioning can be done if need to be.
I'll report my test results. Stand by.
 
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Hi
I guess this will need some experimentation. All the materials you mention are pretty flammable. I would also add contact glue (rubber cement?) to the list, this one can burn like hell, specially if not dry, it´s very flammable too. Latex burns well, in a dripping manner.
And I don´t think adding lamp oil or others should be needed, as polyfoam burns out easily in my experience. Unless you needed it to go fast, I´d say it will act as an accelerator.
But all in all if you are looking for a specific "burning tempo" you might have to play around with different choices till you get what you need. Is it a human like prop?, close up?.
Sorry, not of much help I think.
 
Isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol or something similar? Please don't burn latex or polyfoam! Those fumes are going to be toxic! Make the corpse from something NOT flammable so you can control the burning as only the stuff your using on top of it, will burn.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY; BE SAFE! No movie is worth risking your health!
 
"AND MOST IMPORTANTLY; BE SAFE! No movie is worth risking your health!"

That´s true and worth saying.
 
Likely a little late but for future reference, pig fat, pig skin and pig parts is what weve always used for instances like this. Depending on the amount of burn or melting camera is after keep various fuels and accelerators on hand. Hair spray, lamp oil, cooking canisters, model glue... everything has its own flammable action and reaction. Do some basic tests so when the time comes to roll you know what to use but keep in mind tests performed inside a closed area or even backyard will vary to real world results on location in an outdoor environment or inside a modern climate controlled studio.
 
***UPDATE 04/26/20***
About 5 months ago i executed the burning corpse props for the short Sins Of A Mad Dog.
I want to thank Cameron for the assistance on this project. Due to transportation issues and the production about an hour south from me, i had Cameron acquired all ingredients, fabricated and ran the tests from my instructions via texts, PM's and phone calls. I moulded and casted the three skulls on my end. Both of us have never executed or built props for this type situation so there is totally room for improvement. I would like to revisit and refine materials/technique.

This is what was needed for the scene-Three bound and blind folded, executed prisoner corpse burning in a pile out in a battlefield.
Through many discussions with director it came down to these details: all three are blind folded, hands bound, already charred to somewhat skeletal remains, shot from the shoulders on up and still burning.
I wanted to design a charred corpse that would burn but be flame proof for the possibility of multiple takes or repositioning, etc.
I did some research and decided on various materials at the lowest cost-No budget short.
I used a material called Starlite; corn starch, baking soda and PVA Glue (Elmer's). It was developed as a flame retardant material. The mixed end product resembles clay/putty. The beauty of this material, besides you can somewhat sculpt with it, is upon applying flame (torch) to it, the immediate surface charrs up. The surface char becomes a barrier, preventing flame from burning more material below surface char. You can hold it in your hand and apply the torch you won't feel a thing. The charred Starlite resembles charred flesh too!

The Starlite would be randomly placed on hollow resin skull casts of Smooth-On's Task 7 Flame Out urethane plastic with rubber cement to secure the Starlite to the urethane plastic.
The shoulder/neck skeleton fabricated out of pvc, wood, wire mesh-essentially out of any found objects. Bulked out with aluminum foil and or wire mesh with the last layer being wardrobe.
Starlite then charred with torch. Then props painted completely with a flat black grill rattle can paint. The paint adds to the char look.
Setting up for the shoot we sprinkled crushed grill charcoal throughout and applied lamp oil, grill lighter fluid to burn on the surface of props...in theory anyways. They burned to ash but we got the shot anyways.

The processs was somewhat rushed-the night of the shoot we fabricated 2 of the 3 props! So some of the techniques can be refined, like allowing the grill paint to dry, lol. Filling the hollow resin skulls with sand, etc.
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Starlite test.
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Charring Starlite surface.
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Charring Starlite.
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Charred Starlite.
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Added lamp oil or lighter fluid to charred surface. The idea was to have applied fuel burn off the surface of props but the props remain flame proof-in theory anyways.
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Under structure. PVC, aluminum foil, wire mesh. Task 7 Flame Out urethane skull.
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Applying Starlite to understructure.
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Lightly charred Starlite.
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Painted will flat black grill paint.
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Fabricating and prepping for the shoot.
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3 blind props ready to shoot.
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The shot.
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Aftermath.

Like i said, there is room for improvement, refinement. If you have any suggestions, ideas let me know.
Thanks.
Mark
 
Gruesome! I wonder if that Starlite can be tinted a flesh colour? You could possibly mould it into a face cast and lay it on top the skull. When you burn it, it might look like the face is burning off?
 
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