Making a (fairly) realistic looking human dummy

[ccm1495]

I have been looking around and can't find anything on this subject. We will be doing a production of Curtains this spring, and there is a scene where a character gets caught in rigging and is pulled up as a curtain lowers or closes. For OBVIOUS reasons this can not be done with a real person. Unless we call in zfx, foy, ect. Which we don't have the money for. So we turned to making a dummy for a solution.

I wondering if any one has any tricks or techniques that might help me make a realistic "ish" dummy / human figure / analog. (Keeping in mind this effect will be far upstage with significant distance between the audience and the dummy)

 

[MarshallPope]

If you can obscure it enough or put it behind a scrim or something, I've seen foamboard laminated with a poster print of the person and cut out (basically a cardboard cutout) work very convincingly for similar gags.

I've also worked on a show where we just used the "wrap the person in layers of packing tape and then cut him out of it and stuff with newsprint" technique to good success.

Edit - Also, you may want to look into articulating the joints so that it doesn't look so stiff and unnatural.

 

[Van]

When we did "The Lt. of Inishmore" we had to have 3 dead bodies which were then "cut up" on stage in preparation of disposal. Those require some extra stuff, like luan ribs to crack and dowel legs to break. and plaster teeth to knock out..... Yeah it's a nightmare of a prop/spfx show but hilarious. Anyway a good base is pantyhose. You can insert tubes of sand < made from visqueen tubes with a dowel rod floating in the middle of it for the bone effect> appy a cord or tape at the joints to compress them just a bit and to keep the dowel in their apporpriate areas.This will work for Arms and legs, then dress up the now realistically heavy dummy. Chests can be effectively made from Pillow cases lined with plastic, filled with sand. Get a wig head for the head and you are in business.

 

[ccm1495]

.This will work for Arms and legs, then dress up the now realistically heavy dummy.

The dummy that we are building will have to be easily raised and lowered safely during the effect AKA Very Light

 

[gafftaper]

Go with the same strategy as Van laid out but instead of sand, stuff him with batting or even fabric. If you are really low budget go to the thrift store and find the biggest, cheapest, fluffiest, pillows/comforters/blankets you can find, cut them up and use them for filler. I can't tell you how many pieces of furniture I've made that are stuffed with really ugly second hand blankets cut up as the cushion filler.

Create a wooden "Skeleton" I would say just a spine and two legs (hinged) I would probably make it out of 2x2. Securely attach a cable to the "spine" and run it out a hole in his back.

Be sure to stage the effect as far upstage from the audience as possible.

 

[derekleffew]

The dummy that we are building will have to be easily raised and lowered safely during the effect AKA Very Light

Instead of sand, use styrofoam beads. Anyone got an unwanted bean-bag chair? Or packing peanuts.