Melting Hitler's Head - Featurette on the upcoming TIMEBELT dvd

I was going to scan some pages from the the 1987 issue of Cinemagic magazine where they show you how to "Raiders a head" but I got lazy. This is a pretty easy effect and looks great if you take your time- which you have more of than money.

1.) I got a plastic skeleton from Kit Kraft model shop off of Ventura or you can get it here

I also used this skeleton when Kurt gets zapped. The skull is connected to the stand so I could remove the body.

2.) With a heat gun, that I got from the paint section at the hardware store, I melted crayons over the skull. I started with layer of black and purple wax, then red and bright red/orange. BE CAREFUL THAT HEAT GUN CAN BURN YOU TO DEATH. ALSO BE SURE TO USE CRAYONS, SOME WAXES CAN EXPLODE WHEN HEATED.

3.)Once the crayon wax was cooled, I took derma wax (AKA Mortician's wax or Nose putty) to sculpt the skin layer.
I just put Hitler's face on freeze frame and tried to sculpt it as close to the same expression as the actor's. I'm not good with likeness' but I did want the basics to be there: Distances from eyes, nose and mouth. Creases in face and of course stash placement.

derma wax has a very low melting point so it gets kinda frustrating when sculpting (sticky). But be patient, it will be worth it.


4.) Once the face was done we set the camera up and took an hour to light it. (Never underestimated lighting- it's really the best way to make your stuff look pro). Todd Bishop made sure the lighting was as close as possible to the lighting done on set with the human actor.

5.) Then we rolled the camera. I sat off screen with a heat gun (I got mine for $50.) And then I fried the model's face off (Ooooh that felt good to say). Tallman was off camera pulling on a piece of fishing line to make the jaw open and close. The Skin melted pretty fast revealing bright red blood, then underneath came the black ooze-- making it look tre' evil.

Be sure to prop the head model 10 degrees forward, so you can heat the whole face at once instead of just the bottom.

6.) then we ran into the other room, threw it into the computer and sped it up about 5,000%. And giggled like children.

The Compressed image doesn't do it justice, I truly did work awesome. Just be sure to take your time and make sure everything is perfect because you'll only have one shot at it.

NOW YOU TRY IT!
 

Posted on the Channel 101 forum's tutorial by Rob Schrab - used without his permission
- images video captured from stolen video from Tallman's appartment.