How To Make An Alien - Act IV

Final Touches

We bring our body to the set. Just before filming, we reach through the opening in the corpse's back and paint the interior with blood and goo. Then we put our internal organs into place. Maybe we made some beforehand, maybe we just bought some livers and kidneys at the market, or both. We seal the opening (it doesn't have to be a cosmetically perfect job - we'll never see the alien's back!) and roll the body over. A few drops of glycerin to make her eyes realistically moist, and she's ready!

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Our human actors are ready too, but first we have to give them some coaching. Because of the way we built our creature, they can't move it at all. They shouldn't attempt to raise the arms or legs, rotate the head, or shift the body. In fact, they can only touch it in the most delicate manner or it will become obvious the "flesh" is nearly solid and not semi-liquid like real flesh. Okay, our actors are up to speed now. Let's shoot this thing.

Roll 'Em!

First, we get our establishing shots of our critter. We have our actors move around, look at the dummy, point to it and nod and so on.

Next, we get a few shots in which they pantomime handling the creature. If they do it correctly, it won't be obvious they're barely touching it. (Not many people are aware of the way real bodies in real autopsies are twisted, turned, flopped this way and that and so on. So they won't realize how bizarre this "examiner" behavior is.)

Action!
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Very well done, fellas.

While we're at it, we'll try a few closeups where our actors very carefully move the leg and the hand slightly by gripping them firmly and moving them very slightly - just to the point where the skin would start to fold and wrinkle.

Now We Open Her Up

Now it's time to cut into the body. Here we employ one of the oldest tricks in the book. We take our scalpel and attach a small tube to the side facing away from camera. As the actor pulls the scalpel along the dummy, we pump a bit of blood through the tube. The scalpel leaves a line of fresh blood. And if some of the blood we put inside the body leaks through the cut, that's even better!

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Lovely. Always a crowd pleaser, that trick.

(Another alternative is to use one of the newer tricks in the book: A-B Blood. This is a commercially-available product consisting of two transparent fluids which form an opaque red fluid when combined. A little A on the scalpel, a little B on the body... presto!)

The examiner continues the cut down along the chest and abdomen. Our next step is to pull back the skin and reveal the internal organs.

But First, A Brief Pause ...

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