plastic strip things??
plastic strip things??- special effects and filmmaking
Ok this might sound really dumb (im not sure im too tired). You know those little plastic strip things where the have a little box on the end and they are notched. You put the one end through the box and it stays. I think they are used like for packing things? Anyways if you know what I'm talking about could ya help me? In this movie I'm doing, there is this bad guy. He like to put these things around people's necks. If you know what things I'm talking about you know that this would suck because you can't get them off without cutting them. Anywho, any ideas of what I could use to make it look like I'm doing this. Any help would be appreciated. And if I sound really dumb, please feel free to tell me to shut my mouth.
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"I can't wait to bag me a deergoose!"
-John Leguizamo
The Pest
"Why would you ever talk?"
-Random
they're called cable ties
there are some that have a second hole without the ratcheting piece of metal in it simply used to hold the excess , you might try looking for one of those types, put it through backwards and it doesnt hole either, at least in MOST cases.
home depot, lowes, any of those home improvement labrynths have them, some places sell versions a couple feet long
later
Tom
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What everyone seems to forget is that once we look past race, religion, gender, and all that, everyone on this planet is first and foremost...
...a PERSON
As safety is a concern at LAS, I'll urge you to be careful with putting anything around an actor's neck.
I suggest you cut away a good sized hunk of these and replace it with a cured piece of latex or sewing elastic. Use the black ties for more contrast against the skin and ease of blending a substitute stretchy center. If you use them the way I suggest, you won't really be able to see the substituted center.
For shots of the cable tie in the killer's hands, or shown as he lunges at a victim, the real deal is ok. Once you have the cable going around the neck of the victim, switch to one gaffed up to be safe.
If you are at all skilled with molding and casting, you could make duplicate ties out of pre-colored black liquid latex.
Not the only solutions, just what comes to mind.
Above all, don't rely on the attacking actor being "careful" - at worst the victim actor could be harmed, at best he'll get ticked off and quit on you - never a good thing. We ask a lot of actors, but take care of them, we can't make movies of empty sets! 
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Jeff F - Moderator
Magic and FX
Amazing the Masses
Was it Romeo must Die that had the killer cable tie scene? That was wonderful...
arg. cable ties. i knew they were called that. anyways, thanks guys. Jeff, I'm going to go with the elasic. I think I can get it to look pretty good. Thanks guys.
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"I can't wait to bag me a deergoose!"
-John Leguizamo
The Pest
"Why would you ever talk?"
-Random
Where I work we call them zip-ties. Same thing, though
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Andrew Simpson
Big Hurt Productions
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