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An air bladder effect, or simply a bladder effect, is a special effect created for motion pictures. The effect employs plastic or latex balloons—known as "bladders"—which are concealed beneath the surface of foam latex or similar prosthetics. Attached to the bladders is a system of tubing that allows them to be inflated. When the bladders are inflated underneath the prosthetics (often skin prosthetics), it results in the prosthetics appearing to shift, bubble, swell, or pulsate.

History

During the production of the 1973 film The Exorcist, make-up artist Dick Smith used trichloroethane, a liquid, to achieve the effect of welt-like letters being raised on a foam latex stomach. He went on to develop and refine air bladder effects for the 1980 film Altered States, which depicts lumps rippling beneath a character's skin. Smith continued to implement air bladder effects in other films, including Scanners (1981) and Spasms (1983).

Rick Baker, who worked as Smith's assistant on The Exorcist, made use of air bladder effects in combination with other mechanisms when creating a werewolf transformation sequence used in An American Werewolf in London (1981). Baker and his protégé, Rob Bottin, also incorporated air bladder effects for a werewolf transformation in The Howling, also released in 1981. Bottin again made use of air bladder effects for his work on The Thing (1982). Other films which employ bladder effects include The Beast Within (1982) and Uninvited (1987).

References

1. "How to Make FX Air Bladders". Stan Winston School of Character Arts. August 25, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
2. ^ Palmer, Anthony (July 15, 2018). "Horror's Lost Art: A brief history of air bladder effects in horror films". 1428Elm.com. FanSided. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
3. ^ Kehoe, Vincent (1991). Special Make-Up Effects. Focal Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0240800998.
4. ^ Fox, Jordan R. (1990). Clarke, Frederick S. (ed.). "Rob Bottin's makeup is the star". Cinefantastique. Vol. 10–12. p. 4. Dick Smith came to the rescue, when he told Baker about the technological breakthrough he had achieved for Altered States with inflatable bladder effects Baker decided to try the technique for The Howling, and he and Bottin set about filming a makeup test
5. Keil, Charlie; Whissel, Kristen, eds. (2016). Editing and Special/Visual Effects. Rutgers University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0813570815.
6. ^ Edwards, Matthew, ed. (2007). Film Out of Bounds: Essays and Interviews on Non-Mainstream Cinema Worldwide. McFarland & Company. p. 13. ISBN 978-0786429707.
7. Navarro, Meagan (November 13, 2018). "[It Came From the '80s] Horror Classic 'The Howling' Transformed the Werewolf Sub-genre". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
8. Mandell, Paul (1990). Clarke, Frederick S. (ed.). "Change-o effects cannot mask this derivative horror stink-o". Cinefantastique. Vol. 10–12. p. 83. Jumping on the bandwagon of on-camera bladder effects and change-o mechanisms, special makeup artist Tom Burman manages to outdo anything seen before.
9. Stine, Scott Aaron (2003). The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s. McFarland & Company. p. 303. ISBN 978-0786415328.

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