Creating Our Props! Featuring: The Detective Board

     Going into this we both had a pretty clear idea of how we wanted the board to look and what elements we were set on incorporating into the final product, since we would need to use it for two different purposes. 

    First, we used it only for the credit sequence shots which were super fun to film, and then we had to take all of that off so we could get started on the actual board. We started by cutting out the images we wanted to use for the transitions since we intend to zoom into these images and almost "teleport" into these moments. While I cut them out, my partner started looking for what we wanted to include in the board to make it feel more realistic. So, she quickly started writing down call times, blood types, and other random information. 

    We also decided we wanted to have evidence from the crime scenes, so we went out and got some leaves and decided we would figure out some way to include them to where they looked essential to the investigation.

Recipe for Blood:

1/4 cup maple syrup (depends on quantity you want)

1 tbs red food coloring

1/2 tbs green food coloring

1 tsp instant coffee

Directions

    First add in maple syrup and make sure it is very liquidly. Right after, add in the red and make sure it is dark. Following that, add in the green and mix thoroughly, recommended use of popsicle stick. Once the mixture is smooth incorporate the coffee slowly making sure there are no lumps left. After getting general mixture adjust according to your personal preference!

    

    As soon as we finished our mixture, we started testing the blood out. We took sheets of paper and started dipping our thumbs into the mix and stamping them. We quickly noticed we weren't getting the results we wanted and so we had to change our strategy. First, we tried evenly coating our fingers to get a more even result, but it kept on coming out splotchy which is when we decided to stamp our fingers more gently which certainly helped. 

    Ultimately, we found that stamping our fingers first on a piece of scrap paper and then on where we actually wanted them gave us the best results and so it is what we did. From there we started stamping them in pairs and in different sizes to represent different characters who would have died at the hand of the monster and therefore were key pieces of evidence in the investigation.

Now that we had all the elements completed all that was left was putting everything together. When it came to choosing our yarn color, we originally thought to use red because it's the first color that came to mind when we thought about detective boards but after reverting to our color theory notes we thought it would be much smarter to use purple since it represents mystery and curiosity in essence representing problem solving. Then we labeled our fingerprints and smeared blood on Amber's missing person poster, as well as crossed out the word missing in blood to constitute death instead. Overall it took us around 2 hours to create the board but I am pleased to say I have never been more proud of anything in my life.