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Making an actress look pregnant...


Rob.m.Neilson

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I've got a short scene in a short film I have coming up with a pregnant woman.

Now most of the time I have seen pregnant women in shorts it never really looks all that real.

 

I'm doing this on a super low budget so I dont want to spend too much $$ for what is essential one shot.

SHould I just roll up a bunch of clothes, or perhaps fill a baloon with water and gaff tape it around her torso??

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I've got a short scene in a short film I have coming up with a pregnant woman.

Now most of the time I have seen pregnant women in shorts it never really looks all that real.

 

I'm doing this on a super low budget so I dont want to spend too much $$ for what is essential one shot.

SHould I just roll up a bunch of clothes, or perhaps fill a baloon with water and gaff tape it around her torso??

 

 

How much time do you have before you have to shoot the scene? B)

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I've got a short scene in a short film I have coming up with a pregnant woman.

Now most of the time I have seen pregnant women in shorts it never really looks all that real.

You might be able to mold a pretty good preggers prosthetic from the foam that heating and air conditioning people use to seal holes around pipes and ducts. It's cheap enough to be worth a try. It does setup hard so make certain the back side is shaped to be a comfortable fit for the actress.

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You might be able to mold a pretty good preggers prosthetic from the foam that heating and air conditioning people use to seal holes around pipes and ducts. It's cheap enough to be worth a try. It does setup hard so make certain the back side is shaped to be a comfortable fit for the actress.

 

Thanks Hal, thats actually a really good idea. I can buy some bulk foam from Chinatown and shave it to fit the actress. I only need to sell the pregnancy for the master shot so that might do the trick!

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Thanks Hal, thats actually a really good idea. I can buy some bulk foam from Chinatown and shave it to fit the actress. I only need to sell the pregnancy for the master shot so that might do the trick!

An afterthought, don't worry about making it heavy, if it's supposed to mimic late pregnancy you want it to force the actress to have the "look" - leaning back and waddling when she walks. :D

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First you tell her you're a producer and you're looking for an girl to do this really great par.....oh wait a minute that's how you get an actress pregnant. If you only want her to look pregnant, they make a thing called a pregnant pillow which is used a lot in theatrical productions. It's kinda like a muscle suit only with no muscles but enlarged brests and a padded "belly" in the appropriate position. If you want to show her swollen belly, go with a foam latex appliance. B)

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I'm not sure if this will work as well as the foam idea above, but I ocne needed a pregnant teenager in my film, and I used a large salad bowl, with the bottom facing out. With a bit of padding and tape I completely surprised myself how fitting and realsitic it actually looked. :lol:

 

Good luck!

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Guest Tim Partridge

I prepped a short film a few years ago (funding cut last minute) with the lead actress playing a pregnant woman. We got in touch with a local clinic that had a birth awareness program, where they had a special pregnancy simulator apron that can be worn underneath clothes. We had it all booked out free of charge, they didn't seem to think it was of any worth!

 

Definitely try asking some local community organisation that specialises in birth control and such. You can get it free that way, plus it weighs a ton (although the weight can be altered) and will guarantee a convincing performance.

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First you tell her you're a producer and you're looking for an girl to do this really great par.....oh wait a minute that's how you get an actress pregnant. If you only want her to look pregnant, they make a thing called a pregnant pillow which is used a lot in theatrical productions. It's kinda like a muscle suit only with no muscles but enlarged brests and a padded "belly" in the appropriate position. If you want to show her swollen belly, go with a foam latex appliance. B)

 

The Captain's right about the breasts being bigger.

 

I was thinking her face should be a bit fatter too, maybe bags under the eyes.

She should look very exhasted.

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  • 2 weeks later...
SHould I just roll up a bunch of clothes, or perhaps fill a baloon with water and gaff tape it around her torso??

I was once on a commercial shoot where they made the woman look pregnant by having her wear a folded-up apron filled with ordinary party balloons quart-er filled with water. The apron was pinned up with safety pins and worn under a normal pregnant mother's dress.

 

This is better than foam filling contraptions, because a pregnant belly is mostly filled with water and is quite heavy. I think a single balloon probably would not look as effective as a lot of smaller ones, and it would be an embarrassment if it broke in the middle of a take :)

 

(Although it might add realism to the scene!)

 

You face a severe crisis here. If you are making this short to demonstrate your "special effects" ability, obviously you want people to say: "Wow! She really looks pregnant!" But you don't to do too much of a good job, else they will just assume she actually is :D

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