Excellent advice, Gonzo.
Where did you end up getting your props? Where is a
good place to get what TrueImage needs in roughly
your areas?
Well, fake blood I made, in recent film shot black and white, so just chocolate syrup. As far as knives and guns, I did use a knife, I used a real one though. Used editing so you never see it touch the actor, only moving toward and aftermath.
Mine was much more costuming. I had medical stuff (old school nurse dresses with little white hats, lab coats, etc..) police uniforms, the above mentioned knife is a knapped stone blade, etc... I spent endless hours scouring the internet looking for the best price over the course of many weeks.
Police uniform example...
Found black work shoes and black pants at thrift store
Found a uniform site that had polyester old school light blue with black pocket flap cop shirts for $6.99 each. Found Handcuffs on ebay, 2 pair for $20. Found cuff holders, batons, and baton holder on a security guard uniform site for maybe $40 total. A friend had several sets of patches they just gave me. I found a couple cheap belts at a department store. In the end I got two complete police uniforms for maybe $120 total. If 5 days before the shoot I had tried to put together 2 cop uniforms it would have cost a ton, or they would have looked like crap.
The same rule as always. Time = Money
Money can fix a shortage of time, time can fix a shortage of money,