If you ever need to film blood, do not, I repeat, do not use real blood. Even if a friend of a friend, for reasons unknown, happens to have a jar of blood to donate for this purpose, resist the temptation to use it, however great the desire to be authentic. It turns out that the stench of stale blood is fearsome. In the end, after experimenting with all kinds of off-the-shelf liquids, I discovered a coffee and wine concoction that worked to great effect. I thought at the time how easy it was as an artist to forget the real tragedy of one’s subject matter amidst technical issues, while pushing pixels or playing with flour and red food coloring.

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