It’s true that a lot of what happens on True Blood is because of special effects. But the special effects team do their homework before digitally configuring anything. Thanks to Wetpaint, we’ve now got a solid understanding as to how these fangs actually work. Jon Massey, Visual FX Supervisor of True Blood’s special effects team at Zoic Studio, says that the physical aspects of vampire teeth were based on rattlesnake fangs, so much so that the team worked closely with a wild animal trainer. Creator Alan Ball goes on to explain:
“We created fangs that actually lie flat along the roof of the mouth and than click into place when a vampire is in danger or aroused or ready to feed, much like a rattlesnake’s fangs click into place. We actually created a model of teeth with showing how the fangs click in and click out. And we put the fangs not with the forefront teeth between them but with only two because it worked better for the physiology. I like that because it looks different and it’s not like the classic thing and there is a sound that it makes when they click, like a weapon being loaded. It really works well for the show.”
Massey concluded:
“If you watch the show, you may never actually know they are retracting or extending their fangs in an arc with their real teeth going up inside their mouth. We built it so that it is subtle and viewers may never notice it, because it looks really natural. It’s all done digitally, there’s nothing practical about the effect … The actors don’t have the fangs in when they are performing so they need to really think about the process and practical jaw movement when it’s happening in the scene.”
It can’t be easy trying to master your fangs popping out without actually having any fangs in your mouth, but the True Blood vamps definitely make it look natural. We’re sure there will be lots of fang popping in tonight’s season 4 finale, And When I Die!
Source: Wetpaint – How Do True Blood Vampire Fangs Work?
Photo Credit: HBO
