I finally faked a broken window prop with nothing but sugar and a heat gun

Was stuck on a low-budget short in Portland because real glass shards are a hazard and the fake candy glass kits cost $50, so I crushed up plain granulated sugar between two baking sheets, hit it with the heat gun for about 4 minutes, and got shatter pieces that looked legit on camera for under $3 total, has anyone else tried random pantry stuff for breakaway props?

3 comments

3 Comments

david8211mo ago

Honestly, nobody's bringing up that sugar shatters way cleaner than corn syrup glass and doesn't get that weird sticky residue everywhere when the scene cuts. Tbh, you could probably tint it with a little food coloring gel before crushing for colored glass effects like broken bottles or car windows. Ngl, this trick might even work better than the expensive kits since sugar melts at a lower temp and gives you more control over thickness.

noahs821mo ago

Accidentally ate a chunk of my "stunt glass" prop last week thinking it was a jolly rancher. So yeah, can confirm it definitely shatters cleaner than that sticky corn syrup garbage. I tried the food coloring trick with a dark amber for a beer bottle scene and it actually gave this nice transparent tint without gumming up the sugar when it cooled. Just gotta crush it right before the take or it starts attracting every ant in a 5 mile radius to the set.

piper17519d ago

Watched a buddy try the corn syrup route once for a short film. Spent three hours scraping sticky goo off the floor after one take. Sugar glass is way less of a headache to clean up and you don't have to worry about it attracting bugs if you just crush it right before the shot. The food coloring trick is solid too just don't go too heavy or it'll look fake on camera. Honestly surprised more people don't just stick with plain sugar glass for beer bottles and windows.