A New idea for quicksand producers...

[TK421]

I dunno, that's still a pretty steep price tag no matter which way you draw it out. I would think this option would be cheaper and possibly easier to aquire. Also, they do make a clear version. My bet is it would be awesome for maybe a vat idea but for anything large scale it would not be so practical.

Also to answer someone's question, they would absorb (to a limited exent) some dyes if you used a food coloring but that means any excess could stain skin or clothes.

http://jellowrestlingsupply.com/buy-now

Without knowing the actual size of the pool described in the spitballs ad, a direct comparison is pretty much impossible. A calculation is possible, however, if we accept its dependence on an assumption or two. The advertisement described a "backyard pool". Let's assume that the pool was 4 feet deep and 24 feet in diameter. The volume of such a pool is roughly 12500 gallons, which is roughly 5 times the volume of the largest pit at Studio 588 (which is the old and no longer used cork pit). If everything else remains the same, AND IF THE ASSUMPTION IS CORRECT, the cost to fill the Studio pit with spitballs would project to $20,000.00 (US). That would be on the order of 15 to 18 times what it originally cost to fill that pit with cork to a depth of 2 feet. (Because cork floats it does not have to be filled all the way to the bottom - we cannot tell if that might be so with the spitballs, but I doubt it).

Perhaps the materials might be available in bulk at, say, half the retail price. If so, the cost for a pit is still in the 10k range.

I'm willing to make the above-mentioned pit available but not to spend that kind of money myself.

A simple computation:

1 pool of these things, according to the ad = 10,000,000 balls

1 package of the same = 1250 balls

Price of 1 package = $10.00 (US)

Number of packages to fill the pool = 10,000.

Therefore, the cost to fill the pool = $100,000.00 (US)

That's a lot!

How does that compare with the cost of other quicksands made by other producers, in terms of clay or peat or sand or whatever magic secret ingrediants bleck is made from?

[Beast260]

In the Behind the scene's, 1 of the girls says its like quicksand... wonder how she knows...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duzdEKG1ee4

[Duncan Edwards]

How does that compare with the cost of other quicksands made by other producers, in terms of clay or peat or sand or whatever magic secret ingrediants bleck is made from?

Beyond the cost of materials, which I think Fred has provided a reasonable guesstimate of, it's just an almighty amount of work both organizational and physical to stage stuff like that. A single middle aged guy, which could be any of the producers, has to just about kill himself to do something different. Putting all of that together in a suitable venue and then cleaning it up is worse than just the cost of whatever the substance is. That sort of thing doesn't get discussed much but it's as big or bigger a reason for not getting overly adventurous.

[tanya_wam]

How does that compare with the cost of other quicksands made by other producers, in terms of clay or peat or sand or whatever magic secret ingrediants bleck is made from?

Beyond the cost of materials, which I think Fred has provided a reasonable guesstimate of, it's just an almighty amount of work both organizational and physical to stage stuff like that. A single middle aged guy, which could be any of the producers, has to just about kill himself to do something different. Putting all of that together in a suitable venue and then cleaning it up is worse than just the cost of whatever the substance is. That sort of thing doesn't get discussed much but it's as big or bigger a reason for not getting overly adventurous.

I can appreciate that, having spent about £100 over a good few months on a thick play goo (£1 a small pot in a local £1 shops) just to fill two containers slightly larger than shoeboxes to put my feet in, to get an idea of what quicksand would feel like!

It always gets me now, when I see people suggest, 'Why don't you do such and such?' that the time and cost must be immense, even if this is offset in some ways be shooting videos you sell, which again must be another outlay for models and cameras and presumably some way of editing them and what have you...

I mean, I thought it would be a lot but Fred's guesstimate was pretty mind-blowing!

[Fred588]

How does that compare with the cost of other quicksands made by other producers, in terms of clay or peat or sand or whatever magic secret ingrediants bleck is made from?

Beyond the cost of materials, which I think Fred has provided a reasonable guesstimate of, it's just an almighty amount of work both organizational and physical to stage stuff like that. A single middle aged guy, which could be any of the producers, has to just about kill himself to do something different. Putting all of that together in a suitable venue and then cleaning it up is worse than just the cost of whatever the substance is. That sort of thing doesn't get discussed much but it's as big or bigger a reason for not getting overly adventurous.

I can appreciate, having spent about £100 over a good few months on a thick play goo (£1 a small pot in a local £1 shops) just to fill two containers slightly larger than shoeboxes to put my feet in, to get an idea of what quicksand would feel like!

It always gets me now, when I see people suggest, 'Why don't you do such and such?' that the time and cost must be immense, even if this is offset in some ways be shooting videos you sell, which again must be another outlay for models and cameras and presumably some way of editing them and what have you...

I mean, I thought it would be a lot but Fred's guesstimate was pretty mind-blowing!

This may blow your mind even more but the fact is that the cost of pit construction, as it is presently done, is a small proportion of what video production actually costs. The biggest cost, by far, is the fees paid to the actresses.

[Fred588]

It is my opinion that discussion of such things as possibilities for new pit materials and other things related to making videos is a good thing. I'd like to see more of it. I will comment, however, that I find it interesting that many of the suggestions about what ought to be done come from people who do not appear to actually buy any videos.

[tanya_wam]

It is my opinion that discussion of such things as possibilities for new pit materials and other things related to making videos is a good thing. I'd like to see more of it. I will comment, however, that I find it interesting that many of the suggestions about what ought to be done come from people who do not appear to actually buy any videos.

Sorry, not laughing at you Fred, just the sheer... I'm not even sure I know the right word for how backwards that is!

[Fred588]

It is my opinion that discussion of such things as possibilities for new pit materials and other things related to making videos is a good thing. I'd like to see more of it. I will comment, however, that I find it interesting that many of the suggestions about what ought to be done come from people who do not appear to actually buy any videos.

Sorry, not laughing at you Fred, just the sheer... I'm not even sure I know the right word for how backwards that is!

My comment was not aimed at you. But I do get all kinds of suggestions such as "you should do scenes with (you name it).

[tanya_wam]

It is my opinion that discussion of such things as possibilities for new pit materials and other things related to making videos is a good thing. I'd like to see more of it. I will comment, however, that I find it interesting that many of the suggestions about what ought to be done come from people who do not appear to actually buy any videos.

Sorry, not laughing at you Fred, just the sheer... I'm not even sure I know the right word for how backwards that is!

My comment was not aimed at you. But I do get all kinds of suggestions such as "you should do scenes with (you name it).

Oh I know.

[nachtjaeger]

For comparison (not counting the water cost): {My apologies: too tired/lazy to think in Metric today}

To fill the theoretical 12,500 gallon pool with clay at seven pounds of clay per 100 pounds (12.5 gallons) of would cost about $7,000 US.

Peat at 1 cubic foot of peat (uncompressed) to 1 gallon (~1 CF) of water would cost about $2,200 US.

Now, buy a nice 500 gallon open-top plastic storage tank (52"' diameter, 60" tall) for $350 US, and the respective costs to fill it would be $280 and $88. Less, actually, since one would have to subtract ones' own volume (and possibly the volume of a partner) so that the tank wouldn't overflow when occupied.
If one owns a home with a back yard, or rents one and the landlord has no objection to you doing a bit of gardening, one can simply dig a hole of appropriate depth, line it with a plastic sheet, and fill with whatever medium one desires. Sometimes just screening the stones out of the natural soil will result in an acceptable mud. Note: digging into a gas main or telephone cable can be quite expensive, and is generally frowned upon by one's neighbors.

A simple computation:

1 pool of these things, according to the ad = 10,000,000 balls

1 package of the same = 1250 balls

Price of 1 package = $10.00 (US)

Number of packages to fill the pool = 10,000.

Therefore, the cost to fill the pool = $100,000.00 (US)

That's a lot!

How does that compare with the cost of other quicksands made by other producers, in terms of clay or peat or sand or whatever magic secret ingrediants bleck is made from?