Fake blood in the context of Balloon

In filmmaking, a practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques. In some contexts, "special effect" is used as a synonym of "practical effect", in contrast to "visual effects" which are created in post-production through photographic manipulation or computer generation.

Practical effects often use principles from magic tricks, exploiting the camera's single viewpoint to create convincing illusions that may work only from certain angles, or using specially created props designed to achieve the desired effect. These effects require an interdisciplinary skill set, combining artistic craftsmanship with technical expertise in mechanics and engineering to achieve the desired result.

A bullet hit squib or a blood squib is a practical, pyrotechnic special effect device used to simulate the appearance of a person being shot and wounded in films, TV shows and theatre performances. This is achieved by detonating a small explosive hidden in the actor's clothing, bursting open a pre-scored hole and a packet of fake blood to create an aesthetic that filmmakers and audiences alike have become accustomed to associating with a gunshot wound.

The device comprises a squib (a small, tablet-shaped, firecracker-like explosive) with an integrated igniter or glow wire, a pack of simulant (often fake blood), a protective shield and padding attached to the actor's costume. It is connected to a battery and a remote, allowing the squib to be triggered by the actor or a crew member.

Psychic surgery is a medical fraud in which practitioners create the illusion of performing surgery with their bare hands and use sleight of hand, fake blood, and animal parts to convince the patient that diseased lesions have been removed and that the incision has spontaneously healed. The technique may fool the general public, but it can be observed by experienced stage magicians, who use the same sleight of hand techniques for entertainment.

The US Federal Trade Commission described psychic surgery as a "total hoax". It has also been described as fraud, fakery, deceitful, irrational, charlatanry, and quackery. Even supporters have been forced to admit that sleight-of-hand tricks were "widely used" and that charlatans were common and miracles unlikely. Psychic surgery may cause needless death by keeping the ill away from life-saving medical care. Medical professionals and skeptics classify it as sleight of hand and any positive results as a placebo effect.