You have a weekend, a location you are borrowing, and a director's list that says "blood, broken glass, atmosphere." This is what that actually costs, using real prices from our shelf in Toronto.

We supply special effects to productions across the GTA, from network episodics down to student shorts. The questions from a short film team are always the same three: how much blood is enough, what breaks safely on camera, and can we get atmosphere without renting a machine we cannot afford. Here are the answers.

Blood: buy more than you think, in fewer types

The single most common mistake on a low budget shoot is buying four specialty bloods and running out of the main one. Buy one good general blood in volume and one mouth-safe blood, and stop there.

• First Blood Movie Blood, 1 gallon: $125. This is your workhorse. It photographs correctly under tungsten and LED, and a gallon covers a short with room to spare.
• First Blood Mouth Blood, 473 ml: $50. Anything going in or near an actor's mouth. Do not improvise this one.

If you are shooting a sustained bleed, a practical rig, or multiple takes of the same gag, step up to the 5 gallon at $500. It is cheaper per litre and you will not stop to re-source mid day.

One practical note. Blood stains. Budget for the location as much as for the product, and lay down more protection than feels necessary.

Breakaway: pick the shot, then pick the piece

Breakaway is where short films overspend. You do not need a catalogue, you need the two or three objects that are actually in frame.

• Drinking glass, D5, 14 oz: $32
• Coffee mug, D9: $30
• Wine glass, D1: $45
• Beer bottle, brown, A5: $30
• Glass sheet: $70
• Glass shards, 3 lb: $150
• Rubber glass, 3 lb: $250
• Grey foam bricks: $150

Buy two of anything that has to break on camera. Takes go wrong, and a second unit of the same piece costs less than losing the afternoon.

Shards and rubber glass are for dressing the aftermath, not for the break itself. Rubber glass is what you use when something lands near a performer.

Atmosphere: the part people get wrong

Horror lives on atmosphere, and this is where a short either looks like a film or looks like a video. You have two routes.

Without a machine. Coloured smoke gives you a burst, not a haze. EG25 coloured smoke is $20 a can and white reads best for horror. Three cans is $60 and covers a few exterior or doorway moments. It is not a substitute for a fogger and it will not fill a room evenly.

With a machine. A Look Solutions Viper S is $1,900 and it is the smallest machine we would put on a professional short. Fluid is the ongoing cost: Regular Fog at $100 for 5 L or $320 for 20 L.

If the budget will not carry a machine purchase, this is the moment to call us rather than order online. Machine availability moves week to week and we can tell you what is on the floor.

Dirt, dust and ash

Atmosphere is not just fog. Half of what makes a horror frame feel real is particulate.

• Movie Dust: $100. The one everyone forgets and everyone needs.
• Bio-Ash, black fine: $220. For fire aftermath and anything that has burned.
• Zircon Zircs dust hits: $160. Non pyrotechnic impact effects, so no licence required. If something needs to be struck on camera, this is how you do it legally without a pyrotechnician.

Three kits, with real totals

Micro budget, $397

Movie blood 1 gallon, mouth blood, one breakaway glass, one breakaway mug, three cans of white EG25, and Movie Dust. This is enough for a contained single location short with one or two effects beats.

Standard short, $1,097

Everything above plus a glass sheet, 3 lb of shards, dust hits, Bio-Ash and 5 L of fog fluid. This is the kit for a short with a real effects sequence in it. You still need a machine.

Ambitious short, $3,317

Everything above plus a Viper S and 20 L of fluid. At this point you own the machine and the fluid is the only recurring cost, which changes the maths if you are shooting more than once.

What to skip

Do not buy specialty bloods you will use once. Do not buy breakaway you have not storyboarded. Do not buy a hazer for a short, you want a fogger. And do not buy pyrotechnic devices unless you have a licensed pyrotechnician on the crew, because in Ontario you cannot legally fire them otherwise.

Come and look at it first

We have a walk in showroom at 333 Bering Ave, Unit 100 in Toronto, open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. If you are spending your entire effects budget in one order, come and handle the product first. Break a piece of glass on the counter. That is what it is there for.

Call 416-487-3211 or email sales@spfxsupply.com and we will help you build the list.