Watch: Why Mixing Practical Effects, VFX, and Bullets is a Great Idea

Some of you might remember the Film Riot video we covered last week on how to pull off a "Wolverine healing effect." Host Ryan Connolly walked you through the entire process of designing the makeup, creating unique assets, and working some magic in post. Now, he and his team have decided to take this technique a step further by adding an element of practicality.

For the below video, the Film Riot crew mixes practical and visual effects to shoot a scene in which Josh Connolly pushes a bullet out of a gunshot wound on his forehead before healing himself like good ol' Wolverine. 

Many of us would take one look at all of the work that went into using that single Play-Doh bullet and go, "Why not just use a bullet asset in post?"

True, you could. However, as a huge fan of practical effects, I admire the fact that Film Riot chose that route. To my eye, it looks more realistic, because, like in the previous video, they created a unique asset from the bullet wound makeup, only this time they added a falling bullet made out of the second-most horrible children's craft material (the first obviously being glitter).

Including practical effects helps mask the fact that you're also working with visual effects. It's kind of like hiding your dog's medication in a huge glob of peanut butter: it's so tasty, they won't even know they're being protected against heartworm disease. Everyone wins!

Source: Film Riot