In films how do they make spider web?

Question

In films like in *Indiana Jones* and *National Treasure* old temples, caves etc. have spider webs all over the place. Assuming that these aren't real spider webs, how do they make these fake ones?(I'm not talking about **Spider-Man**'s web.)

Answer 1

Depending on the time period the film was made the spiderweb "effect" could have been made in three main ways.

Originally they were made using a special - usually home made by the effects artist or set dresser - device that you put on a drill. It was basically a small pot of rubber cement glue with a small hole, and a "small" set of fan blades. When the drill is turned on it span out fine threads of glue that dried in the air before settling on whatever objects you aimed the drill at.

The second option, I am not sure when this took over, but it was/is to use a special type of cotton fluff. It is the same stuff that you can find as Halloween deoration literally everywhere around halloween. It is very loose and fiberous, you just pull it apart and stretch it over things. It is safer and probably less toxic(?) than the rubber cement method, but has to be stretched properly - most people don't and it just looks lumpy.

Finally the third method that I am aware of is using a hot glue gun and an air hose. You can actually buy specially modified "web guns" that have the air hose and glue gun built into one unit. By blowing a strong stream of air infront of the hot glue tip it causes a very fine strand of melted glue to fly out and land on things similar to the original rubber cement method.

The cottom method is probably the cheapest and safest. You only need the web material, some time, and patience. The other methods require specialised equipment, specific materials which would be more expensive, and both of which can be potentially dangerous in certain situations - mostly burning or fire hazards.

I hope this helps, if you have any other questions please let me know!