The effects were excessively violent because Verhoeven believed that made scenes funnier. He likened the brutality of Murphy's death to the Crucifixion of Jesus, which offered an efficient method of engendering sympathy for Murphy because the audience did not get to know him well beforehand. The scene was filmed at an abandoned auto assembly plant in Long Beach, California, on a raised stage that allowed operators to control the effects from below. To show Murphy being dismantled by gunfire, prosthetic arms were cast in alginate and filled with tubing that could pump artificial blood and compressed air. Attached to Weller's shoulders by velcro, the left hand was manufactured to explode in a predictable way and was controlled by three operators. The right arm was jerked away from Weller's body by a monofilament wire. A detailed, articulated replica of Weller's upper body was used to depict Boddicker shooting Murphy through the head. A mold of Weller's face was made, using foam latex that was baked to make it rubbery and flesh-like and placed over a fiberglass skull containing a squib and explosive charge. The articulated head was controlled by four puppeteers and had details of sweat and blood. A fan motor attached to the body made it vibrate as if shaking with fear. The charge in the skull was connected by wire to the trigger of Smith's gun to synchronize the effect.