What do you do when a friend asks for 'all hands on deck' to assist in making props for the filming of a short for an environmental NGO? Well, you open up a few bottles of Peroni beer, grab a handful of Quality Street chocolates and chip in for three hours making paper-pinwheel-wind-turbines, tetra-pak buildings and milk carton skyscrapers (glue-guns and Grip-fill are bloody brilliant!). These props will go towards a piece that one of our mates, Rehana Khan, is directing and our good mate, Mimi, has designed. Rehana has also directed a few short films, one of which is called 'Wooden Soul'. It seems to be doing the rounds at UK and US film festivals receiving some positive attention and acclaim.
It was really nice to be involved with this project and it reminded me of the prop-making that I used to do a while back, before I got into other lines of work (Mental Health Admin, Nannying). There's a real camaraderie behind the scenes, amongst the crew, and when you create or find really successful props and see them being used in a stage production or film it's a great feeling.
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3 comments:
Sounds like a lot of fun! I'm off today to visit a studio that teaches mosaic art... Still, prop building sounds so much more communal and energetic. I miss that kind of energy. I think I need to get me some of that communalism... er... again. Or something!
P.S. Love the picture of R the Dog!
That does sound fun. I'd love to have something like that to be involved in.
It's great fun, you're both right. It's also quite stressful to get just the right prop for the designer or prop supervisor. I've been lucky to work on some of the West End productions, either replacing props or making them. One time I had to stuff, address, stamp and close 5,000 envelopes for an opera! Usually, you can get free tickets for the dress rehearsals if you don't get paid. It's a nice way to see a lot of theatre.
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