Production Designer // Art Director // Editor
Props and Model Making
As a little girl, I loved making and building things; from den's to potions. I've always enjoyed DIY, fixing things and making personalised decorations and gifts. Therefore, when prop building projects came up during my studies at University, I was immediately excited and keen to get stuck in.
One of the projects included building a box from set recycled wood materials. The box had to be based on a box featured in a literature script/television/theatre show that was set between 1500 and 1950.
I chose to base my box on a box of chocolate that was featured in an episode of 'Agatha Christie's Poirot. This particular episode was set in the 1940's, where Poirot was a young policeman agrees to investigate the death of rising young politician, Paul Deroulard. Poirot proved that Deroulard had been poisoned from a box of chocolates he had been given by an aristocrat, Xavier St. Alard.
As I was not allowed to make the box smaller to suit the look of a box of chocolates, I chose to build on top of the set frame, thus making the box bigger. Therefore, the chocolate truffles inside (made from modelling clay) were also enlarged. This project taught me basic woodwork skills, how to use tools safely and efficiently, along with how to solve problems when making props of this kind. I felt that this project came naturally to me, and I enjoyed the challenge I took on by using materials I was unfamiliar with.
Other assignments including designing models of sets. I learnt how to compose technical drawings (floor plans) using a multi-scale ruler, and then transforming these drawings into a scale model of a set.
Again, the brief for this assignment included a guideline that we had to produce a scale model set based on a television programme or film set in the 1900's - 1990's. I chose to focus my model on a Canadian television programme called 'Bomb Girls', which is set in 1941. The plot displays the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II. My particular scale model was based on the bedroom of one of the bomb girls called Kate Andrews. Kate is a religious Christian on the run from her abusive father. She has a shy and closed off personality, who comes out of her shell when she sings. She is hugely inspired by Billy Holiday and other jazz musicians and singers.
It was imperative that these characteristics were clearly identifiable in my scale model of her room; whilst still resembling the room featured in the programme.
Although it is not my most fond of piece of work, given that it was the first attempt at model making, and considering that all of the materials use had to be recycled ones, I think I gave it a fair shot and it's definitely something that I would like another go at.