All posts by Eric Hart

Useful Sites

Friday Link Roundup

I came across this website called Gremlins in the Garage. It’s an older site; most of the articles are from the late 1990s. It deals with “kits”, which are sculpted busts or figures from mainly horror and sci-fi films that collectors buy and paint. It has some interesting interviews with movie monster makers though, and some how-to articles, like this one on getting started with sculpting.

Speaking of interviews with movie monster makers, here is an interview with makeup effects designer Mike Elizalde when he was working on Hellboy 2.

In “Bringing Xiphactinus Back to Life” we see a prehistoric fish being sculpted, cast and painted by museum exhibit designers (or, as I call them, “science prop makers”). The video is a bit over 6 minutes, but well worth a watch.

As if e-cigarettes aren’t already getting a bad rap, news came out yesterday that one exploded in a smoker’s mouth. Details remain scant at this point, though the article suggests this particular e-cigarette was specially modified by the smoker. I’ve never heard of any exploding before, and industry statistics say 2.5 million Americans use them on a regular basis. Cell phones explode more often.

If you saw the film, The Help, you know how important the food was to the characters, setting and plot: everything from fried chicken to an, ahem, chocolate pie. Variety has a brief article about Chris Ubick, the film’s “food stylist”.

Features, Showcases

Wesley’s Wicked Props Collection

Earlier this week, I headed down past Raleigh to tour the amazing film prop collection of Wesley Cannon. I first read about him in an article in the Raleigh News Observer; I realized it was only a few hours away, so I couldn’t pass up a chance to see some well-known props right in my own backyard. Wesley has been collecting props, costumes and puppets/animatronics for about a dozen years. In that time he has amassed a truly remarkable assortment of well-known (and some not-so-well-known) objects and items. In fact, some of his better pieces are currently on loan to several museums around the world.

A Gremlin
One of the Gremlin puppets from the 1984 film.

Besides what I have pictured here, he had a Mandrake root and several wands from the Harry Potter films, two pods from the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, many costumes from Silent Hill, even more costumes and props from Thirteen Ghosts, Wolverine’s claws, Samuel Jackson’s lightsaber from Star Wars, one of Jason’s masks from Friday the 13th, one of Freddy Krueger’s sweaters from A Nightmare on Elm Street, a monster from Feast, Jennifer Lopez’s costume from The Cell, a goblin sword from Labyrinth, lots of figures from The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, and so many other pieces from films that would take too long to list here.

Seeing stone eye glass
A "seeing stone" eye glass from the film "The Spiderwick Chronicles".

Wesley has a bunch of mannequin displays of characters from several films. What is truly amazing about these is that they combine the latex prosthetics and makeup appliances, the costumes, and some of the hand props. These elements are not just made by different people, but in many cases by completely different shops and companies, so after the film, they often scatter back to their points of origin. It makes it especially remarkable that Wesley was able to track down and reassemble so many disparate parts back into what they looked like on film.

Planet of the Apes
Bodysuit and helmet from the 2001 "Planet of the Apes"

The room itself was customized by Tom Spina Designs; they also repaired and refurbished some of the older props which had fallen into disrepair. You can see a lot of photographs of the displays they created as well as some process shots of them working on the room.

The Tree of Death
One branch from the Tree of Death from the film "300".

There is an episode of Hollywood Treasure in which they visit Wesley’s collection on YouTube (for now). Wesley also runs a company called Hollywood History in which he sells movie props, costumes and other memorabilia. He was interviewed about his company by Dan Benton of the Prop Blog a few years ago.

Useful Sites

Friday Props Links Roundup

The Guardian has a nice little article on How to Make a Haunted House. It details how the set dresser, prop master and other members of the art department use locations, architecture and props to create the mood of the upcoming ghost film, The Woman in Black. They purchased and borrowed tons (or “tonnes”, as this is a British film) of Victorian-era objects and paraphernalia to dress the sets.

Have you heard of the new show Prop Freaks? Because it’s a TV show about people who make and collect props. Well, it’s a show in development; you can watch short clips on the website until it finds an audience. But it looks pretty cool, and I can’t wait to see more.

Here is an interview with Russell Bobbitt on how he uses 3D printing technology to create many of his props. Russell Bobbitt is the film prop master who has made some fairly recognizable props, such as the glowing chest piece from Iron Man 2, or the wristband laser gun from Cowboys and Aliens.

Here is an interesting video on using a vacuum former to make masks. There’s a few things that make this especially intriguing: his rig is portable so he is able to take it to an event where other people can vacuum form their own masks, and he uses a bicycle pump to draw out the air rather than a vacuum cleaner. Also, the music playing in the background is a Nintendo beat version of MOP’s “Ante Up” with computers rapping (done by an artist named “Danny Drive Thru”), so that alone makes this worth watching.

While not prop-related, this last link is pretty fun. Watch this time-lapse video of stagehands from IATSE local 33 set up the orchestra pit at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It’s a pretty ambitious sounding project too; over 1,000 musicians will perform.

Reprints

Daggers and Poniards of the Christian Middle Ages

I’ve previously shown illustrations and descriptions of Ancient Egyptian weapons,  Ancient Greek helmets and weapons, and Ancient Roman weapons. Here are some daggers and poniards from the Christian Middle Ages.

Daggers and Poniards of the Christian Middle Ages

  1. British cutlass, tenth century. It bears on the blade the names “Edwardus,” and “prins agile.” It is attributed to Edward II.
  2. Iron dagger, about a foot long, thirteenth century.
  3. Iron dagger, thirteenth century. Blade measures about 12 inches, and the haft about 5 inches.
  4. Iron poniard, probably Scottish, fourteenth century.
  5. Same as above.
  6. Poniard, beginning of the fourteenth century.
  7. Iron dagger, about 14 inches long, beginning of the fourteenth century. The haft is very long.
  8. Iron dagger, about 19 1/2 inches long, end of the fourteenth century.
  9. Iron dagger, 14 1/2 inches long, end of the fourteenth century. The handle is of carved bone.
  10. Iron dagger, end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century.
  11. Poniard, end of the fourteenth century.
  12. Dagger, fifteenth century.
  13. Scottish dagger, about 14 1/2 inches long, wooden handle, fifteenth century.
  14. Dagger with single thumb ring, about 16 inches long, fifteenth century.
  15. Dagger with double thumb ring, sixteenth century. The two rings were placed there to fix the dagger on a shaft, or at the end of a lance, to resist cavalry.
  16. Dagger, anelace, or Verona dagger, fifteenth century.
  17. Dagger, anelace, fifteenth century.
  18. Dagger, fifteenth century.
  19. Dagger of a German lansquenet, sixteenth century, about 14 inches long. Polished steel sheath.
  20. Dagger of German lansquenet, sixteenth century.
  21. Main gauche, Spanish, with the inscription “Viva Felipe V.,” which shows that this weapon was in use in the year 1701.
  22. Stiletto (Spitzdolch), about 12 inches long, end of the sixteenth century. In Germany these weapons were also called Panzerbrecher, or cuirass-breaker.
  23. Dagger, Swiss, sixteenth century. These daggers are often provided with small knives, which served to cut the thongs of the armour, to pierce holes, and for various purposes.
  24. Dagger, German, sixteenth century.
  25. Poniard, German, with wavy blade, very short and broad.
  26. Poniard, German, sixteenth century. The guard has four quillons.
  27. Main gauche, sixteenth century.
  28. Main gauche, German, sixteenth century.
  29. Main gauche, German, about 20 inches long, sixteenth century. Engraved handle.
  30. Main gauche, German, with indented blade for breaking the enemy’s sword; thumb ring, and quillons curved in inverse directions; sixteenth century.
  31. Main gauche, German, with indented blade for breaking swords, sixteenth century.
  32. Close-up of indented blade of previous dagger.
  33. Large German brise-épée, sixteenth century.
  34. Close-up of indented blade of previous dagger.
  35. Poniard, German, sixteenth century.
  36. Large main gauche, German, with indented quillons, and grated guard as sword-breaker, seventeenth century. It measures about 25 by 10 inches.
  37. Stiletto, German, called Panzerbrecher, or cuirass-breaker, about 12 inches long, sixteenth century.
  38. Poniard, about 10 inches long, richly studded with precious stones. This weapon belonged to Sobieski, King of Poland.
  39. Poniard, German, called Panzerbrecher. The numbers on the blade probably used for measuring the bore of cannons.

The illustrations and descriptions have been taken from An Illustrated History of Arms and Armour: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, by Auguste Demmin, and translated by Charles Christopher Black. Published in 1894 by George Bell.