Tag Archives: Lynda Reiss

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Welcome December. Welcome Prop Links

The Wild Story Behind The ‘Stranger Things’ Upside Down Tunnel Drawings – The excruciating detail which Stranger Things property master Lynda Reiss put into the tunnel drawings in the most recent season is both mind-blowing and inspiring. Guess how many crayons they went through.

Prop Master Jonathan Drover: ‘One is None’ – The props master for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Agency recently answered questions on Twitter, and the BBC has collected the best responses in this article. Find out how he built some of the show’s crazier props and what medium he likes working in the best.

From the Rockie to Reign of Fire: How Dundee pupil Chrissie carved out a career in the movies – Though she dropped out of high school, Chrissie Overs has worked as a prop builder and special effects technician on films such as Aliens, Prometheus, and Reign of Fire.

Robby The Robot Is Now The Most Valuable Movie Prop Sold At Auction – He sold for $5,375,000. If I could sell a prop for that much, I might be able to come under budget for my show. Might.

How NOT to build a HUGE sword prop for cosplay – Cosplayer Otakitty points out all the many mistakes she made while building a giant sword. It’s an interesting twist to the standard tutorial, and a great way to show how prop building is about making choices, and the strength or weakness of those choices are often not apparent until you’re too deep into the project to start over.

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Prop Shop Confidential

More Stranger Things! More Stranger Things! People are in love with the show and want to know more about the props. This week, we have two podcasts that talk with props master Lynda Reiss. First is a short 7:40 interview on CBC Radio. Second is an hour-long episode of Pop Culture Confidential with both Reiss and Shannon Purser, the actress who plays Barb.

Dorothy Thicket has put together this great reference chart for armor materials. It’s handy for all sorts of props, comparing the properties of materials like acrylic, EVA foam, Worbla, and more.

Eugene Lee recently received his 12th Emmy Nomination for Saturday Night Live, which he has been designing sets for since the first episode back in 1975. Crain’s talks with him about his career in TV and on stage.

Variety has a special feature on “Artisans So White”; while a lot of attention is paid to the diversity of directors, actors, and writers on films, the below-the-line craftspeople and technicians remain overwhelmingly white and male. Though this article deals with film, the same trends can be found in theatre. They even include a quote from Clint Ramos, a costume/set designer familiar to many in the theatrical world. It’s a thorny issue to deal with, and part of the problem is that so much hiring at companies is done informally, with jobs going to friends and acquaintances of people already working there.

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Friday Prop Talks

First off, I’ve already gotten nearly a hundred responses to my quick survey about my upcoming book, The Prop Effects Guidebook. I’ll probably close it down after this weekend, so if you still want to fill it out, it’s your last chance. I’m sure I’ll have more surveys on different topics over the next couple of months.

Wired talks with the props master on Stranger Things about some of the retro 80s props used on the show. The show is set in 1983, so props master Lynda Reiss had to track down several iconic pieces which are hard to find but recognizable to many. And if you haven’t seen the show yet, do yourself a favor and watch it as soon as possible.

As China becomes the next superpower, it only makes sense to check out some of the prop makers working in Shanghai. Global Times looks at three props people working in TV, film, and on a freelance basis.

Take a look at the set designs in this year’s Berkshire Theatre Festival. Though no mention is made of the props shop, it’s a nice behind-the-scenes look at how the scenery and effects come to life.

Finally, Adam Savage gave a TED Talk on his love of costuming and cosplay. You can watch the video or read the transcript which Tested has graciously provided.