I’m making a bit of barbed wire for our upcoming production of All’s Well That Ends Well at Triad Stage. The base of the barbed wire is a two-strand metal wire. I’m  making my own by twisting a single strand of wire, and decided to share a quick video of how I am doing that:
Tag Archives: video
Last Links in April
Hey, if you haven’t gotten my Prop Building Guidebook yet, you can get it direct from Focal Press for 20% off until April 29th! Just use code MRK95 at checkout. It makes a great gift for graduation (hint hint).
This seems like one of those weird Buzzfeed articles, but it actually has a whole lot of cool photographs from a tour inside Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
Legacy Effects has a great video on the making of the suit from the new Robocop film. Sure, there is a lot of 3D printing and digital fabrication involved, but there is also a surprising amount of traditional artistry going on, including sculpting, painting and sewing.
La Bricoleuse discovers an armor maker right here in North Carolina. Dr. Eric Juengst is the Director of the Center of Bioethics at UNC Chapel Hill, and he spends his spare time fabricating historic suits of armor (and suits of armor for animals). Check out these photos and video of his workshop and his creations.
Here’s a good step-by-step tutorial on how to do a life cast of a face from Lauren Daisy Williams, a student at UNCSA. I met Lauren at the USITT Young Designer’s Forum this year, where she had all sorts of fun molding and casting projects on display, so it’s nice to see her share the process for some of her work online.
Practical Effects in The Matrix
Here’s a great clip from a “Making of” video on the original The Matrix from 1999. Did it really come out that long ago? The film uses a great blend of practical effects and CGI, and this clip focuses on one sequence in particular that uses a whole blend of techniques.
Kevin Caron’s Welding Videos
Welding is a great skill for a prop master or prop maker to have, though it can be a hard one to begin learning. The best way to learn is to have someone teach and guide you as you practice on your own. Whether that’s possible or not, it is also a good idea to watch some videos on welding to pick up background information and to get a different perspective on some of the techniques.
I discovered Kevin Caron’s videos on welding; he has dozens of videos covering all sorts of welding styles and techniques. His background is in metal art and fabrication, so the way he demonstrates welding is close to how a props artisan approaches welding. We rarely have to deal with all the technical information one might get with a traditional welding course, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed with all of that when you are just starting out and simply want to join a few pieces of steel together for a static prop.
So check out everything he has to offer, or just start with the one below. Whether you’re just starting or you’ve been doing it for awhile, you’re sure to pick up something new.
Props from “The Murdoch Mysteries”
My Canadian readers may recognize some of the props from the following video; in it, CBC Live gets a tour of some of the props from The Murdoch Mysteries by prop master Craig Grant. We get a look at a dissected rat, an early airplane and an electric car. Great fun!