A few years ago I did an interview about my collection with Tiamdala for the Abbyshot blog. Abbyshot no longer has the Firefly/ Serenity license, so this interview and one I did about Firefly Fan Films were never used. I asked Tiamdala if I could use my two interviews on the web (since they were never submitted or "published") and she said "yes". So here is my take on what prop building and collecting has meant to me:
You have a seven page Firefly/ Serenity collection thread at
http://fireflydvd.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3541
So, I would think it is safe to say you qualify as a fan of the show and movie.
What was your introduction to the Firefly/ Serenity ‘verse?
I watch very little TV and had never heard of Firefly, but I saw the ads for “Serenity” and thought it looked like a good movie that I wanted to see. But, I was working 21 turn (rotating through three shifts every month) at the time, and it was already out of the theaters by the time I had a chance to go see it. I forgot about it until I saw it at Blockbuster in January of 2006. I rented it, sat down and watched it…twice…and was hooked. I asked one of my sons, “Wasn’t this thing based on a TV series?” which, of course, it was; so I immediately bought the “Firefly” DVD set. And promptly binge-watched that over three nights.
What quality or characteristic of the show did you come to like (or love!) immediately? What did you come to like (or love?) as time passed?
I liked the snappy dialog right out of the gate with “Serenity”. And I liked that the characters were sharply defined and had surprising depth in only a two-hour movie. I liked the look of the film; the juxtaposition of the flashy Alliance versus the gritty commonfolk. All this “like” turned to “love” once I watched the series. The way Joss (and by extension, his writing staff) can turn a phrase was every bit as evident in the series as it was in the movie. The characters were still clearly delineated by both the writers and costumer Shawna Trpcic. The contrast between the Alliance and the frontier worlds was more layered and, I felt, smarter in Firefly. The “western” feel for the Rimworlds in “Firefly” was reigned in for “Serenity” to make the movie more “commercial”, but I genuinely love that Firefly was a Sci-Fi-Western!
If you encountered someone who hasn't seen the show or the movie, what would you tell them to generate their interest?
Great characters and character development, clever dialog, some twisted villains… Ha!, as a tangent, I think my favorite bad guy moment in the series is when the corrupt Fed cop, after grilling the frightened postal worker says, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to arrest you. Who needs all that paperwork? Skunk, (one of his men) light him on fire!” It’s just so deliciously awful. Beyond the characters, the good guys and bad guys, the show had interesting stories set in a universe that was incredibly detailed and diverse. The Federation of Star Trek seemed so boringly utopian that, for me, it was neither exciting nor realistic. The Firefly/Serenity ‘verse was all about this incredible melting pot of cultures and their ability, and inability, to get along.
What about Firefly and/or Serenity encouraged you to become involved in the fan community and how did it influence your form(s) of participation?
And, at what point did prop making and prop collecting become the (apparent) focus of your fandom?
The world of Firefly just really spoke to me; not just as an
engaging setting to tell fictional stories, but as a place I'd be satisfied to inhabit, with people who seemed like interesting candidates to share life's trials and tribulations. I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot of fans of the series who just envision themselves throwing their luggage in one of the rooms down in the passenger dorm with Simon and River, or see themselves descending one of the ladders to their spot in the crew's quarters. I couldn't move to a world five hundred years in the future, so I started to connect with the here-and-now fans, both on the internet forums and in a local Browncoat fan group on Yahoo. In the same sense, collecting props and clothing from the show made a fictional world feel a little more tangible. I started buying just everydamthing I could find on "Firefly" and "Serenity", because I wanted to live in that world a little bit longer than the fourteen or so hours of content that was produced. Props were among those things I bought, and most props were fan-made kits or modified found items, so making props was a big part of collecting, right from the start.
Are you more of a collector than a maker, or are the two facets of the hobby intertwined?
The two hobbies for me, are definitely intertwined inseparably. I like collecting things; the excitement that comes from forming the connections and doing the legwork to track down less than common pieces. As a prop maker; I started building plastic models as a kid, worked on cars since I was seventeen, and now I build and repair things for a living, so prop making is just another avenue of what has been a life-long path. I would have to say that building the things I collect makes them more meaningful to me. I wouldn't ever sell anything I collected if I was rich, but like many collectors, I buy and sell items in and out of the collection to make other purchases. I don't mind selling licensed items or things that were made by others
, anywhere near as much as it pains me to sell a piece or display that I made.
Do you feel that prop-making encourages your love of the show or that your love of the show encourages prop-making? If so, how? If not, why?
The love of the show is definitely the catalyst for prop building for me. I was never a prop collector or maker before "Firefly". I have less than a handful of prop items from any other shows or movies. I see a lot of collectors get hot for whatever the latest, greatest thing is, buy everything they can find, and then a few years later they are unloading it all for whatever the latest, greatest new thing is. My Firefly/Serenity collection is meaningful to me as an expression of my love for the 'verse, and a testament to the effort I put into acquiring and making my physical link to that world.
As an artist and a prop maker, what jumped out at you and demanded you make it first?
When I first got into this hobby, the landscape was pretty barren, with just a handful of T-shirts and misshapen Mal pistols to be had. The first thing I started to make were the pop-open Serenity grenades, because they
are totally awesome and were a purely machined-by-me project, but they got derailed a few times over accuracy issues. I can't remember whether I finished the Zoe Mare's leg or the Jayne LeMat based pistols first. That's probably a sure sign I've just got too darn much stuff!
If your house was on fire, and the wife, kids and dogs were already out safely, what is the one prop you would rescue?
I would probably burst into flames trying to decide. Geez, they all have a story beyond just being a pile of bric-a-brac; how do you choose the one item that is the "best"?
I guess my Mal Pistol display is the most iconic; but, well, the screen-used River laboratory headpiece from the BDM "Serenity" is the only one in the world. So I guess that would be the most logical to save. Then again, the Sonic Rifle made from original effects studio parts and done in an extended universe scheme.....yeah, I wouldn't know what to grab!
In this hobby, what is the most satisfying accomplishment, and what is your biggest disappointment?
Trying to choose the most satisfying accomplishment is like trying to pick the favorite item in the collection. I tend to have about a dozen projects going all at the same time, because of real life demands, times dictated by the making process, (like not working on a just painted item or spending DAYS puttying and sanding a piece) and my own tendency to get bored with tedious projects that just.....drag.......on. Each completed project is a little victory; each with its own problems to overcome and sense of accomplishment when it works out. I guess my book about my collection (about half way down the 7th page of my collection thread) qualifies, because it is a way to carry (nearly) the whole collection with me, and reflect on the hundreds of hours I've spent on such a rewarding endeavor.
The biggest disappointment is easy. That would be the failure to get my Firefly fan film, "Fool Me Twice" off the ground. I built a lot of cool props and costumes to complement a script I really like, but I just don't (and likely never will) have the resources to make that a reality. But even in that greater failure are a lot of mini victories, so I just focus on the good that has come out of the project.
I know that I have focused primarily on Firefly and Serenity but taking a step back to look at the bigger picture, how has prop-making enhanced your life and where would you like to take it from here?
I keep saying I am mostly finished with the prop making aspect of my Firefly/Serenity fandom, but I keep having new projects fall into my lap. (Or so it seems, anyway...) At this point, I want to focus on wrapping up the displays and creating a space to display them. I have a number of hobbies and I tend to cycle through them, and I'm about ready to move back to putting my 1981 T-top, 4-speed Trans Am back on the road. It has been sitting in my garage for over a decade; shoot I bet it's been at least twenty years since it ran. I need to get that fixed, but working on that, or anything else, doesn't take away from the joy my YEARS of Firefly-centric hobby crafting has brought me!
And of course, the dead link to the 7 page collection thread is the first version of this collection thread. I also mentioned my Collection book.
That is a 185 page hardcover, full color book I made at Mixbook. It is basically a physical copy of my online presentation of the collection
because I viewed it as one way to spend slightly less time on the computer.
I also included some of the articles I submitted to various sites over the years; articles that are now long gone in their electronic form.
Also, if I ever want to, or am forced to, sell my collection, the book makes for a nice keepsake.
Pretty cunning, dontcha think?