Who here has actually built stuff for the movies? SHOW and tell.

Well I almost supplied Adam and Jamie with a Luke ANH Costume for their special Star Wars Mythbusters episode. Unfortunately I'd sold it long before they needed it and there wasn't enough time to replicate it again for the shooting schedule.

Just the fact that I heard from Adam at all was a HUGE honor. It was definitely one of the highlights of my life to personally hear from one of my heroes!
 
My heyday was in the early 90's, I worked on a bunch of stuff for a shop that doesn't exist anymore, pretty common thing these days. This is only a small selection of the ton of things worked on, but if you want I can show more. Most of this stuff was me working with a team of people because of the tight deadlines. I still work on studio stuff, but in a more low key capacity these days. Enjoy. (sorry for the low res scans, best i could dig up right now)


Alien4_1Small by malsfantasyfactory, on Flickr


Alien4_2Small by malsfantasyfactory, on Flickr


BuffyMonsterSmall by malsfantasyfactory, on Flickr


EndsOfTimeSmall by malsfantasyfactory, on Flickr


LocutusSmall by malsfantasyfactory, on Flickr
 
It's really cool to get the inside scoop on some of the props I've seen in movies. It's really great to know there is THAT much expertise around this forum.
 
I have been working at a small metal shop in Brooklyn, NY for about 8yr. Together we have made set pieces for many motion pictures.

My first piece to see screen time was in the first of the Sherlock Holmes movies. Watson (Jude Law) kicks a fireplace I personally made in the opening scene. (No pics on that one. But the memories of touring the set at 70% completion will last a lifetime. They hung the London bridge from the cieling from giant cables! Holmes' house was a complete cabinet of curiosities.)

We made a replica sconce for the movie The Bourne Supremacy. They didn't want to fly Matt Damon back out to France to re shoot so they just built a replica the hallway and stair from the original shoot.
5-14-07 108 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Speaking of the Bourne franchise, we also made many components for The Bourne Ultimatum, including these custom air lock doors featured heavily on film.
https://scontent-a-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/292886_1836721852715_1057620152_n.jpg

We made a bunch of stuff for MIB 3. I personally worked on the replica Chrysler Building elevators including these light fixtures:https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/162836_1445020300421_342592_n.jpg?lvh=1
And these handrails: https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/163801_1452673371743_2462515_n.jpg?lvh=1
We also made detail components fro the 60's era MIB headquarters. The hanging signs on the elevated walkway and various window details included. We also made the lock release lever in the moon prison escape scene. (I can't track these photos down.)

We did a bunch of work on the currently unreleased Amazing Spiderman 2. We made the lamps and gurney from Electro's origin scene. A massive handrail system for some sort of clock/bell tower scene.

And some more stuff I can't recall right now. We make so much it all starts to blur together...
 
Haven't done any....but love Art Deco and wanted to say well done!

Have to share a photo of my Disney Nautilus-Themed Mantle someday via PM ;)

Rob

Sent from [location encrypted]...somewhere on the Tharkside of Barsoom ;)
 
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ...

I wish! Actually, I did a little work back in the 80's. I'll have to see is I still have any photos from my Kodak Disk camera that I can scan in and post. I did some underwater prop work for several movies back then as well as some camera mods for 3D.

Am I dating myself with this?
Splash
Cocoon
Never Say Never Again
Legend
Jaws 3D

i truly miss doing that sort of work, which is what has brought me here. If anyone needs a hand on something, I would love to pitch in.
 
I've had some of my electronics modules used in Twilight :)

(I wasn't in to props at the time though :D )
 
I recently built some dead bodies for an indy horror film called "the Darker Path" which comes out sometime this year. It was my first attempt at a full
body sized prop, and they came out pretty well. corpses.jpg
 
I work for a little company within Shepperton Film Studio in the UK that makes Breakaway Stunt glass for film, TV, theatre, TV ads, and music promos all over the world, have done for about 13 years now. We've worked on so much stuff, I joined the company around 2001 when it was working on Die Another Day, and we've done stuff for every bond film since, along with a long list of others including the Harry Potter films and the new Batman trilogy, down to regular TV shows like Dr Who and Eastenders. Once the novelty wears off, it's just a regular 9am-5pm job really.

Here are a couple of comparison photos, showing the real glass/ceramic items on the left and the breakaway replicas on the right. So you have items from Inglorious Basterds in the below-left image, Casino Royale in the middle, and World War Z on the right. I've chosen these specifically as they were entirely or mostly made by myself, in terms of moulding and casting.
 

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Do commercials count?

After I built my M8 Avenger from Mass Effect, the guys from BioWare dropped me an email to see if I would be interested in working on stuff for Mass Effect 3. I made an N7 Valkyrie in about 2 weeks that was shown at SDCC in the "BioWare base" and also featured pretty heavily in all their streaming coverage of the event.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6184/6085706692_6c346e016a_b.jpg

About 2 months later, I was asked to pull 4 raw castings of this rifle for shipment to Prague for a filming of a Mass Effect 3 live action commercial, eventually aired during The Walking Dead a few months ago. I didn't paint these pieces, but I did send along the decal kits as well as references from my own builds on how they should be finished. The scope is something that the filming studio added on set.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6789029140_326046855d_b.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6789028984_88373cb3e2_b.jpg
I was hoping I'd find you on here!
I don't mean to quote an old post, but this work is one of the best commissions out of our subsidiary studio I've seen (barring the full battle suit from ME3), and it deserves a second glance.
 
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Hi there.
I work for a major Fx studio and have helped build things for several film/television shows.
Perhaps I will post some pics. Once these items have aired and I'm not still bound by confidentiality agreements.
 
I have been lurking the RPF for a few years and have seen some very impressive work. There are many talented people here. I thought perhaps I should post some stuff on this thread.
I have been making props and costume for Hollywood for over 30 years. I started in the film business in Tucson Ariz. in 1979 doing Make up and working as a stuntman at “Old Tucson”, a movie location just west of the city.
chris01.jpg
But I didn't really do anything of significance until 1981 when I moved to LA. I had been doing makeup from age 16 but was never a very good sculptor, so I concentrated on mechanics. After interviews with Rick Baker, Stan Winston & Tom Burman, who were all looking for sculptors, it was suggested that I look into prop making. It never occurred to me that props were built custom. (When I was growing up, there were no magazines like: “Famous prop monsters of Filmland” or “StarProps”) My first Job was at "The Hand Prop Room" making props. I worked there in 1981-83 then again in1984-86. There I worked on many films and TV shows, most I don’t remember. On occasion I’ll see some show and realize, “Huh!?, I made that.”. Some titles I do remember are: "Dead Men don't wear Plaid", “The Natural”, “Fantasy Island” ,”T.J. Hooker”, “Mommie Dearest”, “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins”, “Let’s get Harry”, “Mystic Warrior”, “Amerika”, “Modern Problems”, “Cocoon”, Mr. Mom”, “The color Purple”, “3 Amigo’s” “Hunter” and many more I don’t remember.

dvd.png Natural (1984) 3.jpg
In between my stints at HPR, I was hired by Ellis Mercantile, another big prop house in LA (gone now) to design weapons for a film called “Ice Pirates” after doing the designs I was told I was to set up a shop and supervise the building of the laser guns, swords and other props for the film. It was a crazy amount of stuff to build and I had to “set up” a shop, since Ellis only had a small maintenance shop. Luckily, another guy was brought in, Rick Lazzarini, who had been building props for Ellis. We put together a crew and cranked out dozens of guns, swords and Space Herpes eggs.
IMG_1587.JPGIMG_1591.JPG
After this show I worked at a number of shops including Independent studios (ISS) where a funny thing happened. They have big storage lockers for the prop masters to store their gear in. One day I needed some black spray paint for something going out in a rush. Well Craig Raiche, (The prop master of Poltergeist) had a locker there and I asked him if he had any paint I could use. He said, yeah, check my prop box in the back corner of my locker. And he tossed me his keys. I’m in the locker fumbling around in the dark trying to find his locker and I realize I’m stepping on something squishy. Craig hears my mumbling and yells “there is a light on the ceiling with a pull string” I find the string above my head and while I’m looking down to see what I’m standing on, I turn on the light. Craig hears my yelp (manly scream) “Oh, I bet you found the clown!” he says. I had been standing on the clown from Poltergeist. It scared the crap out of me. I come out and give him his keys and he says, Yeah he’s (the clown) has done that to a number of people. I guess I should put him in a box.”
In June of 1986 I quit HPR and started my own company, “Diligent Dwarves Effects Lab”
I had done a job as DDEL a in 1983 making a fake arm to get bitten off by an alligator for the film “Romancing and the Stone”. Starting with my brother in his garage we did “Masters of the Universe”, The Predator”, “Witches of Eastwick”. We eventually moved to a shop in North Hollywood and currently we are next door to our first NH shop. Some other films I have worked on since then are (in no particular order): Hook, Bram Stokers Dracula, Beverly Hills Cop III, The Mask, Star Trek TMG, Escape from LA, Nightmare on Elm Street III, Mars Attacks, Armageddon, Deep Impact, Space Cowboys, The Watchmen, Ghost Rider II, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Bang Theory, (A more complete list can be found here Portfolio - Global Effects Inc.)
DA06399c.jpg12-monkeys-6[1].jpgBRAM_STOKERS_DRACULA-10.jpg113.jpg

In 1991 I won an Academy Award for the development of the Actor Climate system, a cooling suit for under heavy costumes. I originally built it in 1986 for my friend Kevin Peter Hall, who was concerned about wearing a full rubber suit in the jungles of Mexico for Predator.
AcadamyAwardStagesm.jpgKevin & Chris big.jpg
I am currently semi-retired from film work as my attention is now focused on building functional spacesuits for the Commercial space industry. I have been a consultant for NASA, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, XCOR aerospace, Transformational Space, Hamilton Sunstrand and currently Orbital Outfitters, where I’m their chief designer. We are currently building, a new multimillion dollar facility in Midland Texas.
IS32-01137.jpg

Global Effects still continues building costumes and props for the film industry and some recent projects include The Purge II, The Signal and Little Boy.

I’ll be happy to answer any questions I can on some of our past projects.
If there is enough interest, Global Effects is considering a series of prop & costume manufacturing technique classes this year. The plan is to cover many of the traditional skills you need in prop building, from mold making, thermo forming, Pattern making and fiberglass. Although classes covering these subjects have been available, they are most often geared for makeup effects. However the prop and costume profession has different requirements and often very different techniques.

Hope this wasn’t too long a post.

Chris Gilman
 

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