Thursday, October 29, 2015
Watch: “Why Props Matter”
Filmmaker Magazine: What are props, and how do they work? Rishi Kaneria’s video essay considers the many functions props serve: as symbols of death (The Godfather‘s oranges), as ways to transition from one scene to another (Lawrence of Arabia‘s famous match cut), as objects indelibly associated with their characters (Indiana Jones’ bullwhip), and — of course — as weapons.
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Though the video clip was long I found myself wanting to watch all of it to see what I could recognize from a movie I'd seen. Props in the movie and theatrical industry range so far and so wide that it's hard to think that we classify them underneath the umbrella of the scenic department. They can, to me, be even more powerful than the characters who wield them. In the Royal Tenebaums, for example, Margot Tenenbaum has a wooden finger that I can't get enough of. Or the pastries in The Grand Budapest Hotel -- Wes Anderson does so well in using props almost as main characters. The letters in Moonrise Kingdom? How Anderson films them, front and center, as if it's an actor's close up, places them as a driving force in the narrative. I don't think a movie or a theatrical piece can function completely without props, unless in theatre if you're performing mime. We associate our lives with objects; to remove them would be to take an audience out of our world.
I think this is an incredibly important and well made video. Props are so undervalued and imperative to any production. Like this article said, good and bad props can make or break a production. This is also very relevant because in the freshman class we were just discussing amongst ourselves how, at least to our understanding, there aren’t really prop classes after stage craft sophomore year. If that was your interest you would declare scenic, but set dressing, creating these themes with objects, representing themes or entire productions is a whole concept. I can see how many classes here could help us get closer to that mindset, but it would be so cool to have course that can give you the skills to do that professionally, beyond stage craft. Because props ask so much of their creative, there could be welding, sewing, molding and then you get into time period accuracy, aesthetics, and symbolism. I think we could really benefit from some specialized courses.
I really enjoyed watching this video. I love props and I definitely feel that they are very undervalued in our world. But this video opened my eyes to how often a prop is at the very center of a story. I've had several discussions with other freshman about the lack of props classes here at CMU, which as someone who is very interested in the world of props is disappointing. I am hoping to do work study in the prop shop next year and get some more experience that way, but I completely agree with Jasmine that for people who are interested, having some specialized classes would be really nice. Even if it were just some minis that we could take and then if we discover that props is our true passion, we could find a place that catered more directly to our interests. I find props fascinating in that they are so central to storytelling that they get overlooked. Props are the masters of hiding in plain sight, but if they are ever absent, or really terrible the audience notices immediately.
I never thought a video about props could make me cry.
Then again, I never thought a prop could either.
I guess I'm just as blind as everyone else.
I have often had similar discussions about costume design with my fellow designers and life's mentors, about how the best costumes don't look like costumes at all. The best costumes look like that character woke up that morning and put them on for whatever reason they felt, just like everybody else does every day. Invisibility doesn't mean the piece does not matter. It means it doesn't have to tell you that it does.
I went to a performing and visual arts high school in which every department and sub-department was fought for because someone believed that it mattered. I studied costumes under theatre design under theatre, and I fought every day to show my school that what I studied was important. But even I didn't have it as bad as the kids who were forced to do props. Why? Because there was no one to fight for them, and no will to do so from their end either. If I could go back to high school, to the department and the teachers I love and the place that made me who I am, my only piece of criticism would be that props never got the attention or credit that it needed to be successful.
As the video states, "The greatest trick a prop every pulled was convincing an audience it doesn't exist." In order to convince an audience that they do not exist, props need to be acknowledged by the artists who use them as being extremely important, extremely powerful. More so, their designers need to be given better resources. What I take away from this video as an artist is that the most hurtful thing a creator of worlds can experience is to be given insufficient credit for the pains they take to do so. What I take away from this video as a human being is that whether or not I notice it, every object I touch has had an impact on my life. I can only hope that I and the artists I work with will take better notice of such things in the future.
It is pretty amazing how many props are central to the plots of the movies they are in. I often do not even think of them as props, I just assume their existence. Our world is filled with props. The computer I’m writing this on is a prop. Water bottle sitting next to me is a prop. Props make up our world and we often forget to recognize them. I am actually kind of disappointed in myself that I never really thought about movie props. I know about theater props from working in theater and there are countless props in theater, but in movies, every scene has hundreds of plots and I can not imagine what it must take to keep track of them and find them and place them on set. Every pen that is used, every tissue, every plate of food, all of these things shape a movie in one way or another and it is crazy to think about how subtle they can be and how I never really thought about movie props.
Props are the things that I really do think make or break a production. They are such an important element because not only are they a great way to identify the location and period of a production but also allows for the actor to interact with the setting of the play. The possibilities are always endless with what props people can do. This brings me to the next point, and that is that props people are probably the coolest people on this planet we are living on. They can literally create something out of nothing in a matter of minutes that can do everything and it loos super cool and is easy to operate. It is like they are some kind of super human spices. Thank you to all props people for doing what you do and continuing to create effective storytelling via small objects that actors hold or dress the set.
Its funny that I stumbled upon this video before I ever even knew it was posted on the blog. Someone posted this video on the Props Summit Facebook page (A group of many of the major props masters and artisans that work professionally in New York) and I watched it there. I really loved this video because it acknowledged the enormous role of props in film, and gave that sector of the industry the credit they have long been due. The video really helps us appreciate the role a specified object can have in the workings of a narrative. For example what would Indianan Jones really be without his whip, or Inception without the spinning top which leaves an amazing cliff hanger at the end? In many ways a narrative can become connected to an object and vice versa, and going beyond this video I think its important to acknowledge the designers and artisans that work to create these iconic objects that stick with long after the film has ended. I also think its important to acknowledge that while we can clearly see this in film it occurs all the same in theater. Although props change with interpretations some objects are so iconic that they are rooted in our associations with certain texts, like the skull Hamlet holds during his "To be or not to be" monologue, Bottom's donkey head in A Midsummer's Night's Dream, or Audrey Two who is both a prop and character in Little Shop of Horrors. A well done prop can help a narrative transcend the function of its normal course and enhance the overall story in so man ways, and yet the workers behind them almost always go completely unnoticed. I'm happy to see this video help spread awareness on the function of a good prop, the next step is to bring awareness to the artists behind them and then give credit where its due.
I never really realized just how important props are to the theme of a film. Of course I knew that props were vital to the plot of a film, but I sadly didn't put too much thought into their purpose. I just kind of focused on the fascinating world of props construction. The one thing that they did mention in the video that I knew about (and will continue to talk about for the rest of the comment) was M. Night Shyamalan's use of the color red to signify death. The red balloon, the red tent, and the red door knob all give away key plot points and foreshadow the appearance of a ghost. Even the costume deign, with the kid's red sweater, is involved in this undertaking. Really, if you picked up on the significance of the color red (and it should be noted that it is all the same shade of red) you could easily guess long before the end that Bruce Willis's character is a ghost. It's kind of cool.
This video was mesmerizing. It is amazing how much a prop can become integral to a story, tell a story, or even become a character or its own. A simple object can tell so much, just in its scuffs or its pristine polish. Wes Anderson, whose work makes my heart sing, characterizes his entire world with exact perfect props, and makes his entire universe speak the same language. In Lord of the Rings, the ring becomes a manipulating force in its own right, but this would not be nearly so impactful had the ring not been that perfect irresistible shade of lustrous gold. Props establish a type world-- they represent the things that people long for, and the things the people in this world are wiling to fight for. It becomes an instant way to identify a character, as people accumulate those objects that they consider worthy enough to keep.
There is no aspect of the work that goes on behind-the-scenes that gets less recognition than props. After my first week of props classes, it is honestly unbelievable how much effort and specialization goes into the construction and design of these pieces, and how truly integral to a production they can be. When we analyze the world of a production that we as designers can create, the subtraction of any detail will result in a breach between this carefully constructed world and our own. To understand just how import these items can be, look at Cinderella's glass slipper, Snow White's red apple, Sleeping Beauty's lethal spindle. Without these items and the accuracy of them, the story itself is at risk of being disregarded. The suspension of disbelief ties in quite nicely with the idea of props, for one inaccuracy can very often make a play or film not quite as true to life as it could be.
I am currently in the Stagecraft 1 Mini for Props, and I have to admit that my appreciation for props has increased significantly. I never realized how important and how difficult dealing with and creating props was. I am continually amazed by what CMU’s props shop creates, and how realistic it can look. I was on a props call and I saw someone create a box based off of a picture from nothing, and I was amazed at how similar it looked. I also never really thought of props when looking at a show, and now I notice how bare everything would look without them. I saw a Ragtime rehearsal before props were ever incorporated, and seeing pictures with props included made the show much better. Everything seems more natural and instead of people living around three towers, the props made it seem like they would living in a world of more familiarity. Props do not get enough recognition for the work that they do.
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