makezine.com: Bill Doran of Punished Props Academy has posted a project and video for making an EVA foam lantern prop with flickering (programmable) LED light strips inside. Bill had one day before DragonCon to complete the build and accomplished it in four hours.
6 comments:
Watching Bill Doran make this prop lantern so quickly was a really interesting experience. You can quickly tell that he is a very very experienced prop maker. While it does seem like EVA foam is easy to work with, just like the author mentions in the article, he was only able to do this in four hours because he had a very well outfitted shop. That being said, I think you could substitute a lot of the EVA foam pieces for foam core of varying thicknesses. I always love watching youtube videos of people building anything as I always love learning new tricks for the construction of anything from props, to furniture to houses. This video reminded me of one of my favorite YouTubers Adam Savage who I have learned so much from. I definitely hope to watch more of his videos and projects to get an even better sense of how he works with different materials.
Props can develop so many important things within a show. They can reinforce reality, show hidden ideas, and bring the story to life in a new way. I love that the props master in this video used his skills for a costume he would use at a convention; it was an interesting way to take specialized skills outside the theatre! I have always been interested in making props, so it’s very cool to see them being made by someone else. EVA foam seems to be super easy to manipulate and work with. The materials he chose were things I had never really heard of (besides the plastic he used for the glass) so I feel a little bit more knowledgeable about how theatre and convention artists alike could approach props-style projects. My favorite parts of this video were definitely the airbrushing of the plastic glass and the LED lights he added to the interior. The lantern looks great and I hope he had a fun time at his convention?
As someone who is not a Scenic Designer, Technical Director or Props Master, it was super helpful to see how straightforward and simple Bill Doran made this video. Although I didn't understand all of the terms or steps he was describing, I could visualize how pieces of raw material can be worked and shaped into a complex-looking item in just a few hours. Granted, it takes a very experienced crafts-person, and an extremely well-stocked shop in order to do this. It also brought to light how not every project has to be complicated. I think in theatre we tend to over-think so many things, and sometimes all it needs is one person and four hours. For instance, you don't need to stress out about multiple layers of paint to get the desired effect. Use the foam to your advantage and simply slightly paint a base coat, then going back in with slight shading and highlighting. I think his structure of the video is also well-done and fun to watch, as well as the inclusion of the materials and process in the comments below. I find this an excellent way to collaborate with other designers in the industry, and also helpful to managers so that they can better understand the intricacies of each item and what their shops' needs are in order to create at this level of efficiency.
As someone who is not a Scenic Designer, Technical Director or Props Master, it was super helpful to see how straightforward and simple Bill Doran made this video. Although I didn't understand all of the terms or steps he was describing, I could visualize how pieces of raw material can be worked and shaped into a complex-looking item in just a few hours. Granted, it takes a very experienced crafts-person, and an extremely well-stocked shop in order to do this. It also brought to light how not every project has to be complicated. I think in theatre we tend to over-think so many things, and sometimes all it needs is one person and four hours. For instance, you don't need to stress out about multiple layers of paint to get the desired effect. Use the foam to your advantage and simply slightly paint a base coat, then going back in with slight shading and highlighting. I think his structure of the video is also well-done and fun to watch, as well as the inclusion of the materials and process in the comments below. I find this an excellent way to collaborate with other designers in the industry, and also helpful to managers so that they can better understand the intricacies of each item and what their shops' needs are in order to create at this level of efficiency.
Prop building is extremely fascinating and consists of a lot of careful little details and handiwork; something I've always really loved. They can really add to the completeness and reality of a costume or a show. I’ve also been interested by the use of EVA foam in prop making. In terms of foam, I’ve never used anything outside of craft foam for prop making so I think the differences in structural and sculptural properties would be very fun to figure out. Of course, when you have a plethora of specialized tools and machinery to use like Bill Doran has in his shop, it’s much easier to quickly build impressive pieces. That being said, the same effects can still be accomplished with much more basic tools, only just a little more time. Like when he used the scroll saw to cut out the circle in his prop, you can pretty easily cut it out by hand with an X-acto knife if you’re careful. You can also use a dremel tool to do the smoothing and sanding if you don’t have access to a belt sander. Rub n’ buff is a really cool material to use, but you can carefully use acrylics to create a pretty similar effect.
What a cool prop, maybe I could do something like that? Of course I could, if I had a prop shop outfitted without all those gadgets and gizmos for sawing and sanding. I am always super impressed when materials can be manipulated to resemble other materials in this case foam to metal. I could tell how experienced he was by how well he knew how to change the panes of "glass" to airbrush them with exactly the right amount of frosting so as to mask the harshness of the LEDs but not lose the desired glowing effect. I will say that while the precision that he had employed many advanced tools for the prop, this could be recreated in a fairly similar shape with the basic materials. The only thing I do not think I would be able to work with is the acrylic because I have never worked with it and cutting it on the saw seemed like the most dangerous part of the whole process. I know he was in a rush, but I do think he could have done a slightly more detailed paint job on the lantern though. I would have worked it much more in layers and gotten a more realistic metal effect, to me it looks kind of childish or simplistic, which is what he might have been going for but seeing as he used it in a pirate setting I would have wanted it to be as rusted and worn as possible, but that is just my opinion.
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