Construct the Moment

The construct the moment project was all about the creation of scenery. Throughout this project I leant many skills from construction, professional practice and scenic artwork. Throughout this evaluation I aim to explore all my learnings. The process not only taught us core scenic construction skills but also helped us gain knowledge of how scenery is created in order to aid us designing scenery that can be faithfully produced to a design.

The project was started by each of us creating an element of the Waverly building as a model-making exercise. These were then taken by our lecturer Totie Driver and turned into a festival-style set we would then go ahead and build full-size as well as light and projection-map.

One of the first things we did in the project was training at heights with Neil, our theatre technician. This taught us how to safely work on both scaffold towers and A Frame ladders to work on both LX and scenic. This key skill-set would come in useful later when rigging the show.

For this project, I worked as a scenic artist. This role required constant communication with the head of scenic to understand what colours and techniques should be used to faithfully create the design of the set pieces. For example, below is a look at a reference page with paints. This was used to be able to accurately recreate the textures and colours of the sets. We were lucky that this was a real place we were re-creating in form of a set so we could constantly compare samples to the real-life space.

One of the projects I worked on, and a new skill set I learned was using vac-form. During a trip to Rocket Scenery, we saw them building scenery for Operation Mincemeat on Broadway. They use vac-form from Peter Evans studio. They used the 1.5mm thickest version, this is the same that we used at Unlocked Vision Entertainment (scenery company) when working in immersive theatre as it is incredibly durable. The set needed to be durable as it was travelling to America and paint calls are a lot more expensive in America. The vac-form we used on CTM was thinner so to ensure it was durable it was first covered in Convent Garden primer before being idendoned to blend the edges.

Another project I worked on was helping on painting this steeldeck piece to look like an aged concrete step. This was a mix of both blended scumbled base as well as a splatter effect to re-create the grime effect of weathering. Alongside this, I also carved two frontings to the steeldeck out of polystyrene and coated them in muslin material before using texture to ensure they were durable. These were then painted to match the tops of the steeldeck.

When the project was installed, my focus then switched to assisting the LX department. My roles in this were working with technician Ivy to install fixtures as well as making decisions like texturing the lighting with the use of Gobos and colour temperature. This helped faithfully create an immersive environment for the audience. This had to work in partnership with the video and projection department to ensure their content could be seen. This helped further my communication and collaboration skills.

The final part of the project was performance co-ordination. Our director Beshlie had ideas that we collaborated on such as the use of props like photographs I brought in to interact with the video content projected to enhance the narrative. In conclusion, this project taught me countless skills from construction, professional practice, scenic art, collaboration and communication. The process helped me gain knowledge of how scenery is created in order to aid me designing scenery that can be faithfully produced to a design.

Look at the scenery laid out being painted.

Look at the pillar I helped build, carve and vac-form. Painted by other members of the team.

Look at the brick wall I helped build and put together with Rachel Jacks.

Look at the step end I carved, this covered the steeldeck.

Look at the scumbled steeldeck top I helped paint.

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