The Prop Building Guidebook

Experienced prop maker Eric Hart walks readers through techniques used in historical and contemporary prop making and demonstrates how to apply them to a variety of materials. Hundreds of full-color photographs illustrate the tools and techniques used by professional prop makers throughout the entertainment industry. New features to the second edition include: Updated information on the latest tools and materials used in prop making Both metric and standard measuring units Step-by-step photos on common techniques such as upholstery, mold making, and faux finishing Expanded coverage of thermoplastics, foam, and water-based coatings

"An essential resource for you to plan and construct numerous kinds of props...walks you through techniques used in historical and contemporary prop making and teaches you how to apply them to a variety of materials...outlines a process to tackle many types of props for your theatrical or cinematic production. This process gives you the foundational knowledge to choose certain materials and methods and the background techniques to know the advantages these choices give you...photographs illustrate the tools and techniques used by professional prop makers throughout the entertainment industry." -- Back cover.

In The Prop Building Guidebook, author Eric Hart demonstrated how to cut, glue, sculpt, and bend raw materials to build props. Now in The Prop Effects Guidebook, he shows us how to connect and assemble components and parts to make those props light up, explode, make noise, and bleed. It delves into the world of electricity, pneumatics, liquids, and mechanical effects to teach you how to make your props perform magic in front of a live audience. The book is complemented by a companion website featuring videos of how to create individual prop special effects: www.propeffectsguidebook.com.

In The Prop Building Guidebook, author Eric Hart demonstrated how to cut, glue, sculpt, and bend raw materials to build props. Now in The Prop Effects Guidebook, he shows us how to connect and assemble components and parts to make those props light up, explode, make noise, and bleed. It delves into the world of electricity, pneumatics, liquids, and mechanical effects to teach you how to make your props perform magic in front of a live audience. The book is complemented by a companion website featuring videos of how to create individual prop special effects: www.propeffectsguidebook.com.

Experienced prop maker Eric Hart walks readers through techniques used in historical and contemporary prop making and demonstrates how to apply them to a variety of materials. Hundreds of full-color photographs illustrate the tools and techniques used by professional prop makers throughout the entertainment industry. New features to the second edition include: Updated information on the latest tools and materials used in prop making Both metric and standard measuring units Step-by-step photos on common techniques such as upholstery, mold making, and faux finishing Expanded coverage of thermoplastics, foam, and water-based coatings.

Prop Building for Beginners outlines the basic concepts of prop building by featuring step-by-step instructions to create twenty of the most commonly featured items in theatrical and filmed productions. This book uses a combination of projects to expose readers to a wide range of materials and tools that they might find in a basic scenery or costume shop, serving both as a guide to building simple props and as a crash course in the variety of items a props person may have to build. The projects require a variety of tools, techniques, and materials so that a practitioner who completes all of them will have received a complete introduction to the basics of prop building. Assuming no previous knowledge of prop building, this is the perfect primer for students, hobbyists, or community theater enthusiasts looking to enter the prop shop. Prop Building for Beginners includes access to full-scale printable versions of the patterns featured in the book.

Now in its third edition, The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and TV walks readers through techniques used in historical and contemporary prop making and demonstrates how to apply them to a variety of materials. Experienced prop maker Eric Hart covers the tools and techniques used by professional prop makers throughout the entertainment industry. He outlines a construction process that gives readers the foundational knowledge to choose the best materials and methods for each prop and the background information to know the advantages of these choices. This new edition includes updated information and techniques throughout, including: Over a hundred new images and diagrams Updated terminology, products, and brands used internationally Expanded sections on 3D printing, vacuum forming, foam patterning, and more A new chapter on prop design New information on international safety standards, cleaning, and sanitation More recipes and step-by-step instruction for various finishes Illustrated by hundreds of full-color photographs, this is the most comprehensive guide to prop construction available for professional and student prop makers in theatre, film, and tv. For additional how-to videos, instructional documents, and supplemental information, visit www.propbuildingguidebook.com.

Whether you are a professional, volunteer or student prop master for a play production, this book reviews what a demanding theatre tech position this is. There is a lot more to propping a show than many theatre people realise. The twelve chapters of this book provide clear definitions of the job in action. They tell how to build a props department, how to create props and how to work with the technical crew, designers, supervisors and performers. Until now there has been no comprehensive manual or guidebook like this to lead a prop master through the entire process. No prop master should work without this guide as a ready reference to solve many unexpected problems. The book is divided into twelve chapters: What Are Props?; The Prop Master; Interacting with Other People; A Successful Work Environment; The Prop Shop; Collections and Files; The First Steps of the Building Process; Start "Propping"; Rehearsals and Performances; Safety; Timeless Tips and Techniques; Basic Theatre Terminology. Amy Mussman has over ten years of experience working as prop master for professional theatre companies.