Clockwork: Building Cogs.

Last week we began designing cogs to be used in the set for Clockwork. Initially I decided that the quickest way to make up a number of them to work with would be to spend a bit of time designing one really accurate cog, and then use it as a template to mass produce more.

I therefore looked for a circular object large enough and drew around it on a thick piece of plywood. As we had never made cogs before we considered what would be the best way to get an accurate design drawn up. We had our circle drawn on the wood and next we had to consider how we would make the teeth. All had to be the same size, and also the gaps between the teeth had to allow the same shape into them, as a cog would work.

The way I decided to design them was to measure the circumference of the circle and then divide it up into a number that was large enough to fit the right number of teeth all the way around the circle. We also left a gap either side of the teeth so that the teeth of another cog would fit in smoothly. Basically we measured five centimetres for each tooth of the cog and left a centimetre gap either side of the teeth.

Once we had marked up the measurements for the teeth I drew a line across the circle to the mark opposite. This divided up the circle so that we could draw out the teeth accurately, as is shown above. At this point we cut out the circle of the gear, planning to cut the individual teeth out after and with more ease.

With the cog cut down to its circle we began to work with a jigsaw to cut out the individual teeth accurately and precisely. Once this was done we had our first cog shape and would be able to use it to stencil more

and quickly make more.

Above you can see the first completed cog, as we were unsure whether they would be stationary or move whist hung we decided to cut out the circle in the middle to give us the option. As the circle hadn't been drawn but had formed as a result of the lines we had drawn across the surface this gave us the impression we had been more or less spot on with our accuracy.

Once the circle was cut out the middle of our experimental cog we began to increase in the rate of our work. Although at first we had taken our time to create an accurate shape, this had been completely necessary and we could now not only use this cog to quickly make more, but also put into practise what we had learnt to make cogs of varying sizes. Which we avoided at first, preffering to get one right before branching out and over complicating things.

With each cog completed we painted them with a black base coat. As they became incredibly easy to make we bashed out about six that day including two that were joined together permanently, as is shown below.

Originally these two cogs had simply been drawn very close together to fit as many on the wood as possible. However, we decided whilst cutting them out leave them attached together. Rather than struggle to hang them perfectly next to each other we could keep them left attached and give the same appearance. Even here on the ground they look like they have just been placed next to each other.

As we had spent all day in the workshop I took the cogs to finish off at home with a dry brushing technique I had developed during Sweeney Todd. This was very useful as I could quickly paint up a large number of pieces to a standard high enough to be viewed hanging from the rig in the theatre. Here I experimented with a look that made the cogs looked wooden but flickered like brass. One PT student even asked me what they were made of, which I was pleased to hear as it meant we would be able to convincingly make them look like they had been constructed of a different material to wood. For this batch I tried out a number of variants that all gave an oaky, yet brass look to them. I think for the next few I will try something colder, more silvery and steel-like, but for the mean time I was happy with what we had achieved and learnt, especially from experimenting with new techniques we had to develop ourselves as we went along.

Clockwork: Buildig the Sleigh

Last week we completed building a sleigh for the PT group to start rehearsing with. Initially Kasia had wanted a sleigh that was large enough to fit three people in and sturdy enough to be worked with by the physical theatre students.

Originally sketch for the sleigh, originally I had considered mounting the structure on steel deck.

Originally I had considered building some kind of sleigh on top of a piece of steel deck I had put wheels on for use in rehearsals. However, Kasia decided this wouldn't be easy to work with, due to the weigh and shape. As she didn't mind the performer's legs being on show, I suggested that we build a sleigh frame instead, which could be held up by the performers.

The final design for the sleigh, focusing on the frame instead of the whole structure.



With the design in place we started construction of the sleigh. As we were only constructing its frame I decided to use quite a thick wood. This would give the structure the strength it needed to be used in rehearsals without being too heavy and awkward.

Primarily the sleigh would be constructed of three main pieces (the two sides and the middle frame section). I therefore divided up the wood and drew out the middle frame piece first. As this was the simplest part to draw out I did it first so one of us could get on with cutting out the frame whilst I drew up the two side sections of the sleigh, which would take longer to design.

Once we had one of the sleigh sides cut out we checked it next to the bottom section of the sliegh to see of it looked in proportion and line up perfectly. I then sanded it down ready to draw out the other side on the remaining wood.

Once I had drawn out a design that fitted both side sections of the sleigh on the same piece of wood I  began cutting it out. By cutting one piece out and using it to stencil the other side we maintained an exact size of the sleigh design. Once we had both sides drawn out we could work separately on the two pieces.

With the two sections separated we began to cut out the outline of the sleigh to give it its light-weight frame. As well as the middle section we would be putting in a number of supports to hold the whole structure together.

Completed side frame of the sleigh.

The frame work assembled.

 Once the main pieces were completed we sanded them down and began gluing and screwing them together. In order to get strong bonds between the pieces we glued them and braced them together with clamps while they dried, before screwing them together for added support.



Once the pieces had dried we added in a number of supports hidden on the inside of the frame work. This gave added support to the sleigh but didn't change the look of the sleigh or detract from its design. We also added some batons of wood that joined the two sides of the sleigh higher up. This gave more support but also made it easier to hold the sleigh up. Our final job was to paint the sleigh and get it into the rehearsal space ready for the PT lot.

Completed sleigh.

Sweeney Todd: Steampunk Set and Props.

I have spent the past few weeks carting the main elements of the set over to studio three. As the actors would be stood five foot high on steel deck during the performance I wanted them to get used to the height and general elements of the set before the get in (this wednesday) I there started to bring stuff over a few weeks prior to the planned get in in the tech schedule. This gave us a chance to see the main, bare structure of the set and work out any issues way in advance. As well as Lovet's counter, table and the numerous chairs we wold be using, I also brought over five steel decks, which then became seven (as the actors needed more space on stage). This was followed by twenty eight five foot scaff poles which would raise the barber shop up, as well as the stair cases.

The bare layout of the set.

I am extremely glad I decided to start bringing the set over sooner than planned in the schedule, although no major problems arose, I felt the extra time was hugely benefitially to the cast but also to me, the director and stage manager. It gave us a chance to watch runs of the show and form lists of little jobs here and there that needed to be done. Such as putting in an extra step at the top of the stairs to reach the steel deck, worrking out the mechanics of the trap door and the playing area we would lose with it in place. As well as many other issues including masking, storage, etc. 



Steel deck in place as well as more general set.

One aspect of the set I was extremely glad about was the fact that at the end of a run last weekend it took me only twenty minutes to put all the set into storage behind the curtain in the studio. As this is a teaching space I had imagined alot of issues arising from having to work around the teaching time table. However we had managed to transport and work with the set in the space pretty much hassle free.

Although originally supposed to be four foot tall I soon discovered that the only height we had enough scaff at was five feet. An initial concern I was glad to find that everything was still visible from the front row of the seating as we would have had no other option than to have removed the front row of seating had it proved an issue. In the end I found that once it was all in place the height of the steeel deck looked great and made for a more interesting set as there would be action going on at multiple levels in the space. After talking this over with the lighting designer we were happy with the look of the set.

The cast were happy with the set, the only thing we had yet to settle on was the trap door, which was the first thing we had designed but had gone through numerous changes over the months. These decisions were based first and foremost on safety, followed by budget. In the end it proved the simplest method was the best. As the trap door would not be in use during the first act we decided to simply use a steel deck in the space were the trap door would be placed. During the interval I would unscrew the section of steel decking from the rest and remove its two end legs, creating a slide which I would then tape a duvet too, as well as tape pillows to either leg of the opposite steel decks at the bottom of the slide. At the bottom there would be a crash mat with pillows and cushions on. Using sound effects of a trap door, as well as lightign it with birdies from the sides, we would give the impression of a trap door without actually constructing one. This would save massively on the budget, on of which I needed for the set in the end, and keep the cast more or less in one piece as they went down it.

One idea we had developed for the trap door was using the sheet of wood off a broken steel deck, this was replaced by the whole steel deck structure on two legs forming a slide.

In terms of what we had established with the set so far we came across no major problems, this was made clear in the feed back from the cast and stage manager. It also gave me a valuable chance to write up a list of everything that needed to be done over the final two weeks leading up to the production week.

 I first grouped all the little jobs I had left to do together, such as build jobs, paint jobs and finds. Then I re-organised these into what day I would be able to complete them, this was based on when they needed to be done by and when it would be possible to get into studio three or the uni workshop.

Bottles, Candle Stick Holders and Beer Tankards are a few of the props I gathered over the months.

One of the jobs I took on but wasn't crucial for me to do was the development of a number of props. I had the bare skeleton of a set but now had to dress it to give the impression of victorian London, and not just a load of bits of furniture that seemed appropriate for the time frame. As I started months ago this gave me the chance to look around while I was out and pick up anything I might stumble across, I also went to a number of antique stores and flea markets for inspiration. I had been collecting bottles and using clay to make them look dusty and now I began to start labelling them up and filling them.

I soaked the labels in tea, glued them to the glass and allowed to dry. I then used a number of fonts to give them the victorian look. I also dripped the candle wax over their holders to make them look well used.

Finally I filled them with water mixed with food colouring and corked them up with a bunch of corks I had bought, although some of them needed trimming down as they were going into screw top bottles. As they would be quite far away from the audience this wouldn't be an issue.

The bottles finished.

While in the workshop the other day I found a disgarded banister leg and decided to use it for the beadle's staff, as in rehearsals he'd been using a plain piece of dowelling and that was pretty boring. As it was square at each end I decided to sand it down with a surf form at both ends to make it smoother and more walking stick-like.

Once sanded down I found one end was hollow so filled it with builder's cork. I then started carving a head piece out of polystyrene but decided this wasn't very practical so carved one out of clay instead, as is shown below.

With the staff constructed all that was left was to stain the wod and paint the skull. I put that to one side and started to work on the sign for above Lovett's pie shop, being more crucial. As I had sketcked out the shape of the sign in hard board I decided to take it back into uni and cut it out properly with a jigsaw, as I had left cutting some of the signs out until after painting when I worked on The Visit, and it wasn't very practical.

The sign cut out I took it back home, drew out the lettering and began to paint. I played around on the computer with a rough sketck up of the sign before I chose which colours to paint it.

I decided to paint the sign green and gold, this made the lettering stand out and kept it in a style that would fit with the rest of the set.

Eventuallly the Pie symbol would be hanging from the main sign but for now I took it all into uni as the sign, like the barber's pole and wall hanging would need supports attached for hanging from the rig.

My next job was to construct an extra step for the stair case that leads form the barber shop to the pie shop, as the height between the final tread and steel decking was too high in rehearsals. I worked in the workshop on thursday morning to construct the step.

 My irst job was to cut out the step/tread as well as the rises for ether side that would go down to the steel deck the stairs were placed on. Using a jigsaw I sawed up plywood and glued each piece, bracing them together while they dried and I screwed them together. With the basic structure built and connected together I began to work on the supports that would be required to hold the steps form and take the weight of people standing on it.

Running two batons of wood underneath I glued them and placed stage weights on them, while screwing the into place. I also placed a piece of plywood along the front of the step, this would give it added strength and also stop the actors from catching their feet in the gap as they went up ad down the stairs. I also ran a plank of plywood across the middle to stop the sides from bulking under weight and hold its more solid shape.

Finally I painted the whole structure black once the supports were fixed in place.

The step held down with stage weights.

The finished step with supports in place ready for painting.

Sweeney Todd: Finishing the Oven

Back in the workshop I reapplied papier mache to the oven's chimney to bridge the gap between it and the main bowl form. This made them look more like one single structure, as shown below.

Whilst this dried I worked back ito the bars on the grill of the oven. As you could see the lines in the cardboard I essentially plastered builder's cork over them to create a more metallic look. As the dry brushing effect had been quite successful on the barber's pole I thought I would incorporate it into the oven as well to give a sense of unison in the design's of the two set pieces, they exist in the same world after all.

Here you can see the bars I had already done and the ones were I had applied builder's cork ready to be moulded. As I had plastic gloves in the workshop this made the job of creating the metal effect on the oven's surface much easier thn when I had done it on the barber's pole. Instead of getting my hands covered in builder's cork I could sculpt it more easily without it sticking to my fingers as badly.

As well as working on the front I also applied a thicker layer of paper to the back of the oven, which I then thickly coated in grey satin. This would protect the oven from the heat of lights behind it and bounce the light off its surface as well.

My next step was to start painting the whole oven black, apart from the sections that were still drying. I had orginally painted the oven white thinking it would be much brighter than I had eventually decided. Also, it gave me a better picture of the oven as a whole and any sections that were uneven. However, as I would be dry brushing it I realised it had to have a black base coat.

While painting it black I took the opportunity to practise dry brushing the surface, to see what kind of textures I could bring out of it's surface. This gave me a chance to have a play around with the technique before it would be painted properly.

Although I still hadn't settled on exactly what colours I would be using, I knew I wanted it to stand apart form the barber's pole, but still seem related in design style. I decided my first step would to give it a grey base coat. Using a grey satin with alot of black mixed into the paint I began to dry brush the surfaces. This gave the surface a shine but not as strongly as gloss would. I imagined the oven was quite ancient and had been installed in Lovett's cellar long before she took up residency there. I therefore thought it should still have a shine but not too strong, this gave the oven a feel of faded grandeur as if it was from an older age but you could still see the metal shining slightly in the dark. As it would be lit I didnt want the surface to be reflecting light too strongly either so I used the black to dull down the satin a bit more.

After I had finished the first coat I felt it didn't stand out from the back board enough so gave it another, lighter, coat. This made it stand out more but also added definition and layers to the surface where the two slightly different colours blended with each other, as can be seen below.

Here the surface really began to look more realistic. The dry brushing effect had given the metallic look I was trying to achieve but also gave the impression that the oven was bathed in alot of shadow, as it would be in the cellar, with only raised sections here and there reflecting the little light in the basement.

My next step was to give the grill and other features a dark brown base coat that was more liberally dry brushed on. This didn't make it stand out too much, as it kept alot of the black/shadow in its surface, but set it apart from the rest of the structure enough. I also began to dry brushed brown here and there on the oven's surface, making it look older and dirtier and generally well used. This added a bit more character to the structure and made certain areas stand out more where they had been bashed or rusted from the dampness of the cellar.

I began to pick out individual details in the pipe work, grill, motif, coggs and anywhere I thought it was worth spending a bit of time on bringing out the details of the design; as is shown above and below.

I also started to use a lighter brown mixed with a mstard yellow primarily on the grill but also to pick out little details here and there. I was really pleased with the rusted look I had given to the surface, especially as it seemed to shine different tones fro different angles, as can be seen in the bronzed look below.

I then worked on the feet in the same way so they stood out form the main bulk of the oven. At this point I considered the oven finshed, although I may go over certain sections in the next week if I feel they need touching up a bit. I would also like to give the back board another coat of black so the oven stands out more, but its not essential if I dont have any time. I could spend forever nit-picking at little parts of the oven, however, I was happy with the standard it had reached at this point.

Sweeney Todd Steampunk Oven.