The weird world of the props department

Press, 16 August 1976, Page 15

The weird world of the props department

From the end of a long corridor in the vast Avalon [complex issue forth all n. i[ner of weird and wonderful 'creations — a complete [cemetery, a cupboardful of clacking skeletons, even a plaster of Paris trout trophy. The props department at TVI is one of the busiest areas of production, especially with the recent stepup in home-grown programmes all calling for a wide variety of articles. A basic staff of six people work under the supervision of the props mistress, Olga Hall. As well as the regular staff there is a “floating” contingent who assist when necessary. A full-timer works on the “Close To Home” set which involves about 160 man hours per week to cover the two programmes. Like many departments in television. “Props” works about six to eight weeks ahead of production time. Work is going on now for the nine episodes of “Joe and Koro” which begins production soon and also 10 more episodes of the highly- [ successful “Moynihan” (series. I The rugby comedy series, (“If You Can’t Beat 'Em,” employs two full-timers on its set and every so often props are needed for “Grunt Machine” and "Ready to Roil,” Skeletons “Epidemic,” the recent thriller serial, was rather a large undertaking for all concerned. The props department manufactured the' skeletons for it from polystyrene and plaster and created the whole cemetery, bits and pieces of which can still be seen adorning the' props storage room. When a film crew goes [ out to film on location — Porongahau. a small village I in Central Hawke’s Bay was! the setting for much of I “Epidemic” — a props man- i ager goes along with the! team to organise that side of! production. At present planning for a' drama serial on the life and!

itimes of Sir George Grey is, (under way and this will be! (the biggest production any] New Zealand film organisation has tackled. Design of! the props means a tre-i imendous amount of research! [to ensure total authenticity and attention to detail for .each of the six hour-and-ia-half episodes. The sets will be extensive as the series spans the years 1840-1900, years in which modes of living did not remain static. All this must be taken into account and reproduced in the most minute detail. ( Details I As the props mistress, •Olga Hall says, “Television [is a lot more particular than [live theatre and one has to have a sharp eye for detail; (to recreate a scene as realis-j itically as possible. A tele-' , vision camera picks up! ,much more detail than a! Theatre audience ever! [would.” ( Olga Hall has worked in I television for about eight 'years and emphasises that to [succeed in her field one [“must forget about social life, and even’ if it may sound outdated, be dedicated |to the profession.” [ She has also worked in! [live theatre “off and on for | 'most of my life" and was! offered her present job be-i cause of wide experience in' the general field. The department is called! upon to make or somehow ( put together a wide variety! (of creations. The large' storeroom is already lacking I space and there is a con- ( glomeration of furniture, bikes, beds, chairs, ancient! radios, prams and other odds | [and ends stacked all over) [the wide floor space. | There are also cupboards j and cupboards of props all I neatly (and not so neatly)l arranged into categories such as cutlery, medical equipment, ornaments, pictures, and so forth. Little ' bits and pieces go to make | up the whole props department — with a little help | from the staff. ,

It would seem that anybody who does work in props must be extremely dedicated as, on an average, they work 50 to 54 hours

( every week. And the hours are not always regular, for (work may finish at 1 a.m. — and then it is back on the job at 8.30 a.m.