Art Department Assistant & Maker
PUNCH
An independent short horror film directed by local film maker Ross Scott.
The story follows a cyclist who discovers a dilapidated theatre lying abandoned in the middle of the woods.
I designed and built a puppet theatre, puppets and and props.
The film is currently touring the European festival circuit.
Scroll down to see images from the shoot and my design and construction process.
Behind the scenes photographs are courtesy of Chris Cook: https://www.chrislewiscook.com/
THEATRE CONSTRUCTION
The theatre was based on a French-style ‘Guignol’ and constructed from from reclaimed wood. I hand-painted the theatre to create an elaborate pattern and cracked paint effect.
PUPPET FABRICATION
The heads and limbs of the two puppets were sculpted in clay, then created silicone moulds. Papier-mâché pulp was stuffed into the moulds to create the final pieces. I collaborated with costume designer Louise Frame to fabricate puppet costumes which were exact replicas of those worn by the actors.
SCALED MODEL THEATRES
The film features increasingly smaller versions of the theatre nested within itself, creating a surreal ‘Russian Doll’ effect. To achieve this I also created identical 1:5 and 1:25 versions of the original theatre.
The 1:5 version was modelled in wood and styrene strips. To make the decorative elements I 3-D printed them from scans of the originals or models created in Sketchup.
To make the 1:25 version I photographed the large theatre and printed these photos onto card.
