KKP Retouching wrote:
Talk to theatre people.  I have some set build/paint experience from high school productions, but it's hard to explain things over the internet.

I've helped frame in various buildings and such and while i'm not terribly experienced, i have no doubt that i can build a wall segment and hang some drywall on it.

Are there any tricks materialwise to make it more manageable?

AlfonseV wrote:
Cool idea, Graham, and no doubt you are a more experienced builder than I am (although I have hung drywall). I would suggest you frame a, say, 10 wide by 8 high foot "wall", where the base is on casters so you can roll it in and out (hell, build more than one!). Paint as your vision guides you. Maybe even build one with a window or door. If you space is 1000 sq ft, you should be able to store and move several of these as needed. One challenge I see right off is that with casters you may not want to shoot your model down to the floor, unless you have some kind of a transition material from wall to floor. Cheap carpet?

Actually i have some remnants of carpet and vinyl that were used in home construction, since i'd need relatively small offcuts i could probably keep a variety on hand cheaply. (my wife will kill me)

i wonder if there's a way to make it sit flat but maybe rock back onto castors to move. I'm also worried about it being top heavy. Drywall isn't light. I wonder if i could clad it in a smooth finished particle board. That should take paint fairly well and would be lighter to work with.

grahamsz wrote:
So i'm a little torn, i love the interiors of older buildings, worn paint, that kind of thing - and i've got access to precisely none. There just aren't many old buildings near me.

(Of course i'm a native Scot and always liked clean modern architecture when i lived there, so this could be a grass is always greener pursuit).

In any event, i've got a 1000 sq ft basement that i shoot in and that gives me a lot of space to arrange stuff. Has anyone tried making some wall segments on wheels with maybe a window or door in them that they can roll into position and shoot with?

Seems like it'd be fairly easy and i see quarts of mismatched paint on sale at home depot for $1/piece and don't think it'd be too hard to mix up how it appeared in images.

Am i crazy, or does anyone have any pointers for building something like this?

I work in the theater... We use 2" ridged foam insulation first painted with "Kilz - original" (to stop the fiberglass from covering everything) than the top coat. It makes a very light and versatile platform which you can easily cut and shape any way that you want to make; rocks/boulders, walls, furniture, ect. You can use skewers to hold it together.

KenMalPhotos wrote:
I work in the theater... We use 2" ridged foam insulation first painted with "Kilz - original" (to stop the fiberglass from covering everything) than the top coat. It makes a very light and versatile platform which you can easily cut and shape any way that you want to make; rocks/boulders, walls, furniture, ect. You can use skewers to hold it together.

That's a useful idea. Do you think it'd be obvious up close that it wasn't real or would more people be looking at the model?

grahamsz wrote:

That's a useful idea. Do you think it'd be obvious up close that it wasn't real or would more people be looking at the model?

You can also use 1/4" luan.  I would never use drywall for a set.  Far to heavy.

AlfonseV wrote:
One challenge I see right off is that with casters you may not want to shoot your model down to the floor, unless you have some kind of a transition material from wall to floor. Cheap carpet?

Oooh I have an idea. If you use carpet, build a wedge so at one side the carpet butts up to the bottom of the "wall" and slopes down to the floor. You could technically cover this wedge with all kinds of things to simulate different floorings, and the tilt shouldn't be tooooooo obvious.

Paramour Productions wrote:
You can also use 1/4" luan.  I would never use drywall for a set.  Far to heavy.

Thanks - home depot carry that i think

Liz Massingill wrote:
Oooh I have an idea. If you use carpet, build a wedge so at one side the carpet butts up to the bottom of the "wall" and slopes down to the floor. You could technically cover this wedge with all kinds of things to simulate different floorings, and the tilt shouldn't be tooooooo obvious.

You build the casters into the angle braces behind the wall and just let the luan extend a to the floor, past the framing...

You can plane it so that you have about a sixteenth of an inch clearance or less.  This will be covered by whatever flooring you use.

Liz Massingill wrote:
Oooh I have an idea. If you use carpet, build a wedge so at one side the carpet butts up to the bottom of the "wall" and slopes down to the floor. You could technically cover this wedge with all kinds of things to simulate different floorings, and the tilt shouldn't be tooooooo obvious.

that's an interesting point. I was thinking i'd maybe velcro the trim piece so i could bridge that gap to the floor

grahamsz wrote:
that's an interesting point. I was thinking i'd maybe velcro the trim piece so i could bridge that gap to the floor

that would definitely be an easier way, but the eye is expecting to see an angle there (walls and floors meet at 90 degrees), and anything else might draw attention away from the focus of the photo. just an opinion, though.

grahamsz wrote:
Am i crazy, or does anyone have any pointers for building something like this?

Not crazy, but there isn't much info floating around about this. Everything I've found was based on theatrical set design--which, as noted, emphasizes light weight rather than withstanding long-term abuse, which is the norm for real buildings.

One of the forum's reference threads, though, is the Studio Reference one, which has a section devoted to set design threads; you might want to see if there's anything you can use in one of them.

grahamsz wrote:

That's a useful idea. Do you think it'd be obvious up close that it wasn't real or would more people be looking at the model?

It depends on the art work painted...

Kevin Connery wrote:
One of the forum's reference threads, though, is the Studio Reference one, which has a section devoted to set design threads; you might want to see if there's anything you can use in one of them.

Thanks, that's very useful

Dan Howell wrote:
Not sure I would agree about a wall on casters.  What do you do about the gap between the floor and wall?  I prefer 4x8' and 2x8' set wall sections (1x2" or 1x3" framed luan sheets) that can be clamped together in various configurations.  In fact today I'm making a 4x8' grid out of 1x3" to cover with diffusion to simulate a window.  Then I will just have more options with the set components.

Yeah it seems like the super lightweight approach works better. There's a place in town i need to check out that specializes in recycled building materials. I might look there for things like windows and maybe some older wood trim pieces that have character.

Plus i presume they buy stuff back so i suspect i could get half my money back when i'm done

Angel Doyle wrote:
This is a fake room the photog made, he used a couple of sheets of hard wood floor.

That's pretty convincing. He's missing a trim piece behind you, but that's no big deal.

Angel Doyle wrote:
This is a fake room the photog made, he used a couple of sheets of hard wood floor.

To somebody who know wood,these are "softwood" panel usually seen on walls,not floor but for the ones that doesn't know about wood,it sure looks O.K.

Gil Lang wrote:
To somebody who know wood,these are "softwood" panel usually seen on walls,not floor but for the ones that doesn't know about wood,it sure looks O.K.

Yeah i did wonder about that - feel you usually see a denser grain on actual flooring. I think i've still got most of pack of it from when we did the dining room.

grahamsz wrote:
So i'm a little torn, i love the interiors of older buildings, worn paint, that kind of thing - and i've got access to precisely none. There just aren't many old buildings near me.

(Of course i'm a native Scot and always liked clean modern architecture when i lived there, so this could be a grass is always greener pursuit).

In any event, i've got a 1000 sq ft basement that i shoot in and that gives me a lot of space to arrange stuff. Has anyone tried making some wall segments on wheels with maybe a window or door in them that they can roll into position and shoot with?

Seems like it'd be fairly easy and i see quarts of mismatched paint on sale at home depot for $1/piece and don't think it'd be too hard to mix up how it appeared in images.

Am i crazy, or does anyone have any pointers for building something like this?

The above is standard procedure on many sets. Those colleagues more involved in TV/movies can correct me, but I think the movable walls are called "flats."

grahamsz wrote:
So i'm a little torn, i love the interiors of older buildings, worn paint, that kind of thing - and i've got access to precisely none. There just aren't many old buildings near me.

(Of course i'm a native Scot and always liked clean modern architecture when i lived there, so this could be a grass is always greener pursuit).

In any event, i've got a 1000 sq ft basement that i shoot in and that gives me a lot of space to arrange stuff. Has anyone tried making some wall segments on wheels with maybe a window or door in them that they can roll into position and shoot with?

Seems like it'd be fairly easy and i see quarts of mismatched paint on sale at home depot for $1/piece and don't think it'd be too hard to mix up how it appeared in images.

Am i crazy, or does anyone have any pointers for building something like this?

Sure. I have a 10 container old soda jerk made in San Francisco in the 40's, a Fainting couch, a jacuzzi brand jacuzzi on wheels with water fall that works, a seine net, several pieces of 16'20' vinyl, matte black and white, a posing table that is actually an outdoor jacuzzi cover that sits on the jacuzzi if I need a table and ring mounts in the ceiling for swings, sein net and a wild collection of lights. And my newest acuiisition is an antique mirror that almost put me in traction hanging that sucker.

I also have a complete wing lynch processor, nitrogen tank, ancient sewing machine treadel and motor, and a vast collection of cooking items from the 50's and 60's.

I also have an antique working cider press and a museum quality 1969 Chrysler Newport. My studio is a mess. I keep thinking after I shoot something, I will get rid of whatever prop I use,  but haven't done so yet.

I obviously like craigslist and it pays to have a truck handy at a moments notice.