World Film and Television Progress (1937-1938)

HOW TO BUILD SETS No. 3 by H. Chevalier, F.P.S., A.S.E. With completion of the sequences on the composite kitchen set preparation of the equally important but smaller sets begin. The supporting scenes in the script call for four widely differing settings. (1) Police station chargeroom ; (2) Steel mill manager's office ; (3) Hotel bedroom; (4) Village pub. Each setting is obtained by using various sections of the kitchen set in a different manner. Last month I explained how the set could be built in sections using hessian on deal framing. We therefore possess nine separate "flats," as they are called, one containing a doorway, marked E, (see plan shown last month) two window fiats B and H, one arch piece J together with four plain "flats" A, C, D and F. Having struck the kitchen set, we proceed to erect the Police Station setting. In the script the scene is described as follows : "The action commences in a corridor of a police station, outside the door opening into the charge room. The players open the door, proceed into the charge room, where further action is played before the sergeant's desk, terminating with the prisoner being led to the cells." Nothing very difficult in that description, so we construct the set as follows : across the end of the studio (18 ft. in width) erect flats D, H, and J in the given order, 2 ft. from the end wall. This provides a wall 15 ft. wide, containing a 3 ft. opening. Cover the wall with plain white ceiling paper, first letting a piece of three-ply in section H fill the window opening, finally painting the lower 4 ft. of the wall with dark brown water colour paint. Behind the opening and against the wall hang a grey curtain making sure the fabric is taut, otherwise wrinkles will show when this back cloth is lighted from the side. Charge desk For the charge desk, the table is used from the kitchen set increased in height 1ft. 6 in., by nailing a length of 3 by 2 rough deal to each leg. Cover the front, two sides and top, with 3-ply, papering the sides with white ceiling paper, completing by spraying with coat of dark brown water paint. Place the charge desk in a central position midway between the D and H sections, leaving a space of about 3 ft. between desk and wall. To obtain the corridor effect called for, and allowing for a slight panning of the camera, erect sections F, E, and A in position 8 ft. in front of the back "flat," making sure that section E (the door section) is in line with the charge desk. Cover this "flat" with ceiling paper panelling the door with \ inch beading, after papering, painting the whole door and the lower four feet of wall dark brown as on the back "flat." For the corridor shot, we have now 14 ft. 3 in. of wall containing a 2 ft. 6in. door and 10 ft. of space between the wall of the studio and the "flat." The floor of the studio being wood is left without covering and the only props necessary are pen, ink and charge book on the sergeant's desk, a 46 wastepaper basket, wall calendar (used in the shot) and various notices on the wall. The very bareness assists the cold hard atmosphere required on the screen. When the final dissolve is reached, the door "flat" can be cheated round to give a long shot of the prisoner being conducted to the cells (through the arch) with the group standing before the charge desk, seen through the open door from the corridor. For reverse shots, the door "flat" is turned round the opposite way, and cheated round as required. Manager's office Steel Works Manager's Office: This particular set is very simple consisting only of two walls. In the script the scene is described as "A large room with a view of the steel works, seen through a window behind the works manager's desk. The door is situated on the left-hand side and all the necessary action takes place between the door and desk. This time we place the back "flat" along the 20 ft. wall of the studio leaving a 4 ft. space between the "flat" and the wall. Section A is then erected with the left hand end one foot from the 18 ft. wall; section D is erected in the same line, 5 ft. 3 in. away. The lower three feet of this opening is then filled by laying section C down sideways on its 3 ft. side, behind the opening. The remainder of the opening is the window and 1 in. laths are nailed across to represent the window frames. At the left-hand side of the "flat," section F is erected, 2 ft. from the left hand end of section A, to produce a 5 ft. wall in place of the original 7 ft., without cutting the section. We now have a 3 ft. space between the back of section F and the 18 ft. wall of the studio. Door section E and section H are then erected in line with F. For this shot the door will have to be reversed and hung on the opposite side to open inward. The walls and both sides of the door are covered with imitation wood wallpaper hung horizontally using a good size paste. Paint the window laths black and stretch fine black net across the opening behind the laths. This will diffuse the background and eliminate the use of glass in the window. Outside the window, on the studio wall paste white ceiling paper, covering an area about 9 ft. 6 in. wide. On this background, paint with light and dark grey water paint a rough representation of a steel mill exterior. Absolute accuracy is not essential, as the backing will be out of focus during the takes. In the centre of section A, paste a plan of the works, this can be drawn specially, using imagination. A map occupies a similar position on section F. As a carpet will cover most of the floor, cover the remainder that appears in the shot with hessian and brown paper, varnishing the paper when dry with copal varnish. The desk occupies the space in front of the window with a bent steel chair at the desk and one on the left of the desk. In the corner stands a tubular steel hat rack. All these props are hired. The only other necessity is a black curtain, on the wall outside the door and the setting is more Police Station V scale or less complete. Letter trays, inkstand, blotters, business papers, etc., are then required to complete the minor details of the setting, and the scene can be shot. Hotel Bedroom: The reason for shooting the hotel bedroom scenes immediately after the mill manager's office sequence is economy, for we can use the same sections, in a different way, preserving the fairly expensive wood wall paper. The hotel bedroom set is erected across the 18 ft. width of the studio, placing section H, B, and F on the left-hand side, 8 ft. from the studio wall. Butting on to this "flat" are sections D and E, at right angles, with section A at right angles on the right-hand side overlapping 2 ft. as before, in the previous set. In this setting section B is used for the first time and will need touching up, painting the window frame aluminium. Outside the window a white curtain will be needed, tight back against the studio wall, together with the usual black curtain outside the door. The props in this scene are simple and few : a walnut bed, a bed-side table and the table lamp on the right-hand side of the bed, and a bed-side cabinet holding the house telephone on the left-hand side. Floor covering is carpet, so the same floor covering as used in the last scene can again be used, if desired. The window curtains are printed cretonne with a valance of the same material, and a tallboy standing directly in front of the window. The table lamp must be practical as it is used in the shot completing the setting. The Village Pub: We have now reached the final setting in the film, and perhaps the most complicated from the props standpoint. Quite a lot of action takes place on this set, requiring a large number of set-ups so the set is rather larger than would otherwise be necessary.