While creating the props for our DragonSpell Teaser Trailer, I was confronted with the fact that we needed a sword. A sword that looked fairly decent. One that didn’t have “Made in China” visible on the blade. And preferably one without cheesy-looking plastic decoration on the hilt. Unfortunately, that was all we had on hand. And the zero-dollar budget made buying one out of the question. Besides, if I had managed to talk Jordan and Ruth into spending the money, it wouldn’t have got here in time. I was left with no choice but to make something out of those plastic excuses for a weapon.

Drastic times called for drastic actions. We chose the handle from the sword of Chocolate, and the blade from the sword of Ice Cream. Tremble, world, there will never be an iSundae 3 ever because the swords of Ice Cream and Chocolate have been destroyed. They were thrown into the firey Mount Doom known as the craftroom and reborn as this sword. (Please hold applause until the end of the article.)

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Tags: Blog, Props and Costumes by Rebekah
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Well. We’ve done another shoot for Simply Charlotte Mason. This one was smaller, weighing in at about three hours of footage. Now we’re done with the big stuff for them, so now it’s time to turn to our own project. Yep, the book trailer. [Read more →]

Tags: Blog, Movies, Props and Costumes by Jordan
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(This post references iSundae II: Attack of the Cones, part 6. You may want to view the movie before reading this post.)

Given my disapproval of the all-too-common practice of putting enchantresses in childrens’ movies, I wanted a more or less logical and non-magical way for Gwenanda to do the things she does. A key element of this was the Rain Maker 2007. (Yes, the movie wasn’t released until 2008. What can I say? Even Gwenanda could use a software update.)

To create the Rain Maker I started with a series of sketches. We wanted something that looked complicated, but also allowed for travel to and from the filming sites.

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Tags: Blog, Movies, Props and Costumes by Rebekah
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(This post references iSundae II: Attack of the Cones, part 5. You may want to view the movie before reading this post.)

Have you ever been bored and brilliant in the space of a minute? You’re sitting there, minding your own business, and suddenly lightning strikes. A large part of the iSundae II script came about in that way. The whole concept of Fonsuger being after something, and what that something was came out of a bored doodle during a movie discussion. And Reyshar’s hat.

I stopped and looked down at the paper. Now, that prop looked cool. How could we fit it into the movie? And the piece on top . . . where have I seen that shape before? “Hey,” I said, “What if the thing Fonsuger is after has something to do with the first movie? Relating back to why Reyshar wore that weird helmet thing.” The idea took fire and we soon found ourselves with a slidey-puzzle box that contained something that could make you immune to being utterly vaporized. Granted, the “relating back to Reyshar” part changed a bit in the finished movie. We didn’t explain that what was in the box was kept in the point on Reyshar’s helmet, but the general idea mushroomed out of that. [Read more →]

Tags: Blog, Movies, Props and Costumes, Video by Rebekah
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A new movie. A new script. A whole cast of characters clamouring to be costumed. For me, this is the funnest part of design work. I can suspend the trivial details of time and available cash and make an idea come to life on paper. Ah, the bliss of it all! Then reality sets in and I have to either change the designs, compromise, or both.

Have you ever been slammed that way? The perfect costume design has to be thrown out because it would cost too much to make. The detailed beadwork that you absolutely loved goes away or becomes fabric paint. The ornate helmet has to be scratched and replaced with a hat. A felt one. With a bright red feather. Situations like this are depressing, annoying, and even downright ugly. [Read more →]

Tags: Blog, Movies, Props and Costumes, Tips and Tricks by Rebekah
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