The Golden Compass
A career in music was out of the question for this Barry Gibbs, but he's had great success as a prop master for films. For his gig on The Golden Compass, he constructed all of the fantastical props used by the characters in the fantasy film.
Gibbs Fantastical Props
"The first prop we were asked to make for the film was the spirit projector and back in March," said Gibbs. "James Enright and I started to discuss how we were going to make things. He was convincing me to put in the budget for a forge so we could make everything for real in brass. We knew that the detailing was going to be required so we set up a forge back in May and as soon as this concept was signed off, this was the first thing to be made."
The spirit projector is the device that sets Lyra's journey in motion, so it had to be a good one. "We were asked to create something not only beautiful to look at but also slightly functional so Lord Asrael was able to come in and operate this machine and then the amber lighting was practical and from a remote, we were able to put in the projector beam once the photogram was placed into the spirit projector. This in all, this was somewhere like 15 weeks work to produce this piece. We had to create everything from scratch, this concept, from the concept we created a model, then into molding, forging, polishing, fitting, etc. All of the photograms were made, although there's no image as such because that's put in CG."
The prop department built all the film's furniture too. It will look even more magical under the film's special lighting. "We created our own lighting which is an issue we had very early discussions on. So with the lighting technicians we created a moving, almost plasma-like lighting which causes numerous problems but we ended up succeeding I think. It's been a great journey because we had the luck to make everything. We don't have to worry about borrowing, renting, we make it. It makes it more unique. Obviously rentals would be much cheaper, but you wouldn’t get the look. This is so defined. We've had to follow that role because it's again, it's our world but with a twist. So you could look at the 1920s, 1930s zeppelins and you'd see the style of the luxury and the finishes and we've got to try and take that one step further."
The filmmakers hope to produce the second two books of Pullman's trilogy, so all the props had to be built to last. "I think the thing is the finish. We have to create a prop that works for the period of time that we need it. At the end of the day, it is a film prop. It has to last for the scene. A lot of the furnishings we've done will stand the test of time. Obviously, all the brass fittings will last the test of time, namely for another two movies. So they have to be made for it."
The Golden Compass comes to theatres on December 7th.
For movie stills, full synopsis and addition info, go to The Golden Compass
Movie Page.
More Golden Compass set reports coming soon on CanMag.Com.
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