Trees

Because two of the sets needed trees, I thought this was a brilliant opportunity to use removable trees that could be swapped between the sets. So firstly I had to think about how I would construct them. I initially thought that I could use long cardboard tubes and texture over the top. But after heading down to the Scrap shop close to university I was greeted by the most amazing plethora of scrap that was donated to the shop and sold on for a price that was extraordinarily cheap. I asked the lady at the counter how she would tackle this dilemma of trees . and it just so happened that they had recieved a shipment of ex next displays from the Christmas period which were basically cardboard tubes with a foam texture applied to the outside which would be perfect for my needs. So I went ahead and bought a few.

Pictured above are two versions of the trees, the original (botom) and one I had undercoated in black to try and cover up the horribly tacky glitter that was coating the trees. This was an issue as it would really throw the scene off aesthetic direction and if there was dynamic lighting then it would cause some horrible artefacts in the final shooting. This covered them up to a point, but the glitter still remained. It was time for some heavy duty cover up. I decided to paper mache the trees. This was also to cover up some of the foam that had bubbled and melted due to the spray paint I used.

The desired trees were achieved! It just needed roots and we were all set to paint and include in the sets. The roots were created by scruntching up news paper and paper macheing over the top to blend the two assets together. The issue I encountered here was that I had to temporatrily attatch them to a surface so I could later cut the surface away. But because I used cardboard the warping was hurrendous!! So a different method was needed. This came in the form of making a gaffer tape sheet layer on some wood which would allow me to peel it off and just cut away the excess material. 

The way I was going to make them removable was to take advantage that there were holes either end. I fashioned little circles out of scrap foam squares.

I tested it with gaffer tape but the circle ripped right off. So I solidly adhered them to the base board with wood glue and it turned out to be perfect! This would allow removable trees but also a consisted animation as the trees wouldn't be knocked out of place due to the pressure of the foam keeping memory of where the tree is in reality.

After the trees were completed and painted to a good enough standard it was then time to briefly dust up the base board, create a camp fire out of pebbles and twigs and then the one set is complete!

And here it is:

(the camp fire was complete but I don't have photographic evidence)

This process was quite eye opening due to the fact I had to really consider the type of animation being used so I could make the trees removable in case one needed to be removed for a camera to pass through. But also keeping a consistent position to avoid accidental knocks or bumps.