Technical Article Realistic Movie Sets Formed of

Technical Article
Realistic Movie Sets Formed of Rigid,
Lightweight Thermoplastic Sheet
COMPANY: Provost Display
INDUSTRY: Exhibits and Displays
APPLICATION: Theatrical Set Components
ARTICLE NUMBER: Y-0751
BOLTARON
Performance Products, LLC.
One General Street
Newcomerstown, Ohio 43832 USA
1 800 342 7444
[email protected]
www.boltaron.com
Realistic Movie Sets Formed of Rigid,
Lightweight Thermoplastic Sheet
NORRISTOWN, PA—Whether it’s the 1954-era brick buildings in the Martin
Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio thriller Shutter Island, turn-of-the-century
cobblestone roads in the movie Beloved, or the bare cinder block jail cell in a
current day television crime series, set designers rely on lightweight, rigid
materials to deliver the look and feel of the real thing.
Since building actual brick buildings or cobblestone streets on a movie set is
not feasible, set designers turn to specialized suppliers like Provost Displays
(Norristown, Pa.), which creates architectural elements out of a light-weight,
thin-gauge, rigid thermoplastic.
Founded in 1950, Provost Displays uses vacuum forming to produce plastic
panels for theatrical, film, and photographic scenic purposes. The company,
which offers in-house design capabilities for custom jobs, has a full line of
architectural panels — bricks, stones, building materials, windows, doors, tiles,
etc. — as well as props.
In all, Provost carries more than 350 designs, including everything from
manhole covers, rafters, and Egyptian panels to deer heads, radiators, and fire
hydrants. Brick is the most popular option in the company’s catalog. Sixteen
brick products are available, not including custom options, ranging from
antique brick, old brick, and mini brick to old, weathered brick. “For the
buildings on the set of Shutter Island, we made more than 4,000 sheets of
brick,” says Provost’s owner Ardia Dayton
“Customers can use our materials to build practically any environment they
can imagine,” she adds. “It’s realistic, easy to handle, and cost effective.”
From Raw Material to Movie Set
The process begins with a 52-inch wide (1.3 m), 300-lb (159-kg) roll of 0.030inch (0.76 mm) thick thermoplastic alloy from Boltaron Performance Products,
LLC. (Newcomerstown, Ohio). The sheet is typically specified in white with a
smooth, matte finish.
To create its products, Provost relies on vacuum forming, a process in which
the sheet is preheated to a forming temperature, and a vacuum
(approximately 350 psi / 2400 kPa) is applied below the sheet, while the sheet
is pulled over the mold where it cools sufficiently to retain every detail of the
mold’s shape and surface.
The company, which has two vacuum forming machines, builds its molds inhouse. Brick and cobblestone molds are typically sculpted by hand from high
density foam. “Once it’s sculpted, we coat the foam with a two-part epoxy resin
and reinforcements to create the mold,” explains Dayton.
The company also casts molds off of real items, including a wall-mounted radiator
and a fire hydrant. “We cast off the actual radiator using plaster,” explains Dayton.
Since the 3-D radiator includes undercuts (which would lock the formed sheet
onto the mold), Provost forms the tops half and then builds out the back.
Similarly, the company vacuum forms its fire hydrant in halves, which are then
heat-welded or glued with PVC glues to replicate the complete, threedimensional prop.
In addition to its formability, Dayton relies on the thermoplastic alloy for its tensile
strength, scratch resistance and impact resistance (20-ft-lb/in (1059 J/m). The
material was put to the test on the set of Beloved, when set designers turned an
area in Philadelphia, Pa. into a slaughterhouse. Vacuum formed cobblestone
panels from Provost Displays were laid over the existing street, strewn with dirt,
and walked upon by actors, horses and rooting pigs for filming.
“We paint the sheet using a water-based latex paint,” explains Dayton. “We then
form it the following day, and during the vacuum forming process the paint
bonds with the plastic.”
"The material is rigid and lightweight, and offers good forming characteristics
with minimal thin-out on outside corners and within recesses," says Dayton.
“For example, we use the material to vacuum form a scallop shell panel with a 12
in. (305 mm) deep draw, and it picks up every detail of the mold,” she says,
adding, “The more detail, the more realistic these designs look on the set.” The
deepest recess Provost has drawn is 18 in. (457 mm).
Finished panels are typically shipped flat and measure 4 by 12 ft (1.2 by 3.7 m),
although the company can also produce 4 by 8 ft (1.2 by 2.4 m) and 4 ft square
(1.2 m square) sheets. Portions can be trimmed using readily available tools such
as scissors or utility knives, explains Dayton. Trimmed panels can be mounted to
nearly any flat surface, including sheetrock walls, wood paneling, and theatrical
flats using staples, adhesives, or screws with washers.
“For designs with a continuous pattern, such as brick, we soldier the edges so that
the panels interlock, and we also form corners,” adds Dayton. “All of these panels
are reusable and recyclable, and can be repainted and repurposed for alternate
sets,” she says.
Boltaron Performance Products LLC
+(740) 498-5900
www.boltaron.com
Provost Displays Inc.
1-800-555-3772
http://provostdisplays.com