THE BUILD

Prior to building I will have sent the visuals and construction drawings to the construction manager and we would have discussed necessary details.

He would pre order all the materials and book the construction crew and transport ready for the first day. I would be there early to talk through the position of the set on the stage and make sure everyone is clear as to what they are doing, the more accurate the drawings, the less talking required. The builds usually take between one and four days depending on what we are building (I would have dictated this at budget stage). Stages are expensive so we make sure the time spent there is productive. This involves a realistic schedule based on the painters, carpenters and riggers all working together on various parts of the job so that no one is kept waiting for anyone else.

Each day the progress is monitored so that if overtime is required it's spread in the most cost effective way, time is required to let paints dry so these are left until later to allow overnight drying etc.

The first few days building are often frustrating for the art director as one is often just waiting for things to come together, the drawings are done, meetings are over, but the set is still hours away. Gradually one can see it coming together though we often keep our fingers crossed in the hope that it will look like the visual.

The last day of building sees all the props arrive. There are usually some surprises there when one sees selected props come a slightly different size than expected.

When the dressing finally takes place the whole job starts coming together. Ones initial plans materialize into three-dimensional reality. Then, the clients come, and quite often change it all about!