Set Design and Construction: revolving bookcase and moving eyes in a painting

revolving bookcase and moving eyes in a painting

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Set Design and Construction
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2942
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Topic: revolving bookcase and moving eyes in a painting

Posted By: ange
Subject: revolving bookcase and moving eyes in a painting
Date Posted: 1/29/08 at 8:07pm

I need some tech assistance in creating 2 effects for my son's school play.

One is having the eyes of a cat move in a painting. The other is a revolving bookcase or secret passageway. Any suggestions will be appreciated. It is a small stage. The teachers think that when your child does alot of shows that you know it all. Help

Replies:

Posted By: TimW
Date Posted: 1/29/08 at 9:11pm

High there ange.

For the bookcase, if it doesn't HAVE to revolve, just hinge one side to the set like a door and put rigid casters on the bottom of the other side to support the weight. To make it revolve, how about building a frame out of lumber for the bookcase to set in. Then useing plumbing pipe flanges attached to the frame, place a pipe attached to the bookcase (a little smaller) in the flange for the pivot point for the top and bottom. Then achor the outer frame to your set.

For the cats eyes, cut out the eyes and place a picture of the eyes only, possibly in another frame, behind the main picture. The eyes can then be moved in any direction. How to accomplish this would depend on where the picture is placed.

Hope this helps, or at least gives any ideas.

Posted By: TDavis
Date Posted: 2/04/08 at 11:39pm

Ha ha, this can be an easy fix. I just have to ask, is it alright if you cut the eyes out of the picture of the cat? And if so, could someone be standing directly behind the picture while being out of sight?

About the bookshelf, will there be walls on either side do you know? If the bookshelf will be between two walls (or flats as they're known to us theatre junkies), then I think the option would be easier for an opening bookcase rather than a revolving one.

I'd love to help, just let me know!

Posted By: ange
Date Posted: 2/05/08 at 12:03am

Yes you can cut out the eyes in the picture and there is room for someone to be behind it.

About the book case, it will be in the middle of the flat so it will have studs to support it on either side.

Please let me know what are your ideas. THanks

Posted By: TDavis
Date Posted: 2/05/08 at 12:35am

So, with the cat's eyes then, just remove the eyes and one a piece of yellowish construction paper or colored cardstock (or else color it to resemble the color of the cats eyes), draw two black ovals for the pupils of the cat's eyes. Place this strip of paper behind the portrait and tape or velcro it into place. When the times comes for it the eyes to move, have a tech or actor behind the painting prepare the paper and move it to the left or right, therefore moving the pupils in the sockets. The color of the eyes will remain the same, but the pupils will appear to move. Here's an illustration of what I mean.

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The green circles are the holes in the pictures, the yellow rectangle is the piece of paper with the pupils on it, ready to be moved. Depending on how advanced this performance is, you can make artistic lines on the eyes or even find a pair from a picture online if you'd like. If you need more help on the eyes, or a better definition and/or illustration, let me know and I promise to help you out.

The bookshelf can be done either way as mentioned above by Tim. It can either just swing, or if the desired effect is to have it revolve. Go to your hardware store and pick up some pipes in the plumbing section. Just make sure that the loop or pipe attatched to the flat above the bookshelf is larger than that attatched to the bookshelf. The tricky part with wanting it to revolve is you'll have to put wheels underneath the bookcase, at least three located in a triangle (all wheels that pivot around, not stationary). You'll have to attatch these in a triangular fashion to the bottom of the bookcase and then on either set of the bookcase you'll have cover the wheels by putting a peice of wood or fabric around the base of the bookcase so it reaches a half-inch above the floor. Like I said before, if this is confusing at all let me know and I'll try to explain it better. Even make pictures. :-)