Building the set - 1st room test

Below: Making the set in The Little Oak Frame Company workshop.

Over the summer I had been thinking about what I wanted to do with my film. My cousin Malcom Hyde, has a company designing and building dolls houses in Worcester, called

'The Little Oak Frame Company'

www.thelittleoakframecompany.co.uk

I went and stayed with him for a few days and he let me use his workshop and helped me out in terms of design and which tools to use for certain jobs. I had decided I really wanted to make something to do with an old ladies house, so we sketched out a rough idea of a living room. (The idea has changed since but I think what I have will make a really good starting point for my set). We decided to do a small coal mining house, so we worked out that 1/6th scale would be best. Twice the size of what he usually uses for the dolls houses. I wanted my young girl character to be lanky, about 6 foot tall in real terms, so there fore about a 12 inch armature, so this made it much easier to work out the scale.

I explained all the logistics of what I would need to make my film. I wanted three walls, and a long narrow room, but needed to be able to get in to animate. I didn't want a ceiling because of lighting restraints etc, and I wanted a window that I could place a light behind. I also explained that I would probably need to use magnets too, so the floor would need to be strong but thin.

We worked out the size of the room, then what furniture and features I would want to put in it. We cut the boards for the walls and floor to size and then I started work on the floorboards. We decided dark wood would be best, and then I could put lots of rugs on top of it later.

First Malcom cut up some strips of oak for me using a ban saw, and then I sanded them down, and cut them to size using a Proxxon circular saw. This made life much easier to have the right tools! I then stuck them all down using wood glue and when they were dry, sanded them down to be flat and level and then varnished them. I was really pleased with how they came out.

Next we fitted the walls into place and Malcom designed the nifty little corner pieces that can be seen in the 10th, 11th and 12th picture to go on the corners of the walls to keep them tight fitting, but this means I can also take the set walls apart to animate and transport very easily without upsetting any of the frame work.

We also cut a hole in the far wall for the window and cut out an acrylic window and several strips of wood for the frame. I can glue these in after the wallpaper had been applied. We also made a box to go behind the open window that I can either light or place a photograph of an outside scene in. We also made skirting boards out of strips of wood that all-ready had grooves in it, however Malcom showed me how I could make my own using small tools attached to a ban saw.

Next Malcom thinned out the floor (the other side to the strips that I lay down) with the yellow power tool shown, so I can use magnets under the flooring.We also made the small square prop- ups to make the floor sit a couple of inches above the table (or whatever its sat on) for easy access to magnets and tie downs etc. This also means I could run wires through the floor for lamps etc without big wires being seen.

The final few pictures (and the first) show the furniture in production. Malcom showed me how to make opening miniature drawers, the book case, and also the chair. We glued all these pieces together and sanded and varnished them appropriately. We used bees wax on the shelves which gave them a really nice tatty feel. I wanted the furniture to be all miss match with a mixture of antique pieces from different eras. We also made a couple of picture frames using the same method as the skirting board.

I am really happy with how the set came out. I think it will look really effective when fully furnished and dressed. I am undecided on wether this will be the main room that I will film in for my final film but I am sure I will use it at some point, and am glad we made it because it really gave me an insight into scaling and the best way to put things together. I learnt allot in the workshop, and it was really interesting learning how he goes about making dolls houses and how this can work into my sets, and finding ways of making these ideas work for a stop-motion film.