WW1 Trench

[SceneMaster]

Hi,

 

Been a while since I’ve been on here! I’m currently working on a project which involves mocking up a WW1 trench and have been assigned to the scenic elements. Does anyone have any suggestions for a supply of hessian sandbags and camouflage netting on a relatively low budget? I have already sourced large quantities of sand for the sand bags for next to nothing. We have made contact with army surplus suppliers and the imperial war museum with regards to props and scenic elements. Has anyone had to undertake projects set in this period and have any further suggestions for suitable props\scenic elements?

 

Cheers guys...

[Andrew C]

Just a though, but did they use cam net in WW1? Aviation was in the early days, and net is typically used to hide stuff from the air. Worth a look in some pictorial histories, or a trip to The Imperial.

[Jivemaster]

I recall pictures of WW1 trenches being planked against the sides falling in rather than sandbagged. Hessian sandbags are still in use on roadworks locally (East London) so must be available trade somewhere.

 

Definitely a research visit to libraries and the IWM. Probably look at WW1 re-enactors sites too some are very good and care to get the details right.

[paulears]

I suspect an episode or two of Blackadder Goes Forth would really help here. Def no camo net. Sandbags, timber planking and lots and lots of dirt!

 

I suspect that the sandbags are ok for the odd one, but are you aware how heavy they are? Work out how many tons worth you'll need and have a think. There's also a considerable danger if they fall and land on the cast.

[peterdevon]

Sand bags here http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/shop/arm...ags-250833.html

[Jivemaster]

Enter "world war 1 trenches" in a google images search, hundreds of images mostly contemporary, some excavations recently.

[the kid]

A local council might help out, in the floods a few years ago I must of shifted a good 2 tonne in a day to fill sand bags, I think you might have better luck with a sewing machine and some wadding when it comes to weight.

[Jemma]

Try your local builder's suppliers for empty sandbags.

 

They should also have mica / vermiculite (a crumb-like insulation material) which is good for filling them and qutie light. Actors often find it difficult to act 'heavy', but we had success with half sand / half mica, as it doesn't squidge when picked up the way wadding does and is a good weight.

 

Hope that helps.

[Grahame]

Way back in the mid 90's, Promenade Productions did 'The Big Picnic' in an old ship engine shed in Glasgow, where they constructed an entire WW1 set about 120m long that included a couple of trenches.

The substructure was built from scaffolding and scaff planks, which was covered with turf and sand. The trench bits were mainly dressed with 3 or 4 rows of sandbags at the base, with a 'step' or shelf on top so that men could see over the edge of the trench, then railway sleepers or scaff planks to make the walls of the trench, with another row of sandbags to fashion the top edge. The 'redoubts' or command room bits had doorways fashioned from three railway sleepers making the frame, with sandbag pillars either side for support.

In general, you can get away with less sandbags than you might think, but you will need a fair few of them. Definitely no camo netting though.

[w/robe]

Make sure you have brown sand bags a lot of them are green these days.

[WiLL]

Peter Evans Studios, the vac-form plastic people who make scenic elements have a very good panel which looks like a wall of sandbags which might be an alternative for set walls etc, of course they would need to be painted.

[Stuart Basson]

Here's a vague idea of what we did for the show at our place, about a year ago:

 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/saltergate/work%20stuff/owalw129Small.jpg

 

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/saltergate/work%20stuff/owalw130Small.jpg

 

We used some old ply flats (that had been made out of 2x1 on edge) back to front, so that the 2" depth of them gave us a sort of panel/tray that we filled above the 2" height with something like mineral fibre loft insulation. We gauzed this, whacked the panels together and then put planks on (reclaimed floors from old tube trains! Crikey, they stank like the real trench thing!) Through filling them over the 2" lip, the filling "bulged" out of where there weren't planks and looked like earth oozing through the gaps. It painted up pretty well, we thought.

[Jram]

Way back in the mid 90's, Promenade Productions did 'The Big Picnic' in an old ship engine shed in Glasgow, where they constructed an entire WW1 set about 120m long that included a couple of trenches.

It was filmed, because we watched the video at school. Whether it was released officially, made available to schools, or we just saw a copy taped off the TV, I couldn't say - but there is footage of it out there. If anyone finds it, I'd love to see it again... My teacher was brilliant, he used that and Blackadder Goes Forth as teaching aids, due to their historical accuracy :) There's a review here, and others available by searching for Big Picnic Glasgow.

 

And, @ Stuart - nice set :)

[Grahame]

It was filmed, because we watched the video at school. Whether it was released officially, made available to schools, or we just saw a copy taped off the TV, I couldn't say - but there is footage of it out there. If anyone finds it, I'd love to see it again...

I was Chief LX and VL op on the show, and I well remember the filming. It was a rather low-budget affair by BBC standards as they didn't bring in much extra kit, but the lack of extra lights did give the proceedings a lovely dark isolated feel that wasn't present when you saw it live.

I think I've still got a VHS copy of the telly show kicking around somewhere..

:P

[GridGirl]

I worked on a production of La Forza Del Destino which was set in WWI. We had a load of sandbags, but as Paul said, they're really really heavy - we ended up using sand for those that got sat on, but crumpled up newspaper to pack out the rest to look right. We also made up barbed wire to go along the top of the trenches - very easy, just nail foot-high X's of timber onto a piece of 3x1, get some heavy fencing wire and wind it round to make a very loose coil, then get rubber bands and tie them around the wire. With some spraypaint, it looks good and also will not hurt the actors when they walk into it/trip over it/etc etc - there's a good pic here. We also had quite a lot of "rusted" cutaway corrugated iron on the set which looked great. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, and the opera company has gone bust so I doubt I'd be able to find any either!