A Very Long Engagement and My Boy Jack

A very long engagement, 2004 directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet follows the woes of a young french woman searching for her fiance lost in battle in the trenches of world war one. As we go deeper into the story she unravels the truths and secrets behind her fiance's disappearance, determined he is still alive and not dead. The film is in colour with I'd say a saturated and yellow glow. I can only presume this use of contrast and yellow saturation was used to enhance the very natural and neutral colours of the surrounding set, environment and costume relevant to the time. I found this film very sweet being a story primarily about the love and determination of a physically (but not mentally) fragile woman and felt it highlighted the mental and physical struggle soldiers had to endure and the lengths they would go to just to leave the depressing condition that was the world war one trenches.

My Boy Jack, 2007, directed by Brian Kirk follows the short life of Jack Kipling, Son of Author Rudyard Kipling as he attempts and eventually succeeds in leaving his home and joining the army, becoming a world war one Lieutenant. Complications about his eyesight are his initial obstacles and a reluctant mother and sister. He sadly dies in battle and the central focus becomes the grieving family back in England. There are some good comparison shots of dark, rainy days in Belgium and bright, sunny days in the English country side. My boy Jack is shot in crisp colour reflecting a lot of detail in I’d say a hinted tone of blue. This could reflect the cold conditions of the war and the death which the film highlights.

Visually both films are rich in reference to 1914-1918 interiors and fashion in Europe. A very long engagement's set decorator was Veronique Melery and Nicki McCallum was art director for My Boy Jack. Both seem to have contributed artistically to other “period dramas” that refer to historical fact.

Bringing home the bread and cheese...

Today in our practical lecture we looked into creating light weight and robust props out of polystyrene and polyurethane. This process is messy and our task was to make Belgian bread and cheese based on factual reference. My bread was based on Belgian Abbey bread and my cheese was based on a cheese made by Chimay- a Belgian company specialising in beer and cheeses:

 http://www.chimay.com/en/en.html?IDC=27 The cheese is called The Poteaupre: the cream of the Trappist cheeses.

Step by step:

For bread…

1)      Mark your desired shape with a pen or pencil onto your block of polystyrene and with a retractable knife cut the larger unwanted pieces away.

2)      A. Use a surform to cut/sand away and smooth down the areas of the polystyrene that you want rounded and shaped. Remember the bread loaf is an organic form so there is room for error/random strokes and dents, BUT no straight/square surfaces.

3)      Prop filed down and sanded polystyrene form  on a small bowl and newspaper (away from wood base surfaces as the PVA will stick).

4)      Mix 10% water with PVA glue (for easier consistency) and cover form in muslin (process quite like paper mache) muslin reinforces prop and gives an equal surface.

For cheese…

1)      Mark your desired shape with a pen or pencil onto your block of polyurethane and with a retractable knife cut the larger unwanted pieces away.

2)      For polyurethane only cutting and possible sanding is necessary. You can cut the larger areas with a ban saw, as it doesn’t melt. Smaller details can be made with a craft knife.

3)      For a smooth or even lumpy texture you can coat your polyurethane form in idendon, which is reinforcement and makes your prop fire resistant. You can also cover in PVA mixture and muslin.

* For a lumpy texture I mixed idendon with bits of tissue and covered my cheese form.

My narrative...

Inspired partially from the Christmas truce in 1914 between the British and German soldiers, I recently decided what my narrative was to be... Two injured soldiers (one English, one German) form an unlikely friendship when they both seek refuge in a Belgian cottage on the outskirts of Ypres in a village called Boezinge. The cottage belongs to a widower of a Belgian soldier killed in battle. Being a kind and forgiving woman she takes both soldiers into her cottage to nurse back to health. My setting is a basket-like sofa next to a fireplace. The props I am considering to make are: an early 20th century wash bowl and jug- she would have used this to clean the soldiers wounds and for washing them; a wine or whiskey bottle to represent possible bonding between the young widower and the two soldiers; and/or a candle holder used constantly when any of my potential characters have wondered or pondered in the dark of night!

Alfred Bastien, 1915, Belgium soldiers share their food with an
 old lady who refused to leave her home

Christmas truce, 1914

Researching Possible/Probable props...

Researching Possible/Probable props themed from 1910-1918 Belgium ain't easy! There are many routes I could go down to find a good reference to a probable and interesting prop to make that relates to our subject matter: World War One meets Belgian society. The problem is, as I've mentioned before it seems production of pretty much everything ceased, slowed down or was limited and instead military artillery was made! What I've decided to do is research French/ Belgian antiques from 1900-1910 and if i can find it interiors and exteriors for good reference and inspiration! Antique sites are good and even eBay for photos of dealers antiques. I've found a french antique book that I will look into. I've also come across a film called A very long engagement (which i mentioned in my first post) I've found clips and screen shots of the characters in the cottage in the french countryside, I think these could give me some insight, inspiration and maybe reference into life in Europe during WW1!.


I made some Fimo models during the summer aswell themed to WW1/ 1914-1918... Assuming food was rationed and limited and most would have been non-commercialized I stuck to eggs bread and milk! Oh and a clock!

Molding and casting the walnut...

Molding the Walnut...

For our 3^rd practical lecture we looked into making silicon molds and resin casts. This process can be cheap and costly and can produce hollow, flat or completely solid casts.

1)     Dowling can be drilled into the base or most practical place to allow complete coverage of the structure in silicon and to pick up as much detail. In this case it was a walnut.

2)     Stick dowling end onto your plastic base using a glue gun.

3)   With another four squares of the same plastic create a box like structure, ensuring the box is only as big as it needs to be to reduce using too much unwanted silicon cast. Plastic weld is used to fuse the sides and base together.   You can use a hot glue to reinforce any seams and fuse any potential leaking spots.

4)     Mixing the silicon is a 10:1 ratio. E.g. if you used 200g of silicon, you’ll need to mix 20g of hardener with it!

5)     Stir until equal consistency. Draw air bubbles out using a vacuum degassing machine.

6)     Pour “degassed” silicon mixture into box starting at the corners and sides to prevent/reduce new air bubbles forming.

Casting the walnut...

7)     Resin ratio is 50/50 or 1:1 to make final amount. E.g. If you wanted a final mixture of 100g you’d used 20g of part A and 50g of part B.

8)     When your silicon mold has hardened and ready you’ll need to cut through to the middle to relieve the original structure (the walnut). Make a jagged cut (rather like a jigsaw piece, so mold can always be placed together correctly). Create an air bubble for the gasses that need to escape during casting. Ready you silicon mold and pour resin into your pour hole- made with the dowling drilled into the structure at the beginning. 

Fiberglass process...

Our second demonstration and practical was working with fibre glass. This process uses a lot of dangerous and toxic chemicals so it was essential we were kitted out with safety gloves, goggles, apron and breathing mask. We were to use the vacuum formed plastic helmets we had made the previous week to work with fibre glass and create our WW1 military helmets. 

Chopped Strand Mat

Fiber Glass Tissue

1)    Layer a thin amount of mirror glaze over the inner of the helmet mould and repeat process approx x3 leaving 10 minutes between each coat to dry. Once dry, spray with Mould wax release agent (under an extractor) and again leave to dry.

2)    Mix 100g gel coat resin with 1g hardener (a catalyst) and mix with a wooden stirrer till an even consistency. Add a small cup of iron powder to create a metallic effect at the end of the process.

3)    Cover mould in approx. 2mm layer of mixture, ensuring all white areas are covered. Use your brush to spread out and smooth the area so it is even and not lumpy. It will now need 1-2 hours to dry.

4)    Once gel coat resin is dry, coat the first layer of resin onto your mould (only do half at first to avoid areas drying out before you add the chopped strand mat fiber glass). Using your brush dap rather than brush the first layer of the chopped strand fibreglass onto the form adding more resin on top for strength and layering.

5)    Cover all of form ensuring there is an even layer and use your brush to manipulate the strands so they overlap and join.

6)    Once that layer is completed start layering on the glass fiber tissue. This is not for reinforcement but useful for obtaining a good, smooth and safe surface over the chopped strand.

7)    You will now have to leave this for a further few hours till hardened and dried. Your fiber glassed form should be ready for edge trimming and cutting and should hopefully pop out of your plastic mold with a little pressure.

8)    To produce neat and smooth edges use a round sanding mat (make sure to be wearing your mask as the dust produced when sanding is dangerous to inhale.

Oh! What a lovely war!

Set during the beginning, middle and end of World War One, Oh! What a lovely war depicts the good, the bad and the ugly of “the most devastating war to date”.

Based on a play, Attenborough commences the story with a rather theatrical scene highlighting the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Gavrillo Princip. Ferdinand is the heir to the duel throne of Austria-Hungary and it is this incident that sparks the war. Initially very stage-like sets change to set locations in Brighton and presumably Sussex. Being a musical the audience is subject to several songs sung light heartedly but with underlying truths about the war. I feel a great deal of effort is put into the costume and props for this film. Though the sets are simple yet affective you almost feel like you are watching a play being filmed.

One of my favourite scenes was the Christmas truce scene: the German military and the British military sing together on Christmas eve/day and meet the next morning to talk and share food and drink. I felt a great deal of respect and comradery coming from the characters. Below is the scene…