Practical Task - Props

Detective's Office Practical Task

Using ideas I had previously explored in my first prop experiment, we created the scene which would be used as the detectives office. Many of the items seen in the previous post were also used in this, such as the water with the tea bag to resemble alcohol, the ashtray and the old phone. As the camera was on the tripod for filming at the time these were taken, I took them on my phone instead so they're not of the best quality.

Several extra props were also used that were found inside the house and we felt would look suitable. We placed a load of old books on the desk, including two bibles and religion often played a bigger part in peoples lives during the 50s than now. A desk clock embedded in a pine-cone and an old photograph were also on the desk to fill out the space a bit more. The main item was a large typewriter provided by Mindi which served no real purpose but was a great prop which makes the desk seem more authentic. 

We also had some props specific to our storyline, including the tape recorder which can be seen above and the package addressed to the detective. 

Hidden around the room were also fake documents, fake money and jewellery which would later be removed by the detective and placed into the briefcase. The documents and jewellery were inside a filing cabinet which we got some shots of.  

The money was hidden both inside the lamp and behind a photo frame. This was to mimic the creative hiding places often seen in classic detective films.

Here is a picture of the full set-up, including the evidence board which was stuck on the wall with copious amounts of blu-tac. 

Overall, I think our scenery looked good and props such as the type writer and a vintage looking lamp made it seem much more realistic to be set in the 50s rather than in modern day. There are a few wires hidden behind the bin which I was unable to remove, however we were careful not to include any of these in the shots.