Teccles Cake Set Design
This is a small online tech review show, the premise of which is that it is an informal discussion between to friends in one of their grandmother’s basement. It was to be filled with geeky film/game/TV references and look a like a nerdy guy, who has never moved out of home, still had some adolescent decorations around the place. The directors summary was “That 70s Show meets the Big Bang Theory”.
After some discussions and looking a precedence we decided that a single sofa gave the flexibility for a guest on the show without taking up too much room. A mixture of used and custom made novelty furniture was to be used to achieve the aesthetic required, and the walls were to be constructed using vertical timber panels to hide seams in the set.
Some props had been decided upon, joystick coats hangers, a star wars themed terrarium and a blackboard to have different movie reference on the back wall.
The project is being made by Dennis Films in their offices, after hours. It needed to be set up and struck down by 1 or 2 people, thus the elements needed to be reusable, light and easily manoeuvred. There are, for the most part, two characters/presenters who seem to have a history of traditions for their gadget debates. One of these traditions is to eat cake, made by the fictional grandmother, at the end of each episode. Hence the title, Teccles Cake.
On the left is some of my original ideas for layout, hinting at props and possible construction methods.
At this stage in the design process many props have been sourced and built. This image shows the expected outcome.
You can see there has been a custom made coffee table made to look like a reused crate. It has a secret compartment and a crank to bring the eponymous cake into the scene at the end of the episode. I also designed the movie poster in the background; it denotes a film that wouldn’t be released until after the show was published. Some of these elements were built by me and almost all the sourcing was part of my duties. I commissioned the walls and Tetris bookcase, as I didn’t have the time required myself.
The show is in production and will hopefully be online before Christmas (2014)
