March 25th, 2010
Next time you’re watching a television drama or a feature film, let your eyes stray to the background. Sadly, you will sometimes find what’s going on in the background more interesting than the actual story being told. There are two things in particular to look out for.
The first is the extras or, as they often prefer to be known, the BAs, or background artists. These lovely people turn out in all weathers, often at ridiculous times of the day or night, wear whatever outlandish costume the wardrobe department has for them and often sit around waiting for hours.
It is perhaps not surprising therefore that their concentration isn’t all it might be. Looking at them will often help you realise just how difficult it is to look natural on screen.
The other thing to look out for is the background detail. It is often taken for granted especially when watching a BBC costume drama, but the props and settings which the designers produce are often nothing short of works of art.
This is where we come into our own as at Keeley Hire we have been supplying prop hire to the film and television industries for more than forty years. In particular, we have some amazing period props which can evoke pretty well any period in history. We have a soft spot for the medieval props which are used to great effect in films like ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ and the Victorian ones used in TV series like ‘Little Dorritt’.
Tags: medieval props, Movie Props, Prop Hire, Props, Stage Props
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February 16th, 2010
In the theatre, it can be surprising how many diverse props are required. A lot of the variety is necessary because of historical plays, but there are other factors at work such as varied geographical settings as well.
At Keeley Hire, we have over half a million props. It is quite a task keeping tabs on all of them. When we started in the late 1830s, you can probably imagine that our office looked suitably Dickensian with clerks working at huge ledgers which listed the props, or properties as they were no doubt more formally referred to. Nowadays, transport is far easier and we are able to use the internet to show off a lot of the items. However, it is not really practical to list every single thing and we still rely on the expertise of our experienced staff to direct customers around our warehouse and help them find exactly the right props or theatre sets.
The latest additions to the inventory on our website demonstrate just how varied the props that people demand are. Some items are absolutely ordinary. For example, a wooden trestle table can probably be found in community centres and village halls up and down the country. The ones at the venue you have hired may look too modern for your setting though and that is why we can make sure you have exactly the right prop.
Some of our latest items such as iron chandeliers are far more specialised and will fit in with a whole range of medieval props and settings which we have. This includes instruments of torture and tradesmen’s tools.
Tags: medieval props, Prop Hire, Props, Theatre Sets
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January 4th, 2010
Medieval is anything relating to the Middle Ages, and the Middle Ages in Europe are broadly considered to cover the period 476 to 1453. That is from the end of the Roman Empire until the fall of Constantinople, if you are especially interested in history. More narrowly, the Middle Ages are said to cover the first half of the second millennium.
There was a time when films set in that period were particularly popular, thanks in no small part to the influence of Monty Python. Such settings for films may not be as popular now but most years there seem to be one or two blockbusters with a medieval feel and these, of course, need lots of appropriate props. Medieval events have also enjoyed something of a renaissance and again depend upon the right props to be convincing.
We at Keeley Hire supply all manner of medieval props. Naturally these include huge tables which can be used for feasts which will no doubt include a boar’s head stuffed with an apple at their centre. While we can’t provide the wolfhounds, horses and falcons, we can supply pretty much everything else. This includes a variety of stable equipment.
We even supply dungeon and torture equipment in case the food at your feast isn’t to the expected standard.
We list well over three thousand items on our website to give you an idea of the sort of props we can provide. However, these are but a fraction of our total stock of over half a million items.
Tags: medieval props, Movie Props, Prop Hire, Props
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