John Sargood - Model Maker -
CAMEO
Model Maker
Toolmaker & Engineering Patternmaker
Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs
Prop and scenery makers construct the sets, backdrops,
furniture and props for film, television and stage productions, and
exhibitions and events. They work closely with set designers and stage
managers to ensure that all props and scenery meet production and design
specifications.
In Australia, prop and scenery makers may work on productions for
organisations such as larger theatres, smaller
local theatre companies, or events such as Perth
Artrage Festival, or educational exhibits.
ANZSCO description: 331213: Constructs, erects and installs
structures and fixtures of wood, plywood, wallboard and other materials to make scenery,
furniture and props for film and stage productions, and live events and
exhibitions. Registration or licensing may be required.
Alternative names: Props maker, Scenic artist, Set builder,
Set dresser
Knowledge, skills and attributes
A prop and scenery maker needs:
-
creative flair
-
to be passionate about working in the entertainment or related industries
-
high attention to detail, and strong problem solving abilities
-
good communication skills, and to work well in a team environment
-
good planning and organisational skills
-
to be physically fit and have the ability to undertake manual labour for extended periods.
Duties and Tasks
-
meet with production staff to discuss what props are needed
-
make detailed plans from ideas and rough sketches
-
do historical research to make sure items fit with the time period of the production
-
work with a range of materials to create realistic props
-
use hand and power tools
-
source new props for hire or to buy
-
repair existing props
Working conditions
Prop and scenery makers usually work in construction workshops and may work
independently or as part of a team. They use a wide range of carpentry,
joinery and metalwork skills and may be required to wear protective
clothing.
They generally work construction industry hours, starting early in the
morning. Occasional weekend and night work may be required.
Tools and technologies
Prop and scenery makers may use a range of tools including standard
carpentry and metalwork power tools and machinery. They may use timber,
steel, plastic, leather, clay, plaster and resins to construct props and
furniture, and may make stunt double props such as fake knifes and baseball
bats. They also read technical drawings to plan the construction of props.
Education and training/entrance requirements
You can work as a prop and scenery maker without any formal qualifications.
However, you are more likely to improve your prospects in the industry if
you have completed a formal qualification in live production and services,
production and design or a related area.
The Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services and the Advanced
Diploma of Live Production and Management Services are offered at the
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
You can also complete a degree majoring in production and design.
There are degrees from NIDA - a Bachelor of Fine
Arts (Properties and Objects); and a Master of Design for Performance at
University of Melbourne.
You can also complete a traineeship. The stage production assistant
(carpentry), (backdrops) and (sets and props) traineeships usually take 12
months to complete.
To work as a prop and scenery maker in Australia, you may need to obtain a
High Risk Work Licence if you are working at heights. The licence is
available from the WorkSafe Division of the Department of Mines, Industry
Regulation and Safety.
Workers in the construction industry must undergo safety induction training
and be issued with a Construction Induction Card (commonly known as a “white
card”).
|
Did You Know? John Sargood - Model Maker - CAMEO A direct copy from Australian Design Review 9 July 2020 by Elisa Scarton It’s a dying art, but one that John Sargood preserves in a workshop cluttered with perfectly detailed miniatures of Woods Bagot buildings destined to grace skylines the world over. It’s an almost impossible task to capture John Sargood’s world in print. Reading back over our conversation, it’s quickly apparent that so much is missing. Sargood speaks on his feet, constantly picking up and gesturing to half-completed city squares and unbelievably small terraces.  John at work Moving from one end of his messy workshop to the other, he overwhelms listeners with a stream of consciousness-style monologue about the multitude of projects he’s almost finished, pretty much finished, only just beginning. He recognises every single building, can reel off its specs in seconds, can point it out in any skyline here or overseas. His memory is mechanical, but his craft is ancient. Model makers have been a feature of architecture since prehistory. The oldest known models are of the Tarxien Temples in Malta, now on display in the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. In the 18th century, cork models were sought after by kings and princes and collected by the British Museum and architects like Louis-François Cassas. They were an essential part of an architect or designer’s daily life, a necessary tool to study the interaction of volumes, different viewpoints and concepts during the design process. Then someone invented three-dimensional (3D) rendering.  “The model in the architectural studio is about an exploration. It’s akin to the construction site. You’re starting to create this thing, building it, testing it, being able to subtract for it and so the process is more open,” explains Sargood. “The model is not the finished product that you put on your shelf at the end. The model is a really important part of getting to where you’re going. It’s much easier to make a really nice clean thing on the computer. You can draw beautiful lines and it all works, but you have no idea about scale, about material and all those other things until you actually make one.” For Sargood, this realisation manifested long before he stepped into Woods Bagot’s Melbourne office. The model maker has a background in product design and a childhood defined by “forever pulling things apart and putting them back together,” he says. “I remember making a design for a helmet. I’d spent a couple of weeks drawing things in a sketchbook. I filled up 20 pages. Then I’d go to the computer and try to model this thing. I just couldn’t get it working. I thought, ‘I’m just going to make one.’ I got a cheap helmet, covered it in foam and hacked it with a knife. Within about an hour, I had a thing that looked exactly like I wanted. It was an ‘I see’ moment. You make one, it fits, it works and that’s the basis.”  Woods Bagot is in a position where it can engage a full-time model maker on-site, a luxury most practices can’t afford. Sargood makes a model for every Woods Bagot project, coming into the process as early as two weeks from commission and often making two or three versions of the same design. In those early stages of design, the architect hasn’t worked out every detail and Sargood frequently has to fill in the gaps. “I’m not a structural engineer, so I don’t know if things will actually fall over, but I can say, ‘You need to make sure you know what’s going on with this wall and that wall, or does this stair go right up to the floor? Is there one more step?’ Little details that are very important to me because I need to be able to make things that actually fit together.” Sargood will make small additions or subtractions to the architect’s design, adding details that have either been overlooked or left out due to time constraints. Sometimes, though, the finished model just isn’t what everyone was imagining.  “The first few times that happens, that can feel personal. You can feel like you’ve done that wrong. But it’s the model that has given them an instant understanding of what’s wrong. Even though it’s taken me a day and a half to build it and it’s taken them 10 seconds to say they didn’t like it, it’s a point of pride for me that design decisions are taken on the back of all these models.” Sargood keeps the Woods Bagot models abstract, using a laser cutter and 3D printer to shape wood, plastic, clear acrylic sheets and cardboard to recreate the architect’s design. His models are to scale, a process that took some time to master. “I remember, early on, making buildings that were literally twice as large as they should be or maybe even 10 times as large because I left off a zero.” Elements that are too small or too fine to print, are made by hand; paints and other materials are added to mimic concrete or steel. The last half an hour of work is usually adding greenery and, surprisingly, toy cars.  A cardboard model of the first level of Suncorp’s new office building at 80 Ann Street, Brisbane. “Occasionally I find myself sitting here building little houses and sticking them on. Then I get a bit of self-perspective, thinking, ‘I’m about to put this house on a little landscape that I’ve built that goes next to that other house, and I’ve been there, I know what it looks like. This is a job. This is great’.” The tiny, if somewhat unnecessary, details are part of what Sargood describes as instantly recognisable pieces of scale that people can “easily attach themselves to”. The cars and bushes help designers and clients better imagine the scope of the project and its position in the landscape. “It gives them a sense of comfort. It’s that tangibility you get out of a model – that it is very much a self-communicator versus that render, which can sometimes be a bit misleading,” he says. A computer render is about the atmosphere. The model is about construction, buildability and the physical.  A lot of what Sargood does is already 3D print and paste or mocked up entirely on the computer, but a handmade model, like his favourite, the Woods Bagot Victoria Police Centre on Melbourne’s Spencer Street, continues to enchant, if only from a purely cosmetic perspective. “I think there will always be a place for models in architecture, even if it’s just for that moment at the end of the meeting when you’ve displayed all of your renders, done all of your 3D modelling and then you lift the sheet off the model and go look at what the client has bought. “That’s worth something, that moment of excitement, because if you’re not excited about it, you shouldn’t be building it. If we can keep the architect excited, we can keep the clients excited and we can make sure we end up with better buildings.”  (Source: Australian Design Review) |
A model maker is a professional craftsperson who creates a
three-dimensional representation of a design or concept. Most products
in use and in development today first take form as a model. This "model"
may be an exacting duplicate of the future design or a simple mock-up of
the general shape or concept.
Model makers construct full-size and scale models of landscape,
engineering, architectural, automotive and other industrial designs.
They work from scale drawings, plans, photographs and lists of figures
or specifications requiring conversion to three-dimensional form. These
models help designers to see how a project, such as a building or a car,
will look or work before it is completed. Some model makers, such as
automotive clay modellers, may specialise in high-quality artistic work,
while others may concentrate on technically accurate models.
ANZSCO ID: 399999
Knowledge, skills and attributes
-
Enjoy practical and manual activities
-
Good hand-eye coordination
-
Able to visualise three-dimensional forms when looking at a technical drawing
-
Creative and practical
-
Able to work quickly and accurately
-
Good at mathematics
Model maker Glen English produces intricate
models of classic models and motorbikes
(Source:
Telegraph UK)
Duties and Tasks
-
look at drawings, drafts or samples and consult designers about specifications
-
choose suitable material, mark out parts, determine layout and cut out pieces using the appropriate cutting equipment for the material being used
-
construct models using a variety of adhesives, machinery and hand tools
-
operate computer modelling programs
-
colour a model using paint, varnish and other finishes
-
add details to create authenticity such as windows, road lines and lettering
-
construct working models, such as model furnaces, to test if they work properly prior to construction
-
comply with local or national design standards
-
alter models to meet new specifications.
Working conditions
Model makers work in industrial research or design and development
laboratories, which may be in offices or open workshops.
Education and training/entrance
requirements
You can work as a model maker without formal qualifications. You will
probably get some informal training on the job. Entry to this occupation
may be improved if you have qualifications and you may like to consider
a VET course.
Employment Opportunities
Most model makers work on a contract basis. There are a number of
companies that undertake model making for a wide range of activities,
including architectural, engineering and topographical models,
promotional displays, stage props and sculptures.
|
Ron Mueck is a famous Australian sculptor who started out his career as a model maker...
"As a child, Ron Mueck experimented with
puppetry and model making, influenced by his parents’ work as toymakers.
Failing selection to art school, Mueck began to work as a window-dresser
[Visual Merchandiser].
Within a few years he progressed to making and operating
puppet animals for children’s television programs. In the mid 1980s he
travelled to America, where he worked on The Muppet Show and Sesame
Street, before settling in London."
|
Toolmakers and Engineering
Patternmakers make and repair tools, dies, jigs, fixtures and other
precision parts and equipment to fine tolerances for machine tools and
other production machinery,
and construct full-size engineering, visual and experimental models and
models for the manufacture of prototype developmental products.
Engineering patternmakers work
from engineer's drawings and design and construct patterns that are used
to make castings for metal parts for the manufacture of a wide range of
products, such as engineering machinery and surgical instruments.
A very high degree of accuracy
is required.
ANZSCO ID & Description:
3234:
Constructs full-size engineering
models usuallymade out of timber, which are used in manufacturing to
produce metal castings, copy models, vacuum form tooling and tooling for
the automotive, aircraft or fibreglass industries.
Alternative names: Boilermaker, Engineering
Tradesperson - Fabrication, Foundry Patternmaker, Metal Fabricator,
Patternmaker, Sheet Metal Trades Worker
Specialisations: Die Caster, Die Sinker, Jigmaker
(Metal), Metal Spinner, Plastic Mould Maker, Press-tool Maker,
Sheetmetal Patternmaker
Knowledge, skills and attributes
An Engineering Patternmaker should:
-
Enjoy technical activities
-
Be physically fit
-
Have the strength to handle materials, tools and machines
-
Have good hand-eye coordination
-
Be able to work in a team and independently
-
Possess patience
-
Be able to work accurately
-
Have no skin or breathing allergies
-
Be safety conscious
.
| Did You
Know? Engineering patternmakers use technical drawings to construct a 3D pattern (like a model), which is used to produce a mould for metal casting or plastics production. Patternmakers make patterns for objects as large as the buckets on the end of diggers and bulldozers, and as small as the moulds for glucose jube lollies.  A pattern for bear-shaped jubes, made by W.G. Kay & Co. (Source: The Conversation) While traditionally trained as woodworkers, patternmakers today are trained to use a range of materials and technologies, including computer aided design (digital drafting software known as CAD) and CNC machines (computer-numerically-controlled machine tools that use digital data to direct a machine on multiple axes). |
Duties and Tasks
-
studying drawings and specifications to determine dimensions and tolerances of articles to be manufactured and models to be constructed
-
measuring and marking out metal stock and castings using various gauges
-
shaping metal and wood stock using machine tools
-
checking accuracy of manufactured articles and finished patterns to fine tolerances, using precision measuring instruments
-
testing and modifying manufactured articles
-
applying protective finishes to patterns and painting pattern sections to indicate method of assembly
-
assembling pattern sections and shaping work pieces to specified finish
-
pouring and spreading materials into moulds and over models of patterns, and building laminations of fibreglass cloth and plastic resin to fabricate patterns
-
repairing broken and damaged patterns and correcting patterns to compensate for defects in casting
-
constructing templates for layout and inspection
-
construct full-size engineering models (called patterns) out of materials such as timber, cast and reinforced fibreglass epoxy resins, and rigid foam
- mark and cut sections to profiles using bandsaws, disc and bobbin sanders, lathes and routers
-
glue sections together during the lamination process
-
produce patterns using computer-controlled machines.
Working conditions
Engineering patternmakers work in workshops or
production areas that can be hot, noisy, dirty, and sometimes contain
fumes, however the work environments are generally spacious, ventilated
and well lit. They may work in a team or alone and because of the nature
of their work, safety awareness and compliance with and knowledge of
regulations is important. They must wear any supplied protective
clothing/equipment. They usually work closely with other tradespeople
and apprentices.
Employment may be found with foundries and specialist patternmaking
companies that make metal products. Some foundries are independent
firms, while others are part of larger firms, such as car manufacturers.
Tools and technologies
Tools and technologies include bandsaws, disc and
bobbin sanders, lathes, and routers and computer-controlled machines.
Patternmakers will also handle fibreglass, epoxy resins, rigid foam,
glue and timber. Patternmakers assemble the patterns using a variety of
tools and machinery. When information is supplied electronically,
patternmakers use computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacturing
techniques.
Education and training/entrance
requirements
A Certificate III including at least 2 years of
on-the-job training, or a Certificate IV, or at least 3 years of
relevant experience, is usually needed. Three quarters of workers have
this level of qualification. Sometimes experience or on-the-job training
is needed in addition to a qualification. To become an engineering
patternmaker you usually have to complete an apprenticeship.
Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs
Material sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Prop
& Scenery Maker;
Engineering Patternmaker] ;
Good Universities Guide;
CareersOnline
[Model
Maker;]
CareerPlanner [Model Maker - Wood; Model Maker - Metal & Plastic; ]
MyPlan [Model Maker - Wood; Metal & Plastic; ]
National Careers Service UK [Prop Maker; ]
Your Career [Toolmaker; Engineering Patternmaker; ]
