Little Shop Newsletter - Issue 005

Introduction

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to the weekly newsletter!

We've been hard at work on various projects this week, an ongoing effort on the final stages of the Classic Tools, dispatching the first batch of lipsticks and getting ready to dispatch the second batch, plus working on various new projects!

This week we are very lucky to have an interview with Jacob Dudman as part of our section on 'Finger Food' and our involvement in that. We have an update on our Large Pleasant Buttons, and an update on our Classic Tools.

Finger Food

In May Little Shop Props worked on an upcoming short film, Finger Food.

Little Shop Props was contracted to make two prosthetic masks for this film, Josh Martin took the role of Lead Sculptor, creating a completely new headsculpt from clay, then casting and painting the pulls. James Sutton helped with some of the finishing work on the masks as well as designed and painted the two translator props that were also made. Daniel Howard modeled the translator props ready for printing and Kasim Printed and installed the electronics in the translator props.

This film was written by Jacob Dudman, who some of our readers will be familiar with due to his work in the Doctor Who Universe, acting at Big Finish Productions, Time Fracture and more! We were lucky enough to interview him for this weeks Newsletter.

For those who aren’t aware, what is Finger Food?

Finger Food is a sci-fi comedy short film about feeling out of place, having an inferiority complex and wanting desperately to be liked. We poke fun of the UK class system through the eyes of Jason, our protagonist, as he looks to make a good first impression to his girlfriend’s parents.

How did you come to decide on Little Shop Props for this project?

An old friend of mine suggested James Sutton as a great person to contact if I were ever in need of alien proppery or design. I spoke with James and he introduced me to the brilliant works of the Little Shop Props team. From there I knew their passion, enthusiasm and talent for their craft would be a really valuable asset on our production.

Was there a standout moment in the process of bringing ‘The Hekk’ to life?

I throughly enjoyed all the updates the team sent me. I remember excitedly opening emails from Josh which included updates on the BEAUTIFUL sculpt he made, and Timelapse’s of him hard at work.

I remember going through different colour options for the Hekk’s skin and I enjoyed making those types of decisions.

Did the prosthetics made live up to the ideas and image you envisioned when writing the script?

Oh, that and more! I knew that we’d be needing aliens - but beyond that, if i’m honest I hadn’t REALLY got an idea of what they looked like in my head. Part of that was probably because, with my producer hat on, I knew we’d sort of have to do with whatever we could cobble together or afford. In step Little Shop Props with their Androvax pull, and they were away creating an incredible hollywood level design!!

Did writing a script like Finger Food differ from things you’d written in the past?

In a sense, Finger Food feels a lot like the things i’ve written in the past. There’s a tone which i’m finding I swing back into a lot, which is partly inspired by the early Edgar Wright films. (My first film was called “Yawn of the Dead”…) It’s a silly tone, which I like, and it allows actors to express themselves and be bold, which they like, and I can only hope from there that the audience does too.

Did working with prosthetics on set pose any challenges?

Working with prosthetics can be tricky on small scale productions. The team worked tirelessly for weeks to get the masks ready, and there’s always the risk that an actor tries to put it on the wrong way and the whole thing rips apart! Of course, that didn’t happen, and so the only challenges were needless worries within my own head.

Actress Debbie Chazen (Yes, she's the one from Voyage of the Damned) poses with The Hekk heads!

How can people find out more about Finger Food and your other projects?

We have an instagram, @Hg4films , where you can keep up with all of our projects, and via our website you can access our monthly newsletter where we always put our production updates. The last issue featured a lengthy interview with a wonderful team of artists you might recognise…!

Production Update: Large Pleasant Buttons

After a slight delay due to our electronics supplier sending us out the wrong switches, we're happy to say that these are nearly ready to be sent out. We've been working hard on getting all the parts printed, prepped and painted awaiting the arrival of the correct switches.

Originally we were sent these switches, which were far too large to fit out prop, a case was opened with our supplier and they informed us that they did indeed make a mistake.

The correct ones have been sent out and recieved by us now and we're at the final assembly, electronics install and detail painting.

Production Update: Classic Tools

With the assembly finished, our focus turns to packaging. We've been prepping all the vinyl for the tins as well as laser cutting the stand pegs. Matthew is preparing the linings for the tins as we speak.

We're working hard to get these out as soon as possible and expect them out in the next week or two!

Next Issue:

A look at the ongoing work on the Grey Aztec Props as well as a Tri Slider Update.