This is a classic Coronet Films educational reel from 1959 that shows two young people perfectly following the strict rules of stage frame construction using all of the proper materials, fasteners, guides, and procedures. YOU must do the same! Enjoy!
This reel was transferred from my own 16mm archive print using my Eiki Telecine. The Eiki projects a 24fps print at 30 frames per second for a flickerless NTSC transfer. A special diffusion plate eliminates the 'hot spot' of the projector, and the sound is pulled right from the optical track.
Join Team FranLab!!!! Become a patron and help support my YouTube Channel on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/frantone
#Educational #film #coronet
- Intro Music by Fran Blanche -
Fran's Science Blog - http://www.frantone.com/designwritings/design_writings.html
FranArt Website - http://www.contourcorsets.com

By Fran

15 thoughts on “Stagecraft: scenery frame construction 1959”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Acme Racing says:

    We called them "flats" but all the other terms were the same. We trimmed the muslin on the face of the flat just inside the outside margin and peeled off the excess. We never wrapped it over the edge. They skipped the finishing step where sizing is applied to the muslin, which makes it tight as a drum and ready for paint.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Troy Belding says:

    Oddly enough, I spent 9 years in theatre, if you count high school and college, and we were never shown anything like this. I will say that we reused all of our plywood until the pieces got too small to find a new shape. – edit. I don't recall us using much in the way of jigs. We were simply told to use t squares and speed squares and make sure everything was at the right angles.

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars B Chin says:

    If only the producers of this film could see that only #2 knotty Douglas fir is used for flat framing these days…the horror! 🤣

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Steve Johnson says:

    Some co-workers and I built an entire trade-show booth this way for the debut of a medical device we were presenting. We disassembled the completed set, transported from Chicago to New Orleans in a U-Haul truck, re-assembled it on the spot, and had a very successful presentation. Our booth cost a few hundred dollars, and other commercial companies probably spent hundreds of thousands, with little advantage. Thanks, Fran! (Hi, Jimmy P and Jerry H)

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Jeff Hankla says:

    In my Stagecraft & Scenery class in the late 90's it wasn't making the frame or stretching the canvas, that was easy. It was painting them and painting them and painting them some more.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars RC Hobbyist Extreme says:

    My daughter majored in Costume design in college and have an awesome job . One of her classes was scenic construction. She loved the class and working with hand tools and power equipment. She had to learn every aspect of theater as well as costume design. She got her Masters at Virgina Tech for that. I feel that anyone going into theater should know every aspect to what it takes to make a show successful. Lighting plays a HUGE part in theater and knowing what paints, colors or even costume embellishments ensures that the scenery, costumes and even makeup on actors faces work with the intended presentation. This is a great video, too bad you didn't present this 5 years ago.

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brianna Schuman says:

    2002 me building flats for professional theatre ripping pine 1x12s to dimension: clear grain? No knots? Whhhhhhaaaaatttttt? Lucky.

    Flathead screws tho… Shudder At least we has Robertson by then! Still used corrugated fasteners though!

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars crashline says:

    Fran, It's like this. You keep posting these. I'll keep smacking the like button. I feel like everyday is "projector day" in class.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars 1978ajax says:

    Well, they did almost everything somewhat incorrectly, but I guess this was aimed at amateur theatres, so was grossly simplified. Fun to watch though!

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Axeman3D says:

    50's American educational films – CONFORM, CONFORM! Its good but it doesn't beat 'A Date With Your Parents'.

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Terry Talks says:

    Love these old films. I could see how this could help someone who wanted to create a green screen corner for recording YT content.

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Alan Canon says:

    At the Alley Theater in Louisville, we had a patron whose business made high-end packing crates (for concert grand pianos and other expensive items). Every six months a big stack of his reject plywood sheets would arrive at the theater, ten feet by five. It was a godsend to our low budget theater.

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Cliff Hartle says:

    I maybe starting a flame war but that's a mullion not a toggle rail particularly if you call the uprights styles. 😡😉

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Eliot Brown says:

    "Frangor" huh? Okay.
    I did amateur theater around 1971 to 82. Things hadn't changed much since 1959. The fellow in charge had stepped up to sheet rock screws back when they cost a fortune. Like so many things, if you buy them by the barrel, not so bad.

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars BobC says:

    Saddle shoes. I remember when my little sister adamantly insisted on getting a pair. Loved them until she had to care for them, dealing with scuffs and polish.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.