Tips for sculpting landscape

Kentel

Member
Hi everyone,

My next set design features a vast muddy wasteland. It's an immersive theatre production in an unconventional venue and the audience will get quite up-close-and-personal with the set.
I'm looking for any advice in sculpting terrain and making scenic (or real!) mud.

The director's concept is to have the audience walk through this landscape in "trenches", i.e. the mud would be roughly 1500mm off floor level so that only the spectators' heads would pop out and intrude on the world of the play.

So basically I need to make a giant mud pit about 16m long x 7m wide x 1.5m deep with trenches diverting through it.

Questions for the hive mind:
- have you ever made stage mud and what did you use? The director's reference is really sloppy, slimy mud like the stuff you'd take a mud bath in.
- have you sculpted fake terrain, and out of what?
- is there a sustainable material that you can use for large-scale sculpting?
- any other advice at all?? This is totally new territory for me.
- do you have any contacts in your network that I could call up for advice?

Things I'm conscious of:
- the weight loading on the floor: obviously I can't literally fill the room with mud so I'm thinking of faking the floor underneath with something very lightweight to build it out and just dress the terrain with a few millimetres of mud, or scenic painting in parts where the audience can't get too close.
- eco-friendliness: I'd like to sculpt the terrain & fill out the depth of the pit with something recyclable or degradable.

Thanks in advance,
Ellie
 
Hi everyone,

My next set design features a vast muddy wasteland. It's an immersive theatre production in an unconventional venue and the audience will get quite up-close-and-personal with the set.
I'm looking for any advice in sculpting terrain and making scenic (or real!) mud.

The director's concept is to have the audience walk through this landscape in "trenches", i.e. the mud would be roughly 1500mm off floor level so that only the spectators' heads would pop out and intrude on the world of the play.

So basically I need to make a giant mud pit about 16m long x 7m wide x 1.5m deep with trenches diverting through it.

Questions for the hive mind:
- have you ever made stage mud and what did you use? The director's reference is really sloppy, slimy mud like the stuff you'd take a mud bath in.
- have you sculpted fake terrain, and out of what?
- is there a sustainable material that you can use for large-scale sculpting?
- any other advice at all?? This is totally new territory for me.
- do you have any contacts in your network that I could call up for advice?

Things I'm conscious of:
- the weight loading on the floor: obviously I can't literally fill the room with mud so I'm thinking of faking the floor underneath with something very lightweight to build it out and just dress the terrain with a few millimetres of mud, or scenic painting in parts where the audience can't get too close.
- eco-friendliness: I'd like to sculpt the terrain & fill out the depth of the pit with something recyclable or degradable.

Thanks in advance,
Ellie
Calling @bobgaggle and @Van Why are Monster Trucks coming to mind?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Hi everyone,

My next set design features a vast muddy wasteland. It's an immersive theatre production in an unconventional venue and the audience will get quite up-close-and-personal with the set.
I'm looking for any advice in sculpting terrain and making scenic (or real!) mud.

The director's concept is to have the audience walk through this landscape in "trenches", i.e. the mud would be roughly 1500mm off floor level so that only the spectators' heads would pop out and intrude on the world of the play.

So basically I need to make a giant mud pit about 16m long x 7m wide x 1.5m deep with trenches diverting through it.

Questions for the hive mind:
- have you ever made stage mud and what did you use? The director's reference is really sloppy, slimy mud like the stuff you'd take a mud bath in.
- have you sculpted fake terrain, and out of what?
- is there a sustainable material that you can use for large-scale sculpting?
- any other advice at all?? This is totally new territory for me.
- do you have any contacts in your network that I could call up for advice?

Things I'm conscious of:
- the weight loading on the floor: obviously I can't literally fill the room with mud so I'm thinking of faking the floor underneath with something very lightweight to build it out and just dress the terrain with a few millimetres of mud, or scenic painting in parts where the audience can't get too close.
- eco-friendliness: I'd like to sculpt the terrain & fill out the depth of the pit with something recyclable or degradable.

Thanks in advance,
Ellie
@Kentel Use Control Booth's search (in the top right corner) to search for VSSD (I've forgotten the precise acronym, it's possibly Van's Super Scenic Dope). The search should pull up various threads for making small mountains, cobblestones, rocks, et al.
You should find discussions of lightweight, yet strong and durable, underpinnings capable of supporting the weight of actors.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
I'll let others weigh in on the mud and sculpting, but I think you need to have a long idea session with your director. My first concern on hearing the plans is that you've got people's heads sitting right at the level where your performers are going to be walking around in a mud-like substance. There's going to be lots of spray into the audience. If that is what you're going for, congrats! Otherwise, it is going to take some good brainstorming to control that to meet your goals.
 
Is the audience seeing the performance from the trenches, or just entering and exiting through them? If the former, has the director considered what sort of visuals you get from close up with one's head at foot level?

I might very well be way off base here, but it almost sounds to me as though the director has something more cinematic in mind, rather than theatrical: that they're being inspired by, for instance, some footage from Saving Private Ryan, or something, and haven't fully though through how that would--or would not--translate to a live performance setting.
 
Wow there is a lot to cover on this one. If I don't respond to this tonight, somebody ping me. I'm swamped at work right now or I'd post a big long thing right now.. ;)
 
On the philosophical side, I think the very best PMs and TDs find a way to support and realize wacky artistic visions. I applaud that you're not going immediately to the grumpy tech, "Can't be done," stance. That said, to effectively support and realize the vision takes a lot of clarifying and prioritizing. What are the most important aspects? The unusual sight-lines? The sloppy muddiness? The contours? The best PMs and TDs can say, "Here's how we can safely achieve the essence of your vision within resource constraints, and here's what we have to sacrifice to make it happen."

I think first you're going to need some decent drawings or a model to clarify the idea and focus your process.

In general, the layers here will probably be:

Structural. Probably standard platforming to get close to the 1.5m height, perhaps with various levels, etc.
Sculptural. This could be various chicken wire and papier-mâché techniques, built-up plywood strips, carved foam (paying attention to flammability problems), etc. etc.
Coating. This could be VSSD, or any number of products used in theatre and / or building construction. Or maybe some kind of real mud concoction.

And some unsolicited advice: if you're new to immersive, there are safety considerations different than traditional theatre. Including things like egress, access for mobility-impaired guests, touch-safety, on and on. Eye protection may be a concern in this case.
 
So i did a show once that was set in the Iraq desert. All sand. Sand, of course, is the worst thing you can scatter all over a stage besides glitter. Original concept was the entire foor of this black box space was sand, and the main playing space was platforming sculpted to look like dunes. Cool, immersive idea. Unfortunately many other factors effect the design. Things like, how does a wheelchair roll over this? are we gonna get sued when someone trips walking to their seat? how do we manage the sand for the run of the show?

For you, making the scenery is easy. Lots of threads on here about sculpting various organic earthworks. I'm picturing some standard platforming that gets you up to your 1.5m then you face the legs between the platforms to form the trench. Coat the facing with your fake mud. Maybe build a fake mud berm around the edges of the platforms to contain the real mud if you go that route for the actors to splash around in.

I think your big problem is logistics. The audience has to walk through muddy trenches. Obviously the "mud" is dry, right? Or the idea is you have some disclaimer online and on the ticket that says "wear your grungy clothes, you're a part of this spectacle". Also at 1.5m/59", the audience is standing the whole time right? how they gonna see over the top of the trench? Is this some sort of scene work/repeating tableau show that they walk through the whole time, or are they parked in a spot where they watch the whole thing? Keep emergency egress in mind. Lots to consider here
 
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