ANDREW WOODWARD
KINETIC SCULPTOR / ARTIST
FILM PROPS

'I've worked building film props a few times over the years, life-sized puppets, dystopian city sets, and blank firing duelling pistols with the Cornish inventor Graham Waldren. In 2011 I worked on the Alien prequel Prometheus which was a dream job and incredible six weeks.'

PROMETHEUS AMPULES
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'My friend, the ceramicist Rob Sollis was commissioned to create the urns or 'ampules' for Ridley Scott's Prometheus. After Rob had been working at Pinewood for three months, they increased the order, the filming deadline was fast appproaching and Rob brought me in to inscribe the 'alien' text, and assist with the glazing and raku-firing. We lived and worked in a portacabin next to the 007 stage, with an adjacent makeshift pottery built to Rob's specifications. Working late into the night every night for over a month, we fought to meet the deadline - fuelled by beer, digital radio and the adreneline of being involved in such an amazing enterprise.

We were constantly reminded the fillming wouldn't wait for us - and it would be no joke to hold up a financial juggernaut of that scale! When we realised we were going to make it, the pressure eased, and we were able to take in some of the astounding sets - spaceship flight-deck, living quarters, the vast Gigeresque Ampule Chamber that was the home to our pots, and the huge vehicle bay, opening onto an acre of alien planet surrounded by greenscreens. We built about 70 unique ceramic 'hero' (close-up) pots, the rest of the vast set was filled with foam replicas.

Several nights we watched as astronauts struggled against four air-craft engine wind-machines in a hail of vermiculite and smoke.
Given the immense workload, little sleep and bizarre surroundings, we were definitely off world!'



'Prometheus' images courtesy of Fox.