The Prop Effects Guidebook Lights, Motion, Sound, and Magic

In The Prop Building Guidebook, author Eric Hart demonstrated how to cut, glue, sculpt, and bend raw materials to build props. Now in The Prop Effects Guidebook, he shows us how to connect and assemble components and parts to make those props light up, explode, make noise, and bleed. It delves into the world of electricity, pneumatics, liquids, and mechanical effects to teach you how to make your props perform magic in front of a live audience. The book is complemented by a companion website featuring videos of how to create individual prop special effects: www.propeffectsguidebook.com.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 designing, prototyping, testing

Chapter 2 electricity, wiring, soldering

Chapter 3 lights

Chapter 4 motion

Chapter 5 trick mechanisms

Chapter 6 pneumatics

Chapter 7 liquid delivery

Chapter 8 breakaways

Chapter 9 smoke and fire

Chapter 10 sound

Chapter 11 control (remote, micro, practical)

special note

index

website

Eric Hart is the props master for Triad Stage in North Carolina. He is the author of The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and TV, also published by Routledge. Eric has built props for numerous theatres on and off Broadway and throughout the United States. He has worked with some of America's top actors, directors, and designers at the Santa Fe Opera, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Public Theater. Eric has also constructed props for display and exhibition including the holiday window displays at several major New York City retail stores.