In this episode I give you some tips on the online sources I use for quickly decorating sets. I go over some great examples and some hazards to avoid from my own mistakes.
While decorating the film Fanboys we were looking for as many Star Wars items we could find to dress these super fans sets. I bought a ton from ebay from private sellers. One item that we wanted was the Hans Solo in carbonite wall. It would have been too expensive for the art department to build on our small budget. So I looked if anyone had one online and I found one on eBay! For. A. Penny!!
I couldn’t grasp that the seller had started their bid at a penny but there it was.
So I bid..and I won, and it was even free shipping! I mean, it was meant to be! I could not believe I had found it and only paid a penny!
The day it was supposed to arrive, I saw a small envelope on my desk.... inside I discovered a Han Solo in carbonite keychain!! I died. I really wanted to kick myself for never checking the “actual size” dimension. Needless to say the Han Solo in Carbonite was not in the film. It was an early lesson to check details when ordering online. Especially dimensions.
In the 5th season of VEEP we had a week from the time I was told we would shoot the White House Green Room till we shot it.
In rental Prop Houses in Hollywood, they have full sets of the Oval Office, the red and blue room. But the green room wasn’t something I could just go out and easily rent. I found each piece locally and especially using Craigslist and eBay.
I somehow found this sweet older woman who was selling a green velvet, ornate wood, rolled arm sofa. It was pretty damn close to what was existing in the real Green room in the White House. (maybe better ;) I’ve posted a side by side pictures below. And the best part, it was only $300.
Hard to tell which is the VEEP set right? ;) The top left and the bottom are the sets on VEEP.
This is the Amazon link that donates money to the non-profit SDSA organization, it costs you nothing but everytime you make a purchase with this link the SDSA receives credit. Try it here!
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