 |
|||||
|
|||||
 |
Twitter
YouTube
Facebook
Share
|
SUCCESS STORIES | ||||
|
PLASMA CUTTING SYSTEMS HELP PROP MASTER RUSSELL BOBBITT BRING MOVIES TO LIFE Movie makers are constantly coming up with new ways to wow the crowd. And while it may look effortless, the effort required to bring the magic of Hollywood to life is exhausting; requiring skill, dedication, and hours upon hours of work. Sixteen and seventeen hour days aren’t unusual when working on a movie. Just ask Russell Bobbitt, a property master behind summer blockbusters like Iron Man, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes. As a prop master, Bobbitt is responsible for everything an actor touches on set. From watches and rings to wallets, weapons, food and drinks. He estimates he’s worked on more than 50 feature films over the course of his career. So, even if you’ve never heard the name Russell Bobbitt, chances are good you’ve seen his work. Known for his work ethic, attention to detail, and insistence on staying on-set during filming, Bobbitt is constantly busy. He’s also endeared himself to Hollywood for being resourceful and inventive; two traits that are critical when working in the constantly changing world of film. It also doesn’t hurt to have a secret weapon or two, and for Bobbitt, that secret weapon is a Hypertherm Powermax. “The Powermax has really made my life so much easier, because now I can do all of my work in-house. In the past, I’d have to send everything out.” Bobbitt’s been turning screen writers’ vision into reality for a quarter century now. He started during a challenging time in his life. “Our house burnt down and I ended up with nothing so a family friend who happened to be working as a set director offered me a job to help get me going again.” From that tragedy in the early eighties, a career was born. Bobbitt’s been going ever since. Despite the long hours and hard work, it’s a job he loves. “You have to love it to be successful. The motivation really has to come from within,” Bobbitt says. The job of creating a movie set begins months before the actors and cameras appear. Bobbitt estimates it takes about three months to prepare for a project. During this time, he’ll pull together props for an entire set. He often starts with prop houses, but really his props can come from just about anywhere. If he is unable to find a prop, he builds it himself, often with the help of his plasma cutter. Once the props are complete and filming begins, he and his crew will spend another three to five months on set doing whatever is needed to ensure filming runs smoothly. On larger projects, Bobbitt says it isn’t unusual for him to employ up to 120 people. “I rely on a whole lot of people: draftsmen, mold makers, painters, etc. During this phase everyone is extremely critical in helping me bring the filmmakers vision to the screen. My core team helps me, physically, get everything coordinated and maintained.” Having a lot of hands around is obviously a good thing, but Bobbitt also knows the importance of having the right connections and the right tools. Having a tool that could easily cut metal was a definite requirement when pulling together the props for Iron Man. Bobbitt knew a plasma arc system was the best way to go. “I decided to use plasma cutting on Iron Man because I needed to provide some cool, fun technology for Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) workshop. During the research process, I kept hearing about Hypertherm, so I wound up buying a Hypertherm Powermax1250. It’s a great system and was a real good fit for the film and the character.” For the movie, Bobbitt placed the Hypertherm on a Plasma Cam cutting table, using it to create both prototypes and finished product for the film. He loves his plasma set-up so much, he uses it every chance he gets, cutting varying thicknesses of steel and aluminum. “Really, it all depends on the project,” Bobbitt says. “I used it for a good amount of cutting in the latest Star Trek film including to make armatures—a steel skeleton or framework—for the creation of many of the weapons in the movie.” Bobbitt also used his plasma system to cut prototype swords for Thor. No detail is too small for Bobbitt. He tells a story from the filming of the 1991 movie Guilty By Suspicion with Robert DeNiro. “The movie is set in 1954 and in one scene DeNiro has to buy a cup of coffee. So I went to this coin shop and purchased coins from 1954. After about the seventh take, DeNiro looks down at the money and notices the coins are really from 1954. He was so amazed, he actually stopped the scene.” In Hollywood though, the show must go on; and thanks to his Powermax system, Bobbitt ensures the action—behind the scenes anyway—never stops. |
