5 Questions with Costume/Prop Builder Adam Smith
Ok, so the film Pompeii doesn’t excel in the plot department, but hey, what do you expect for a movie where everyone dies! If you like natural disaster movies, then this may fill that void! But please… don’t go for the acting or the accents, you’ll be disappointed. So while I didn’t enjoy the plot, there was quite a bit for my eyes to enjoy. The prettiest part of the film was easily the costuming
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Atticus and Kit Harington as Milo. All leatherwork done by Adam Smith.
Robes made of silk that were hand embroidered in India exclusively for the film (see the image of Keifer’s white silk robe below). But most importantly, custom armour made right here in Ontario.
Emily Browning as Cassia, Kiefer Sutherland as Corvus and Sasha Roiz as Proculus. Leather armour on Kiefer and Sasha made by Adam Smith.
Adam Smith is a Costume and Prop Builder, specializing in Leatherwork. He did all the leather work for Pompeii and the results were visually stunning, not to mention period-accurate.
I was invited to see a special pre-screening of Pompeii with Adam and managed to get a few questions answered at the same time:
GEEKPR0N: What made you get into making props/costumes? Did you take any schooling for it?
Adam Smith: Building props and costumes is always something that interested me… when the movie “Alien” came out, a friend and I made copies of props and costumes from the film for fun. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands though, picking up manual skills here and there. While I was working in I.T., I had a leatherworking booth at a local renaissance festival, and it was the assistant costume designer for a Hallmark tv movie that saw my work there and asked if I could build some pieces for them. It was a slippery slope from there!
My schooling is largely unrelated to the work I do now.. I went to university for Engineering Physics (which I didn’t finish), then went back to school for jewellery repair and watch repair before I landed a job fixing cash registers, barcode scanners and digital scales, which in turn lead to I.T. So no, no specific schooling, although I know many costumers that have costume design and fashion degrees.
GP: How long have you been making props and costumes professionally?
Adam: I first started in 2002, on the Hallmark movie “Prince Charming“, building sword belts and other accessories, and on the television series “Starhunter“, building all of their gunleather as well as other various pieces of costume and props, but it was very sporadic and extremely part-time. I joined IATSE local 873, one of the two film technician unions in Toronto, in 2007, and became a full member of the wardrobe department in 2009.
GP: How much work did you have to do for Pompeii? How long did it take you?
Adam: I spent 17 weeks working on “Pompeii” as the lead leatherworker/armourer. It was a monumental amount of work for my assistants Jenn Burton and Peter Stuckless and I…
We built all of Kit Harington‘s and his stunt double’s gladiator armour (up to a dozen multiples), three distinct pieces of Roman armour in multiples for Kiefer Sutherland, dozens of pieces of other Roman legionnaire and gladiator armour, we dealt with the non-stop flow of repairs coming from set, I had to see to the training my assistants… most days were fast-paced high-stress twelve-hour days or longer… I’ve never worked harder in my life!
GP: What’s your favourite project/film that you’ve done?
Adam: My favorite has to have been “REPO! The Genetic Opera“… it was such a strange quirky project with an amazing cast that was shot on a tiny, tiny budget. Anthony Stewart Head was an absolute joy to build for, and Sarah Brightman had me completely tongue-tied when I met her, so charming and gracious! If I was passing by the studios where it was being shot I’d stop by even if I had no reason to, just to see what they were shooting that day. And the props, costume and art department folk I would work with were the same folk that I had worked with on several of the “Saw” sequels, so the production had a family feel to it. And the cult fan base and community that grew out of it was an amazing thing to be a part of… I doubt I’ll get to work on another film quite so unusual and interesting as that one.
GP: If given an unlimited amount of time/money/staff, what would your dream build be?
Adam: If I were given unlimited resources, what would be my dream build? Probably something like a large scale astronomical tower clock… I’ve designed a couple of clocks that I’ve never been able to get around to constructing, and I’ve always held a love for fine brass scientific or horological apparati.
GP: Are there any other projects you’re working on right now that we should know about?
Adam: I’m currently building pieces off and on for the television series “Reign“, mostly crossbelts, sword belts, etc., but my big project of the year is producing the world’s largest Steampunk fair “Steam on Queen” at Campbell House in Toronto on June 21st! There’s another *huge* Steampunk festival in September that I’m involved with, but I’m not at liberty to share any details on that one just yet. 😉
