Take a behind-the-scenes look at the remarkable journey of Brittany Worboys, a distinguished NIDA alum who graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Properties and Objects in 2018 and has been crafting stellar props ever since. With a passion for prop making ignited during her high school years, Brittany’s trajectory has led her to work on some of the most iconic productions in recent memory including Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thor: Love and Thunder and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Brittany shares her insights, experiences, and advice for those aspiring to follow in her footsteps.
Why did you decide to apply for NIDA’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Properties and Objects*?
My name is Brittany Worboys, I’m originally from Queensland, I came to NIDA in 2016 and graduated in 2018. I actually found the props making course while in a high school planning for the future class hoping to find a university degree that taught sculpting and mould making. I was working backwards looking at a job in stop motion animation (that’s what I really wanted to do) and I saw their listing of skills you needed to have to apply for the job. So, I went on one of those university websites where you can look up ‘fine arts degree’ and up came the NIDA props course. It had everything I wanted to learn, and I spent my last half a year at high school preparing to apply, so thankful to my art teacher Mrs Collingwood for making that possible.
What were some of your highlights while studying at NIDA?
Highlights while being at NIDA, god there are a few! I loved my last year getting to really work on a large project that was entirely my interest. I did an exploration into miniature water in stop motion. That gave me the opportunity to contact some very talented people in the industry to talk about some of my favourite scenes from movies and find out how they worked/were made.
I did an internship on Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway which basically got my name out into the world of prop makers in film and received my first paid film prop maker role from it. That was an incredible moment and snowballed the career I have today.
Are there any skills you learned at NIDA that you regularly use in the industry today?
A fun skill I got from my days at NIDA is being able to guess the gauge of bolts. I had a prop make that required testing with different M bolts and I have this really fun ability to look at bolts and know what size they are. It’s come in so handy on so many jobs especially when I’m doing prop buying where I’m on and off set all day.
Something I was taught at NIDA that I still use to this day would be scenicing. Just the other day I was on a job creating rust effects on barrels and metal mottling on plastic screens. It’s a skill that really every prop maker should have in the arsenal, it’s the thing that sells a lump of plastic as metal or shiny new fabrics as battle worn. I would recommend anyone to learn the basics as it just ups your final product by 10.
What are some of your credits since graduating?
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Total Control Season one, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thor: Love and Thunder, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Wolf Like Me season two, Paper Dolls, Critical Incident, 10 Pound Poms season two.
Is there a material or technique that you specialise in?
When I started working, I had this amazing opportunity to work in the specialty costume department in their mould shop (used to be called costume props). I became part of a team that did the costume moulds for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thor: Love and Thunder and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Moulding became my specialty I could make thousands of scales a day or produce intricate 8-part moulds.
How do you approach the balancing of visual appeal with the practical needs of props in a production, particularly when it comes to safety for the actors?
Well, the mould shop exists really for this purpose. You make a fake version for the needs of the scene. Whether the actor is going to fall with it or throw it or stand on it there’s a different product for that need. We made a bunch of high-impact armour for Thor for the Asgardians so they could fight in it without it breaking. We made an expanding foam Headdress for Shang-Chi so it could be thrown easily, was lightweight to wear and wouldn’t hurt or break if it hit an actor.
Can you tell us a little bit about the process of creating moulds?
Whether on a production or freelancing, there’s a process of steps for creating a mould. The first involves discussing what the need of the prop is. Once we know what they want it to do, what it’s going to be attached to and even what side is the best we can then determine what type of mould to create. Sometimes the material of the final product can even determine the type of mould you create. For example, if a prop needs to be made with expanding foam we try to keep it as a 1 part mould with only one seem line that way when the foam expands it does push out too far and deformed itself. If we can, we like to make these in PVC pipes as it creates the walls for pouring the mould while also becoming the jacket that then holds it in place when casting.
What prop are you most proud of helping to create?
It’s not a prop but a costume covered in thousands of tiny scales. Shang-Chi and his sister’s dragon scale suits. I spent months casting the scales that covered these suits. I was given different-sized scales to test along with different colour combinations. I kept a detailed record of my recipes for each suit scale and a tally of how many I made in a day. A team of talented women placed all the scales individually onto the suit following a detailed scale map. It was the first major motion picture that I had a credit for and the first thing I could point out the friends and family as ‘mine’ on the big screen. It is my most proud object and I even have a mini replica of it in my home.
What advice would you give to aspiring prop makers, especially those thinking of studying the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Properties and Objects* at NIDA?
The advice I would give would be to ask questions. Never be afraid to ask how something is made or how someone else’s process works. The first thing anyone ever said to me when I first started out was, “If you have any questions ask”. It opens that line of communication between you and your colleagues, and you never feel like you’re going to fail. For those thinking of studying props at NIDA that’s my advice. You will learn more and grow as a maker the more you ask. In my experience makers love sharing a process or a cool new technique, just the other week I learnt how to make safety retractable syringes from another maker all through asking questions. So be inquisitive and have a desire to learn more, because there’s never not a new way of making.
What’s next for you?
I’ve been working in TV for the last couple of years as a props buyer and maker, so I spend time between being on set and exploring the length of Sydney looking for unique objects to become the next hero prop. I’ve done a couple of great shows including Wolf Like Me Season two and my next job is going to be a comedy as well! Can’t say much for now but I’m hearing great things.
*now named Bachelor of Fine Arts in Props and Effects
