Props Build • Start Button
When I started working for KidStuf, one of my first big props building projects was to create a “Start Button”. We wanted an inventive way to consistently start the show.
Someone had the idea to create a “Start Button” that lowered from the ceiling, and at each show a kid from the audience would be randomly selected to come up and hit the button to launch the show.
1. Concept Art
Concept:
Colin Harman is always a great person to know for concept art. He’s a graphic designer and very imaginative. We talked through the different concepts and styles, and he drew up this sketch as a starting point in the process.
2. Blueprints
From the concept art, I met with the Live Production Team, and we went to work on what would actually fit in the ceilings at all five of our venues and how to hang them.
After a few days of hanging varied sizes of cardboard boxes in the ceiling for testing, we finally landed on our blueprint for dimension and weight.
Dimensions: 11" wide x 20" high x 6" deep made out of 1/2" Plywood with a 1/4" panel slide board in back. This way we can still get into the box to change the batteries on the light.
One of our awesome volunteers who happens to be a woodworker built the initial boxes for us, and I went to adding a few layers of base coat paint with the Rust-oleum Antique Pewter Hammered spray paint.
3. Design/Creation
The next part was probably the most fun. I was able to rope our friend, Clay, and Colin into helping me with the final design and build. We went to Lowe’s and walked the aisles looking for random products that could be used to create the look we were going for from the sketch. I wanted to stay with orange, yellow, and blue being the main accent colors because it matches the KidStuf logo and overall look of our shows.
Then we got to work building all five using the random things we found at Lowe’s:
The orange cap on the top is just two pieces of PVC caps with orange electrical tape around them. This helped us hide the eye hook sticking out of the top.
I don’t even remember what aisle we found the blue piping down…maybe electrical.
The Knife Switch is made out of random metal pieces and hinges. It’s just for looks and doesn’t actually move. The handle is from a paint roller.
For the copper metal coils, we found a spool of copper and bent/molded it around a pipe to get that fun shape.
We used caution tape around the edges and lightly spray painted over it using Rust-oleum Copper Hammered spray paint to give that worn look.
The button with the rocket is just a battery operated tap light that we took apart to add a red light gel behind. Colin designed the rocket for us, and we used someone’s Circut to cut it out with adhesive vinyl.
4. Stage
Once everything was built, we hung the Start Buttons at all five of our stages. We added a geyser in the ceiling as well to have “smoke” coming from the ceiling when the button lowers.
Four years later, it’s still awesome to see that Start Button lower from the ceiling to start the show!
Here’s a few pictures of it all in action:
