Who is a scene-shifter and what do they do? The task of the scene-shifter is to produce, adapt, and disassemble scenery and properties for film and theatre as well as equipment for the circus according to a designer’s or other artistic creator’s ideas.
What are the activities of the scene-shifter job? Manufacture, and erection of scenery and props and the stage design of buildings outdoors as well as indoors, when a film is to be shot, or a scene acted there – erection of wooden structures for all kinds of buildings in theatrical or film use (for example castles, mills, launching sites, rockets, carriages, ruins, etc.) – ensuring their stability and finishing scenery and decorations including possible moving or movable accessories (for example opening of rocks, movement of magic beings, collapse of a building, etc.) – applying appropriate surface finishes – erecting big circus tents using special tackles for raising and stretching of the “big top” – during the performance, assembling what’s needed for ground-level and aerial acts according to the instructions of the artist/designer or team leader – assembling arena cages during performance, including (in circuses, for example) tunnels for the coming and going of beasts of prey.
Where is it done and under what conditions? At theatres, in studios, and circuses. Work at heights and work which is not easily accessible must occasionally be expected.
What tools/equipment do they use? The tools most commonly used include circular, frame, and band saws, wood-working, milling and grinding machines, drilling machines, axes, hammers, planes, and other carpenter’s tools, and their own their own hands and feet.
What do you need to succeed? You need apprentice training in carpentry, manual skills, a nimble body, physical fitness, and spatial imagination.