Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542039
Making the MacGuffin: B efore there could be an awards show for Property Masters, there needed to be an actual award, a tangible prize to occupy coveted mantle space and to wave proudly overhead on stage. But, where does one even begin to conceptualize a single, iconic visual representation for the wildly eclectic work of the Property Master? With such a trophy functioning as the "hero prop" of an awards show, surely the Property Masters driving this initiative would be champing at the bit to tackle the design of this key element. But this prop-of-all-props would demand a deeper consideration from its designers than any single on-screen element had before, as this trophy would need to embrace every category of filmmaking in a unified symbol celebrating excellence in prop mastery. Like all good props though, this started with a concept. The Property Masters Guild trophy was to be named the "MacGuffin." The cinema cognoscente will recognize this term as a trope manifested by the key prop or element which drives the plot and steers character motivations in a narrative work. In similar function, creating "The MacGuffin Awards" was born from the desire to see the excellence of the Property Master celebrated annually on par with their historically awarded filmmaking fellows. "I was quite frankly tired of our craft not getting the recognition we deserve for the creative contributions that we make to the projects that we work on. We design props that build character and we help define the look of what ends up on screen. Since the industry wasn't going to acknowledge our excellence, I thought it was time that we did that for ourselves," concluded Brad Elliott, IATSE Local 44 Property Master and PMG Director who initially proposed the herculean effort of pioneering a dedicated awards program for the Property Department. When faced with defining the look of the MacGuffin trophy, Brad reached out to the same key creatives he had previously employed to deliver hundreds of otherworldly fantasy props from the script pages of the Rebel Moon saga. When approached regarding putting pen to paper in conceptualizing the form of the trophy, IATSE Local 800 concept artist Andres Parada insisted: "A trophy should be aspirational. It should be something you seek to gain, right? Because it represents hours and hours of work and refining skill. There should also be a sense of pride and accomplishment. Something you want to have displayed in By Hunter Nelson, PMG An inside look at how the Property Masters Guild Award went from trope to trophy