Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542039
PROPERTYMASTERSGUILD.ORG 27 C o n t e m p o r a r y F e a t u r e F i l m E x c e l l e n c e i n S h o r t F o r m a t , C o m m e r c i a l , M u s i c V i d e o , W e b S e r i e s 2 0 2 5 Fortnight Brad Elliott, PMG five days to get from concept design to the set. I created several versions of a look with the guidance that it was to look like Terry Gilliam meets Frankenstein. I started with the form factor of a scrap metal crane and combined with found objects to get to the final look, which had to be as lightweight as possible. With the expert help of Brandon Minton, we pulled it off with hours to spare. PROP CULTURE: What was your favorite, most interesting prop to create? BRAD ELLIOTT: While the torture brain scanner was a bunch of fun, I offered a few found object props made of vintage materials. C o n t e m p o r a r y F e a t u r e F i l m E x c e l l e n c e i n V a r i e t y, R e a l i t y, G a m e S h o w , E v e n t S p e c i a l 2 0 2 5 The Rehearsal, Season 2 Morgan Treven Bedwell There is a wand connected to a 1900's volt meter that TS connected with at the prop show and tell which was not only prominently featured in the video, but I was asked to make a second to go on the Eras Tour! PROP CULTURE: Taylor Swift has such a huge fan following that analyses every detail for Easter eggs. What was that like? Did you lean into anything? BRAD ELLIOTT: I was helped quite a bit by Livi Dom, who caught me up on all the Swiftie things. I made sure to put Easter eggs wherever appropriate. The most prominent was the label of the pill bottle which had a simple code at the bottom made of TS's birthday and the release date of the video. The barcode on the pill bottle could also be scanned to read "Taylor Swift 12/13/1989." PROP CULTURE: Is there anything else fun or interesting you'd like to share? BRAD ELLIOTT: There was a lot of talk online about how the typewriters in the video were missing the "1" key. There was speculation about how this is Taylor's way of fully moving on from her first serious relationship. As it turns out, old typewriters didn't have that key. If you wanted to type a 1, you used a lowercase L. If you wanted an exclamation point, you would use the lowercase L over a period. That is why modern keyboards have the 1 and the ! on the same key. CREW: 2 PREP: 2 weeks PROP CULTURE: What was your most challenging prop hurdle of Fortnight? BRAD ELLIOTT: We got a very late change to the scene in which TS (Taylor Swift) was getting analyzed by the scientists. She was originally supposed to have a pair of simple EKG electrodes on her temples. Another artist released a music video in the middle of our production that mimicked this idea. Taylor Swift reached out to come up with an alternative brain scanner-like thing with only