Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544153
Building Culture Through Props I t was an amazing privilege to work on a film with such rich design opportunities and exacting standards. The people of the Avatar crew were all at the top of their game, and I am eternally grateful to have worked among them. A huge thanks to Co-property Master Melissa Spicer, who prepped the props and crew for the live-action shoot in New Zealand. I had never been given such a huge task, and I was fortunate to be afforded the proper time and resources needed to deliver the props for James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash. In Fire and Ash, the audience is exposed to multiple tribes and locations. The Omatikaya from the forest, the Metkayina from the reef, the Tlalim Wind Traders, the Mangkwan Ash people, and more. Jim wanted to make sure that these tribes all had props that spoke to their independently developed cultures. All our designs had different technologies, materials, construction techniques and color palettes relating specifically to the tribes they represented. The reef people exist in harmony with the ocean. Their props needed to reflect weapons and technologies developed specifically for use in and around water. Trials with the stunt team in our massive water tank taught us a lot through actual testing. We found that to effectively use a spear underwater, it was best to have a sharp tip on both sides. Once your spear has thrust out from the warrior, it always ends up getting sideways to the current. The density of the water pushes the spear back behind the person holding it. Instead of trying to leverage the spear back BY Brad Elliott, PMG 14 PROP CULTURE I SPRING 2026 through the water column, a reef warrior could simply adjust his grip and be ready for the next jab as we put points on both ends of the spear. We then adorned the spears with art similar to the tattoos on the faces of their warriors to personalize each weapon to its bearer. We designed the Metkayina speargun to be fired while riding a creature underwater. A traditional crossbow design would have the arms pushing forward into the water when fired. This resistance decreased the strength of the weapon. By designing the forward- hurled arms of the speargun to open into the oncoming current, we used the water current itself to push the arms back faster, increasing the power of the weapon. Our early tests of the practical speargun we built for live action proved the design strong enough to put a blunt dowel through five layers of cardboard. We designed atlatls for the reef. These use a hooked stick to hurl a dart between an arrow and a spear in size. We found it worked well underwater, where normal bows are not very effective. For all the reef weapons we designed, we used materials established in the concept art. We used wood that matched the mangrove roots of the village. We designed props out of ivory-colored fish bones, aquatic skins and bladders. We used a color palette based on the blues and greens of the water that is so foundational to their Metkayina culture. The Wind Traders are arguably the most technologically advanced Na'vi, as they roam Pandora in flying airships giving