Behind the Scenes: Building Canvas Flats for a Commercial Shoot

Recently, I had the chance to work with my long-time collaborator, Mike Oak, on a commercial stage shoot. Our task was to build large 10' x 16' flats with a non-standard request: using canvas as the face of the flats—something typically reserved for theater.

Typically, film flats are constructed with 1x3s or 1x4s and are skinned with luan, a lightweight plywood. While this approach works, it can make the flats quite heavy. Normally, these flats are built in place, remaining stationary for a portion of the shoot. The only exception might be a "wild wall," a fake wall that’s meant to be moved around during the shoot.

For this project, we were asked to skin the walls with canvas, a material that's typically used to reduce weight and improve mobility. The usual method is to staple the canvas to the back of the frame, but with limited time and the need for efficiency, Mike suggested an alternative.

Taking a bit of a risk, we decided to screw the canvas directly into the frame, rather than stapling it. It was an approach I never would have thought of, but the results were fantastic. The flats held up perfectly during the shoot and were surprisingly easy to disassemble afterward.

Below are some progress photos showing the flats being built.