Masters of illusion – Hungarians behind Hollywood movie props – PHOTOS, VIDEOS
Over the past two decades and especially in the last couple of years, Hungary has become an increasingly popular shooting location among blockbuster movie studios. Many productions come to the country to get work done by highly skilled Hungarian movie professionals.
Some of the main reasons for this are the subsidies and tax rebates the Hungarian government offers to international companies. However, in the past couple of years, the Hungarian film crews and studios have gained significant experience and competence, hence it also draws the international film studios to the country, not just the advantageous cost factor.
Thanks to the emergence of streaming services such as Netflix, a large number of shows are being shot in recent times, many of them, including The Last Kingdom, or Shadow and Bone have chosen Hungary for their filming locations.
Epic Creations
Admittedly, movies do not only feature Hungarian locations and perhaps bits of the language but many props you see on screen are made by Hungarians professionals. Here comes Epic Creations in the picture.
“Epic Creations was established by Hungarian business professionals with a long history in filmmaking. We felt the need for a professional, world class standard manufacturer of unique, never seen before items. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver the best final product possible,” says the company’s bio.
“Currently we work mainly for the entertainment business but we are continuously looking for new challenges in other industries in need of prototyping or pre-production product development.”
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So, when the brand-new Uncharted movie, featuring Tom Holland, will come out, keep in mind that the boxes you see in the air crash scene are made in Hungary and are actually empty foam shells to protect the actors.
The team of Epic Creations gave an interview to Forbes, in which they said that a prop master and a former colleague asked the Hungarian team to help them make the necessary props for Uncharted back in 2020.
Dániel Suszt, one of the leaders at Epic Creations said that since the pandemic broke out, many foreign movie crews have travelled home and they had plenty of time at their disposal, so they agreed to replicate boxes for the stunt scenes in Uncharted.
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Their story
The story of Epic Creations started back in 2007 when the crew of Hellboy II shot their movie at the Hungarian Korda Studio. Zoltán Szalkai, the other leader of Epic Creations worked there as an assistant for a prop master. Today, he has over 15 years of industry experience under his belt.
Dániel stumbled into the prop industry in 2015 and has founded Epic Creations. The two met and since 2019, they have been the heads of the company.
References
They worked on many props such as the lifeboat that the characters in the series Terror had to pull through a freezing hellhole. In reality, there were wheels hidden in the sleighs under the boat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWtn7jJ_UhU
Photo: facebook.com/epiccreationshungary
Another example Forbes highlights is a Soviet control room with fully functioning buttons for the Bourne spin-off Treadstone. They were also the ones who made the LED wall out of 1,100 empty beer bottles for The Billion Dollar Code.
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A couple of other movies and tv shows that are worth mentioning are the recent Dune movie with Zendaya Maree and Jason Momoa and the upcoming Borderlands and Marvel’s Moon Knight. Epic Creations worked on several props for these productions.
Recently, the company has also taken up making practical effects and props for advertisements, Forbes says. One of their larger creations includes a full-fletched control room for a spaceship.
Source: Forbes.hu, epiccreations.hu, Daily News Hungary