Kew local, Alison Cardy, is a production buyer, working on TV shows such as The Crown, The Great and Silent Witness and films Cinderella with Lily James, Atonement and Pride & Prejudice
‘There’s always a dead dog!’ laughs Alison Cardy as she describes some of the props she has had to find over the years for the many productions she has worked on. A suitcase that needs to look old at the beginning of filming, but new at the end because nothing is shot in sequence. A period carriage interior, whose colour can’t clash with the star’s dress as she steps in. The ring for Princes Diana’s engagement in The Crown. Every time you watch a drama or comedy, contemporary or period, behind the scenes, someone like Alison has sourced the props.
‘Props are anything that you see on screen which isn’t worn by an actor.’ And every one of those items has to be found, hired or bought. Alison works closely with the set decorator, working out how to spend their budget: ‘If it’s a production with lot scenes and in different locations, like The Crown, then we have a bigger budget, but if we are based mainly in one place, like the family home for filming Pride & Prejudice, then the budget can be smaller.’
The Crown has been a fascinating production for Alison. Starting in the 1940s, with a young Princess Elizabeth and continuing through to the 1990s, means more than 50 years of period props as backdrops to each scene. She has sourced everything from a fake lobster for the Lord Mountbatten boat scene when he is blown up by the IRA, to making sure the right insignias are on uniforms for a Trooping the Colour shot to finding penguins for a Prince Philip scene in Antarctica.
She usually has around 12 weeks to source everything before a production begins. ‘If it’s a scene where the props won’t be re-used, we’ll look to see what we’ve already got or hire what’s needed. I’m lucky living in Kew as the best London prop companies are based in Acton, so easy to get to. If it’s a set that will be used a number of times, then it makes more sense to buy the props. If it’s a period production, I obviously need to research what would have been used then, so I’ll spend time at the V&A and the Portrait Gallery to understand the look, which is a great part of the job.’
Alison started her career with a graduate placement at Mersey Television – though she emphasises you don’t need to be a graduate to get into the business – and when she joined the art department, knew she had found where she wanted to be. Starting as a runner – ‘Making tea for two years, sussing out people’s roles, making good contacts which you need, as it’s a freelance industry’ – and working her way up the system to become production buyer, in charge of the budget to source and buy everything needed on set.
Some items that might seem small can help add to the cost of a carefully planned scene budget. A flower that would cost little when in season, may have to be handmade out of season. Multiple vases may be needed for different scenes – some intact, others broken in a particular way. ‘Something that costs a fiver normally suddenly costs £500 because you’ve had to have it handmade overnight. London is great place to work as we have wonderful prop makers – they are amazing craftspeople.’
During lockdown, Alison has been juggling home-schooling two children whilst still working. Luckily, The Great is being produced and filmed in East London, making life a lot easier. Sets are created a couple of days before the actors, who are working in bubbles, go on scene and everyone involved with the series is being Covid tested three times a week.
In a few weeks, production for the final season of The Crown starts. It will be an end of era, with the crew having worked together for more than five years and the story spanning so many decades. It means life is never dull. ‘You become an expert in very strange things for a short space of time!’
Pippa Duncan
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All photos of actors are courtesy of Netflix. You can see The Crown on Netflix.