Arkham Sanitarium Props

Oh, how I love a tableau of props. Director Andrew G. Morgan brings us this selection of items from his indy film "Arkham Sanitarium". Browse around the rest of the site and you'll find some interesting stuff. A recent blog entry mentions the possibility of a limited edition Cthulhu idol based on the one in the film, something I'm sure you'll find of interest.



Update: The roughs for the idol are over here, while the plan to offer physical copies is mentioned here.

Arkham Sanitarium Variant Logo

This was worked up for a Halloween attraction that features a horror asylum theme. They wanted a callback to Lovecraft's Arkham Sanitarium, but with a more modern design appropriate for an ambulance and incidental signage. Just click through for the high res version.

Prisoner Transport Kit

Michael S sent over a link to this vintage prisoner transport kit. It's likely there were more than a few of these in use at Arkham Sanitarium by the deputies handling involuntary commitments. Sadly, I've had to settle for using the Chinese-made reproduction cuffs that have flooded the market.

As an aside, I'm delighted to learn there's a blog dedicated to vintage restraints. One of the glories of the internet is how even the smallest niche interest can be shared with the world at large. You may never need to know what kind of handcuffs were in use last century, but when the subject does come up you'll be able to find the answer. That's just insanely cool.

Sanitarium Escapee

My thanks to Dark in the Dark for the very kind writeup of the Arkham Sanitarium project. Be sure to browse around while you're there. The classic pulp covers are a delight.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

The Arkham Sanitarium prop project is almost over.

The last of the prop sets were mailed out this morning, with the exception of two donors that haven't responded to the Kickstarter request for address information. If you haven't received an email confirming that your package was posted please check your spam filter.

If you encounter any problems please don't hesitate to contact me. I take your satisfaction extremely seriously. Your positive experience is the only advertising I have, so I want you to be absolutely bubbling over with enthusiasm for the next project to come down the pipe.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

The lapel pins finally arrived yesterday and they look awesome. Now that everything is in hand I've started mailing out the complete prop sets to patrons in order of their initial donation to the Arkham Sanitarium project. Twenty packages are already in the mail, and at least that many should go out today.

Here's a look at what you'll be receiving:



Each set includes 1 embroidered patch, 1 enamel lapel pin, 1 Moleskine-style pocket notebook, 5 postcards (the two Sanitarium cards and three extras from previous projects), and 2 patient file folders.

Here's an extreme closeup of the lapel pin. For something that is only 1" across the level of detail is remarkable.



Out of all the items in the set the pin is my favorite. Despite the delays in it's manufacturing the final product is absolutely outstanding.

Arkham Sanitarium Patient File

The industrious Mr. Able of the Able workshop, the alter ego of artist Julian DiMarco, sent over these shots of his Arkham Sanitarium patient file. All of the documents he used are available here under the "Arkham Sanitarium" label, and he has some helpful advice for finishing them off.

"I used Photoshop to make the text with my laser printer on the form - I then took the form, attached a photo I printed out on photo paper to it, and then ran the whole shebang through an inkjet printer to get the 'stamp' effect. I was going for a really textural feel with the medical file - I tried as much as I could to work through the 'process' of how a file would be treated and the physical feel of it different papers used for different documents - a lot of times I see pictures or stamps and the like that are all printed in one layer...there's no sensation there."

I prefer to reproduce handwriting by hand, but I think his approach of using computer generated text has some huge advantages. The sad truth is that I have terrible handwriting and normally have to coerce my significant other into doing any prop writing I need. Based on my conversations with some other prop creators this isn't an unusual situation. Not to launch a huge debate on learning and manual dexterity development, much less my potential sexism, but I think the methods used to teach cursive writing, and the age at which it's taught, aren't as effective with boys as girls.*



One of the advantage of forms like these is that a handwriting font isn't as jarring as it would be in something like a letter. The clearly marked lines and regularity of the entries make the inhuman precision of a digital font far less noticeable. A handwritten note requires some subtle misalignments and jitter to look natural.



Mr. Able also brings up a good point about layering and it's impact on sense impression. Traditional theatrical and film props are primarily concerned with looking good, but well done live action props are so effective because they embrace all the senses. One of the reasons I produced so many different documents for the Arkham Sanitarium project is to make it easier to produce a visually and tactiley interesting final product.





* Harriet Hanlon, Robert Thatcher, and Marvin Cline. Gender differences in the development of EEG coherence in normal children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 16(3):479-506, 1999**

** Sweet fancy Moses, I'm footnoting a throwaway comment in a discussion of fake patient files. I need help.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

Every patron of the Arkham Sanitarium project has been sent an email from Kickstarter asking for your shipping information. If you haven't received it, please check your spam trap. Because of the way the Kickstarter system is structured the embedded form is the only way I have of getting your address.

Department of Mental Diseases Credentials

The very talented "anniv111701" brings us this identification card for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Diseases, the government bureaucracy responsible for running mental health facilities in the classic Mythos era. The customizable PDFs for the front and back are here and here, respectively.

Arkham Sanitarium Prop Project Update

The end is nigh, my friends.

I just received the tracking number for the lapel pins and they should arrive by Wednesday. That means the Arkham Sanitarium prop packages will start going out by the end of the week. If you're a patron you should already have an email from Kickstarter asking for your shipping information.

Here's a look at the patches. The one on the bottom is a freakish mutant that has the snake in red instead of green. As far as I can tell it's the only one in the run with that defect.



A closer, slightly overexposed look at one of the patches. Please forgive my terrible photography.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

Sweet fancy Moses.

I just finished "discussing" the status of the Arkham Sanitarium lapel pins with the manufacturer. I have been assured that they will absolutely, positively be in my hands on Monday the 11th. Then again, this is the same manufacturer that told me it would take 7 to 10 business days to complete the order back on September 6th.

At this point I'm really not sure what to think, and I can more than understand if you're getting frustrated waiting for your prop sets. I've used the same company for all of my previous runs and they've always delivered on time, but there have apparently been delays because the pin blanks have to be custom cut. All I can do is, once again, apologize for the delay.

I'm really starting to think that there's some kind of curse on any Lovecraftian project using the pledge model.

Arkham Sanitarium Business Cards

Interactive versions of the Arkham Sanitarium business cards from "anniv111701" have now been posted. These add customizable form fields to the PDFs from earlier in the week. You can download the files from Google docs here and here.

Arkham Sanitarium Ephemera

The first post on Alex Kaeda's new blog features some classic era anxiety medication- smokes and a matchbook from Arkham Sanitarium. The mysterious fires of 1921, 1927, 1934, and 1937 are now more understandable.



The very talented "anniv111701" sent over links to a selection of Sanitarium business cards available on Google Docs here and here. Interactive versions that allow you to customize the entries are in the works.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

This will hopefully be the final week of the Arkham Sanitarium project.

Everything is done and in hand except for the patches and lapel pins. The final patch sample was approved last week and that run is currently in production. If the final pin sample shows up today, as it's scheduled to do, the run of lapel pins should be in my hands on Friday or Saturday.

Again, I apologize for the delay based on my original, overly optimistic production schedule. As several people have pointed out, it's always a good idea to automatically double the production time quoted to you by a manufacturer.

Patient File Folder

I fiddled around with a couple of different takes on the Arkham Sanitarium patient file folders. This is the straight version. I'll apologize ahead of time for both the wiggy photography and my terrible handwriting. I had to kludge together a copy stand for the shots and didn't feel like bothering my significant other for her penmanship services. Click through on the pictures to see the high resolution versions.



One feature of the folders I like is that they're essentially timeless- pick a Mythos era, from classic to modern, and they'll fit right in. Full tab filing folders have been around since vertical filing replaced the cubbyhole system of the 19th century.



Here we have the details of the unfortunate Mr. DeVost's case. Between the admission form and his sketch it shouldn't take investigators too long to figure out just what the "devil" is.

The pasted on patient name is a matter of simple expediency that, conveniently, is historically acceptable. I wanted everything produced inside Arkham Sanitarium to look like it came from identical models of typewriter, so the tab uses the same "Chunk Type" freeware font used in the PDF's. You can download it from John Bruce's font site over here.

The metal document clip is something I added, but I think I'm going to include one with every folder because it's so handy and official looking.

The sketch actually consumed the most time of any facet of the file. I intentionally patterned it after some of the pictures drawn of the infamous "Mothman" and it took a few tries to get the right look. To the average person it's just an imaginary monster haunting the mind of a crazy man, but to someone familiar with the Mythos...

Arkham Sanitarium Props

It's frustrating to be so close to having everything done on this project. The folders, notebook, and postcards are in hand, all ready to go.



Forgive me for sounding like my own fanboy, but the file folders are absolutely awesome. I'm going to do a mockup of a patient file tonight and should have some pictures tomorrow.

Arkham Sanitarium Bill For Services

Today we have another prop document for the Arkham Sanitarium project, this time a bill for services. While the earlier paper props were the kind of thing that would be included in a patient file, this would be more appropriate as something discovered in household papers or a lawyer's client file.

You can download the PDF from Google Docs over here.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

I was planning on spending this morning posting off 60+ mailers filled with Lovecraftian goodness.

Sadly, that's not the case. My original two week long production schedule for the Arkham Sanitarium project was a bit too optimistic, and for that I apologize. At this point the production of the patches and pins is holding things up. I should have the revised embroidery for the patch today, and I'll hopefully have the production sample for the lapel pins. Everything else is done, and I already have the postcards in hand. Both the notebooks and file folders should arrive today.

If there aren't any problems with today's approvals (knock on wood) we're probably looking at a revised ship date of October 1st.

Again, I apologize for the delay.

Update: The newest production sample for the patch is in and it's golden. The color mismatch between the text and inner shield fill has been resolved, and the missing drop shadows behind the torch and key have been fixed. One step closer, my friends, one step closer.

Arkham Sanitarium Pharmacy Labels

Alex Kaeda kindly posted a link to these pharmacy labels he created in the discussion of new paper props for the Arkham Sanitarium project.



My sincere thanks to Mr. Kaeda.

Arkham Sanitarium Update

I have good news and bad news.

First, the good news. The postcards, file folders, and notebooks are all done. They're currently working there way across the country and should arrive at my home by Friday, the original target date.

Now, the bad news. The custom die cutting needed for the shape of the Arkham Sanitarium patches and pins is slowing down the order. I'll hopefully have the production samples today or tomorrow, but that means production is likely to take at least another week. That would push the ship date for the completed prop packages to next weekend.

I apologize for the delay, but manufacturing is the one part of the process that I don't have any control over.

Update: The first production sample for the patches is in.



Once again, it's a good news/bad news situation. The die cut for the custom shape, which had the potential to be a real problem, is perfect. Unfortunately, there are two minor problems that will require another pass before the production run can start- the color mismatch between the "Arkham Sanitarium" lettering and the inner shield fill has to be corrected, and the slight drop shadow on the key and torch are missing. The latter problem is a little odd considering the drop shadow on the snake came out perfectly.

One thing I'm not worried about, but you might be, is the slightly rough look of the sample. They always look like that. When I ordered the very first Miskatonic patch I almost cried when I saw the production test, but the whole point of the sample is to fine tune the programming that will be driving the embroidery machine.