• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

ID this Keyboard

I believe it is a custom made prop, designed partly based on a C64 keyboard but there is one row too many function keys plus some extra keys on top to be an accurate match. It could be based on a different computer as well, but I'm almost entirely sure it is a prop built for a particular purpose.

You'd better build one yourself if you want the exact same look! :-D
 
ID keyboard

ID keyboard

Yeah, it's from Red Green, I'm attempting to build a copy of Harold's Video effects machine, not as easy as I thought. The stuff needed isn't that easy to obtain.

Thanks for everyone help so far,
Glen
 
NeXT: And you call yourself Canadian?
Click to expand...
Well kinda ... with a twist. :p I gave up TV many years ago so I miss out on what's on TV. However I get to spend that time enjoying, exploring, and learning about the world instead. :) Funny thing is I was staff at the CBC-TV studios in Vancouver for a number of years (props and staging) so I am quite familiar with the inner workings. lol

Possum said:
Yeah, it's from Red Green, I'm attempting to build a copy of Harold's Video effects machine, not as easy as I thought. The stuff needed isn't that easy to obtain.
Thanks for everyone help so far,
Glen
Click to expand...

Hi Glen,
I actually thought you were setting up to spam us since in your first two posts you didn't mention the word computer even once. In fact you still haven't. :) Anyway, welcome to the forums! :)

Good luck with your machine.

-Ole
 
Possum said:
The show's producer said it was a Commadore 64. Do you have any suggestion on where I can obtain a case so that I may construct my own keyboard or do you think that the case was fabricated also?
Click to expand...
I'm quite sure all of the prop was custom made. Possibly the keys are genuine, but the picture is quite small so hard to tell. You would need a very good close-up of the instrument in question to get a definite answer.

If I were to manufacture something similar, I would look for a broken computer or at least keyboard. I would try to save as much of the keyboard mechanism as possible so keys are possible to press. Then I would design my exterior case according to my liking, perhaps pull cables out of it.

I suppose you're a fan of the show and want the prop to look as close to the one in the picture as possible. Try to find higher resolution pictures or zoom in on the ones you have. Count the number of keys on each row and determine how wide each key is, it will give you a first idea what existing keyboard is the closest match. As I wrote, compared to a C64 it has a few keys too many. It means a keyboard mechanism would have to have a couple of "dead" keys which you can't use, they are only for decoration. As a side note, I'm sure several of us own vintage computers where a few keys only serve a decorative purpose nowadays. ;-)

Good luck!
 
It shouldn't be that hard to track down the guy that made it. I'm guessing the show is out of TO so call the props department there. Perhaps they didn't make it in house, but got some outsider to do it. Even the special effects guys could be responsible - there's a bit of crossover with props. Either way, props would be the ones that are responsible for it now. If you live close enough, they might let you come in and take a picture if you talk nicely to them. I got all kinds of wierd requests like that when I was looking after props at the Vancouver plant and with CBC being a crown corporation it was generally appropriate for me to fulfil people's needs if I wasn't too busy. Anyway the props guys all have phones, you just need to do a bit of sleuthing.

Edit: It just occurred to me that it would be useful for you to know how things are set up at the CBC. The major departments don't talk a lot to each other, but they are: production, technical, and design. Technical is cameras and lights etc, they are irrelevant here. Production is the desk people who put on the show. They can be helpful and are usually nice. The design department is things like graphics, designers, props, staging, carpentry, special effects, and so on. The design department is obviously the way to get hold of props if you can't get a direct number.
 
Last edited:
It could be worth adding most of the odd looking items would be custom built props rather than hard to find off-the-shelf products. If the show has an idea for something particular, it probably is both quicker and cheaper to build it than to spend days or weeks searching the Internet for something that looks and works like the writer intends, unless of course a particular product already was located.
 
Actually, there is a general aversion to making stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. Rent or buy is the rule. Partly because of time constraints and partly because there are many props people with limited construction skills. A good props person has a huge file of contacts of where to get stuff. However, I used to brag that I could make something faster than you could rent it. That was only sometimes true but I liked the challange!
 
keyboard

keyboard

I do know the item that the keyboard is attached to is a control panel from an Ampex VR1200 Video Recorder, I have a lead on one, I'm waiting on a price from owner. That's another huddle, limited funds. LOL

You guys are great!
 
Possum said:
Did mention I spoke with the producer of The Red Green Show, he said the keyboard was a C64, this was conveyed to me in an email.
Click to expand...

I guess they could have modified it, but there are too many keys to the right, and the top keys don't exist on a C64:

c64case.jpg
 
Too bad that you don't have a better, more detailed shot of it.

But from what I can see zooming in on it, it appears to be a made-up item. The keys are not in nice even rows--they could even be glued onto a backing. I think the keys could be from a C64, but I'm not certain about the rest.

If the guys north of the border are like their Hollywood counterparts, hacking up some hunk of gear to make it look different would not be unusual.
 
Well of course, if the script says "old computer in the background, something like a PET" it probably is easier to rent a PET than try to build something that looks like one. If the script says "old computer with lots of colourful sliders, nooks and tape reels all over it", you may have some research ahead of you to find anything that matches the description. If you have many contacts you can ask them all to look in their warehouses, but I'd bet in the end you may bolt together a regular computer with a reel tape recorder and add the extra stuff by hand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top