The studios ofsuch a big sun, in Vendargues, near Montpellier (Hérault), is home to a huge cave of Ali Baba. On giant shelves, pallet racks inherited from the old factory that housed here, are stored countless pieces of furniture and objects of all kinds. The statue of a soldier, the sign of a police station, the panel of a town, a traffic light, or lamps, crockery and toys galore.
This is where the France TV Studio team unearths all the elements that make up the sets for the France 2 series. But that’s not all. This place, unique in the south of France, is also open to the group’s other productions, such as Cassandra, Mongeville Where Alex Hugo. And of course, More beautiful life. Everything is stored here, once the shoots are done. And regularly, trucks, loaded with finds, leave Vendargues, direction Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), to build new sets for the daily soap opera of France 3.
“The production designer receives the script, and then he turns to me”
It is Laurence Astier who manages this impressive stock. This former stage manager of More beautiful life draws from the warehouse, depending on the needs of the shoots. “The production designer receives the scenario, and then he turns to me, explaining to me what he is looking for,” explains the head props man. By telling me for which character, if it’s a woman, a man, his age, his job, his environment, if this character has money or not a lot. His mental state, too. If it’s someone who’s doing pretty well, or not. In function, we make proposals. »
This stock is still difficult to quantify. But his manager undertook his precise referencing. Soon, everything will be accessible on a database. With details that matter, such as height or weight. Simpler, to meet the demands of the decorator. And also for the film crews, who will be able to do their little shopping, like a real online store. “I took 1,400 pieces of furniture in pictures, and I’m not even halfway there,” she says. It can be estimated that there are approximately 3,000. And accessories, there are thousands of them, no doubt. But he still has needs. We lack modern, for example, at the moment. “So to enrich the stock, the teams of France Télévisions crisscross the flea markets and garage sales, the Emmaüs, or help themselves directly in the stores.
“I hollow out refrigerators”
The other part of Laurence Astier’s job is the repair. In her workshop, with her team, she repairs and transforms lots of objects. “I tighten, I glue, I repaint,” she says. I recently made a jeweler’s workbench with a desk. I cut furniture, too, at the back, often, to let a camera pass. Or I hollow out refrigerators or washing machines, so they weigh less. »
In her office, Laurence Astier shelters some treasures. Fetish, fragile objects, which do not sleep on the huge shelves of the hangar, like the others. In particular very old cameras, which she loves. And she willingly confides it, if she weren’t there, behind the sets ofsuch a big sun, she would be… flea market.