In advance of International Production Design Week, running October 17 through 26, 2025, we asked eight designers to discuss a single prop or piece of scenery from their work and its role in the world of the film. This feature was produced by Javier Irazuzta.
The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014).
The Imitation Game tells the extraordinary story of Alan Turing and his invention of the “Bombe,” a proto-computer that cracked Nazi code encrypted by the German Enigma Machine during the Second World War. This device saved millions of lives by helping to hasten the war’s conclusion.
It was a lead character in the film, and even had a name, “Cristopher.” In addition to having to look accurate, our version for the film had to depict various stages of its construction over a short shooting window.
The Bletchley Park Museum in England has a replica working machine, which is housed in a big dark brown Bakelite box and has turning dials on its front. It’s not very cinematic, but director Morten Tyldum and I thought that if we removed the Bakelite, we would be left with a metal skeleton and a fascinating interior of its mechanical components. Although some red cables spill from the real machine, artistic license allowed me to use them far more abundantly, and the color helped me to avoid the browns and grays that this period is often depicted in.
Drawing and photograph courtesy of the author.
Apart from the turning dials, which a prop maker fabricated, we treated the rest of it like a big model built within the art department. Our production buyer found an amazing stash of period-correct components that my team put together along with a bunch of interns who were given the task of plaiting endless lengths of red wire.
Even though our machine was only a prop and would never crack any codes, I am happy to say that Bletchley Park asked if they could have it for their museum!
The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014).
Continue reading “The Prop and the Production Designer.”