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Morag specialised
in sculpture at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art
and was among the last to receive the strong classical
training available at that time. After college there
was a short spell at Madame Tussaud’s in London
as a portrait sculptor. In 1977 Morag joined the staff
of BBC TV Visual Effects department as their sculptor
and remained with them until going freelance in 1993.
Sculpting, with all it’s related techniques of
moulding and casting and it’s materials has been
the foundation of almost every contract during her
professional career, and there is hardly a day goes
by where sculpture
in some form or other does not happen. In between the
contracts there is always something on the go in her
workshop and her private pieces are scattered throughout
America,
Canada, and Europe.
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Her sculpture
for the film industry stretches from modelling small
props and artefacts to carving large sets. The techniques
of sculpting have also taken her into the realms of
Costume FX and making prosthetic pieces for Make-Up
FX. Morag
has taught portrait sculpture at the Vancouver Academy
of Art and also teaches techniques to new and less
experienced people ‘on the job’ as they
enter the film industry.
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 Scooby
Too - Monsters Unleashed. Warner Brothers. 12ft
high statue of actor Peter Boyle. Portrait carved by
Morag
McLean.
Morag
and another 2 sculptors worked on the main body. After
the main carving was roughed out, the head was then removed
to be worked on separately, then reattached and sculpted
back into the body. Styrofoam carving sealed for durability.
Gargoyles for on set architectural decoration. 
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Tar
Monster for display on set. Carved Styrofoam.
The Sixth day. Starring
Arnold Schwartzenegger. 7” Maquette for a 7ft.
Cat.
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6” Maquette
for the carving of a 6ft high statue of a boy hugging his
dog.
6ft Styrofoam carving of a boy hugging
his dog. Paint finish was done by the paint dept.
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A
Level Biology . BBC Schools TV. Giant model of a single
cell. All the components were modelled in clay and cast
in resin/fibreglass,
and come apart so that the camera can see ‘inside’.
The surface has a high finish as the macro-glide camera lense
travelled through and close to all the surfaces.
Body In Question. BBC TV Science Documentary.
The Sensory Man is how we would probably look if all
our nerve endings were distributed evenly throughout
the skin’s surface instead of being concentrated
in some areas. The presenter, Dr. Jonathan Miller, agreed
with me that some parts would actually be larger still.
Modesty prevailed.
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These
four heads are freely modelled with no reference. They
had to be the heads of sailors and officers on board an
18th century ship for an exhibition.
Brillat Savarin and Francis Bacon: sculpted
in clay from reference of old prints, for a food science
programme. The finish was faux bronze.
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Curse
of the Fire Beetle. BBC TV Film. 5ft Diameter ‘gold’ disc
of a generic South American, Inca, Aztec feel to the design.
Centre had to be capable of being removed to expose a ‘shrunken
head’. The principal actor had to be chained to it
so he could drag it around. He was also suspended from
a helicopter by the disc. Two discs were made for this.
One being bright yellow chromed and reasonably lightweight.
The second being cast with a strong armature inside with
compatible fittings to allow attachments to fixings.
The Devil’s Crown. BBC TV
Drama.
About the reign of the Plantagenet Kings of England.
Brian Cox played King John and his grave effigy was modelled
in clay and cast in Faux bronze. Jane Lapotaire as Queen
Eleanor of Aquitaine. Grave effigy. The portrait of Ms.
Lapotaire had to be older than the actor actually was
as Queen Eleanor died in her eighties Portrait of Michael
Byrne as King Richard the Lionheart. Grave effigy.
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The
Green Man. BBC TV Drama. Starring Albert Finney.
During a dream sequence a man had to turn
into a tree and a life cast was first made from the actor,
then the bark of a tree was modelled onto the cast of
the body. This was cast and the finished girdle was made
in one piece of prosthetic grade foam. Make-up artists
then blended the colour up into the actors body.
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Small ‘silver
figure’. This had to look very pagan and celtic.12cms
high. Modelled in oil based clay and cast in resin/fibreglass.
The finish is chromed with FEV Patina.
Grave Stones. These had to be broken in
the same place for every take. Modelled in clay and cast
in a stained and treated plaster. This taken after filming
shows two have been used and are broken in the same place.
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Newsnight.
BBC TV. During the Gulf War, this model was used for the
news items. Carved in Styrofoam using large scale topographical
maps for reference.
Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. BBC
TV. This ‘Brawn Award’ had to show that
the recipient was not winning for being bright. The figure
is holding a small duplicate of himself which in turn
is holding an even smaller duplicate etc. etc. Here seen
in clay, the finish was faux gold.
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Naked
Video. BBC Scotland. Comedy. A ‘baby on Board’ joke
where the baby is actually being towed on a skate-board
behind a car. The armature inside the clay sculpt is hinged
at the ankles and was transferred into the finished latex/foam
cast so that the baby looked as if it was balancing as
the skateboard travelled. This had to be made in in 2 days
so the actual head of the baby is cast from a previously
made baby mold.
Chronicles of Narnia. BBC
TV. Childrens. This topographical
model (taken from descriptions) of the Narnia landscape
was used for the opening credits. Carved in Styrofoam
with larger than scale models placed on it.
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Police
Academy. American TV. A Tortoise-mobile had to be made
for the live pet ’sniffer tortoise’ to be transported
around in. Here the large tortoise (before its wheels are
put on) has an opening in the top and a support for the
real tortoise which was placed inside. The curve of the
real tortoise shell completed the curved top of the carriage
tortoise. A second ‘stand in’ tortoise was
also made as real tortoises don’t like the low winter
temperatures during exterior filming.
Poltergeist: The Legacy. MGM.
This Jackal’s
head was first sculpted over a helmet so that when on
set the finished head can easily be put on and removed
and fits everyone.
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An
animated demon. The armature for the sculpt is articulated
and then used inside the finished cast demon so that so that
it can move by puppeteer methods. The head has detailed animatronics
(made by Adam Behr) to allow for close up animation. A 15ft.
Tail was also modelled and cast over a bull-whip for maximum
flexing.
The Rear Column. BBC TV.
Drama directed by Harold Pinter. Sculptures to be used
as dressing on
set.
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A
snake had to be ‘killed’ then skinned on camera.
Snakes were modelled in clay and cast in latex and foam
rubber with a heavy chain inside to allow the snake to
drape while being carried. Two were made and each skin
was replaced every time for the several takes.
Generation Game. BBC TV. Game Show. These
sculptures of Rodin’s The Kiss were made to come
apart into limbs, torsos, and heads. The contestants
had to jig-saw puzzle the pieces together. One statue
was kept whole and shown to the contestants as reference.
Carved from styrofoam and sealed in latex, each is 6ft
high.
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Little & Large.
BBC TV Comedy. ‘Spitting Image’ of Syd Little
with large eyes which appear to look at you from any angle.
Modelled in clay and cast in a prosthetic quality foam
to allow maximum facial movement when animated like a glove
puppet.
Two Deaths. The figures around this centrepiece
cake had to look like the actors involved. The ‘chocolate’ trellis
on top was modelled in plasticine and cast in resin .
The cake was edible and provided by the food stylist.
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Shoestring.
BBC TV. These ’antique’ porcelain figurines
were modelled in clay and cast from a plaster mould in
wax to be smashed in many takes.
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