Class Project - Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones removes a golden idol from its pedestal, and runs out of the temple as it collapses around him.  The temple would be too large to build on the stage, so it and an adjoining room were built at 1/6 scale.  The only items he had to contact, the pedestal and a staircase, were built full-scale.

This pedestal was D-shaped instead of circular because the back wouldn't be seen, and so a person could manually lowered the center once the idol was removed.  Its design was duplicated by the miniatures crew.  It was made from plywood, luaun, and Styrofoam.

The main temple room was almost entirely assembled from 3/4" Styrofoam.  Dried foliage from a craft store was used to dress the walls.  Wherever stacks of rock were supposed to fall, a piece of black cloth was used as backing, and pushed against on cue. 

The debris and floor of the set were coated with a mix of baking soda and cocoa powder, and more was poured from above during the collapse.  The neighborhood ants really loved my class that week.

The adjacent chamber was constructed without a center for the staircase.  It was shot with the temple, and live-action with a practical staircase was composited into it.