DIANA BURTON - Prop Master
Team Deakins
James Ellis Deakins
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2026
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 191 Diana Burton - Prop Master
In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with prop master Diana Burton (WEST SIDE STORY, OKJA, THE SOPRANOS). We worked with Diana on PASSION FISH—directed by John Sayles (Season 2, Episode 55)—and it was great catching up with her. We learn what the prop department is and isn't responsible for in this episode, and Diana shares how she works with the other departments to help make the best film possible. Diana shares some early career stories from her PA days in New York City, from delivering tuna sandwiches to Madonna to watching a cougar roam the streets in the Upper West Side, and we discuss her thoughts on breaking into the prop department today. Diana also reveals how she approached designing the weapons for the machines in TERMINATOR GENISYS, and we learn why she always enlists an armourer to handle firearms on a shoot. Diana also shares her opinion on continuity, and we discuss how she feels when someone suggests to do something in post rather than in-camera. Plus, Diana reveals how she and two food stylists made all that food for JULIE & JULIA.
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This episode is sponsored by Aputure
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi and welcome to Season 2 of the Team Deacons podcast, |
| 0:07.0 | a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest. |
| 0:13.0 | We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes. |
| 0:21.9 | This episode is sponsored by Aperture and its new Storm XT-52, the industry's most |
| 0:29.5 | powerful LED point source light. Brighter than a 6K HMI and powered by Aperture's revolutionary |
| 0:36.8 | Blair light engine, the Storm XT-52 is both a tunable |
| 0:41.9 | white light and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED. |
| 0:47.1 | Storm XT-52, unrivaled output, only from Aperture. |
| 0:56.1 | Today we're speaking with a property master. |
| 0:58.7 | Her credits are many and include Westside Story, |
| 1:02.2 | the secret life of Walter Middy, and the girl on the train. |
| 1:06.6 | We're pleased to welcome. |
| 1:08.6 | Diana, thank you for doing this. |
| 1:11.1 | Yeah, welcome. |
| 1:12.1 | Thank you. |
| 1:12.5 | Nice to see you again. |
| 1:13.6 | It's really lovely to see you, too, and this is Seth and honor. |
| 1:16.1 | Thank you so much. |
| 1:17.6 | Our first question always is, how did you get to where you are today? |
| 1:22.1 | Was there something in your childhood that steered you towards this, or did you want to be something |
| 1:26.9 | completely different and find it by mistake this, or did you want to be something completely different and |
| 1:28.6 | find it by mistake later? How did you do it? Well, I think I did find it a little bit by mistake, |
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