
We thought we’d kick off the new year with some helpful blog posts to help you dress your set in 2025 and beyond.
We’re hoping to create a useful and informative guide for the art department community, which explores our prop collection in-depth. We want to give you a detailed view of some of the items available for hire at Stockyard North, and how they can benefit your set.
In this particular blog post we’ll be focusing on the canvas tarp, an unsung hero in TV and film production. They have a plethora of uses on set and can play a vital role in all kinds of productions.
A wide range of uses
Use a canvas tarp to cover-up or disguise items that you don’t want to be seen. Is there a certain feature on the street you are filming on that doesn’t quite fit with your design plans? Tarps are a quick and easy way to keep the viewer focused on the things that matter. We have provided tarps to various period productions; such as Peaky Blinders, All Creatures Great and Small and Ridley Road. Tarps are one of the many ways to create the illusion of a different place and time.

Peaky Blinders – BBC
See below this helpful video about other ways to dress modern city streets in a different era.
Protection from the elements
Protection from the great British weather: Let’s be honest, filming in the UK, especially in the last couple of years hasn’t been a walk in the park. We have been belted with rain, wind and snow – even when it’s supposed to be the middle of summer. A canvas tarp can provide some quick and easy protection for the elements for both your crew and camera equipment.
Tarps can even be used to enhance lighting set-ups. They can diffuse, reflect and block light. Their versatility allows for the creation of dramatic shadows, soft lighting, and other effects that are essential for storytelling.
Contact us now
We have over 20 large canvas tarps available to hire here at Stockyard North. They are varying in colour from light sandy yellow tarps, light brown tarps, green tarps and cream tarps. Our biggest tarpaulins start at approximately 5 metres by 5 metres, our smaller tarps measure 150cm x 150cm.
Have you used one of our tarps on a previous production? What other uses can you recommend for them?
Please contact us for more information and pricing details for our canvas tarp collection.
Drop us an email or give us a quick call on 0161 872 9206.
Photo credits BBC Peaky Blinders and Ridley Road
Written by Lucy Sykes