Make Professional Movie Props
Next time you're watching a movie, notice the amount of props in any given scene. There might be an envelope, a gun or a cigarette. Over the course of the movie, those items add up to literally hundreds, if not thousands, of props.
Instructions
1. Read the script for the movie you're about to shoot. The first thing each department does when they receive the script is read it and break it down scene by scene. In any given movie script there are 40 to 50 scenes. As a prop master reads each scene, they note what props will be needed based on the action of the characters.
2. Remove certain movie props from your list. For instance, things like a bandage on the face will be applied by the make-up department. Also, things in the background will be adhered to by the set dressing department. But everything from cars, to sunglasses to watches all fall under the description of the property master.
3. Create a budget for the movie so that you can make professional movie props.
4. Prioritize the props throughout the story. If there is a prop that travels with the main character throughout the story, then allocate your money toward that prop rather than say a briefcase that is dropped off at the start of the movie and never seen again. If you do not have enough money in your budget after you prioritize the prop list, contact the director to determine what is imperative to the movie and where you might cut a few corners.
5. Locate your props for the movie. Most props are items. They are tangible things that you can purchase. Purchase those props and bring them back to your shop.
6. Decide what condition the props need to be in for the scene. This is the fun part and where you truly "make professional movie props." For instance, the scene calls for a leather bound book with a bullet hole in it. After you've purchased a leather bound book, you must "distress it." The leather bound book probably has a good bit of wear and tear, so take some sand paper and scuff the outside leather. Then rub a little dirt on the white pages which are exposed and finally, take it out to the firing range and shoot a hole through it. Extrapolate from here on how each prop needs to be "made" for a movie.
7. Create props from scratch. This is where you can let your imagination run wild if the movie calls for it. For instance, if you are the prop master for a futuristic movie with futuristic guns, you would first draw and collaborate on your vision for that gun with the appropriate designer. That designer would make a prototype. That prototype would then be shown to the director who would amend or approve. From there, those futuristic guns would be mass produced. And, depending on the budget of the movie, you may be rolling up your sleeves and making them by hand.
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