Props is short for Properties and refers to ‘hand props’ those small enough to be held, and ‘stage props’ which is objects and dressings more at a furniture scale. Props department takes care of the purchase, manufacture and ‘dressing’ (positioning into set) of props. Props includes all fixtures and hangings such as light switches and curtains, and typically is a huge logistical exercise. The smallest set can demand a huge number of items for its complete dressing and larger outdoor sets can require container loads of props! On top of managing the movement of these, often they require careful return to owners they were hired from, or disposal by sale after the film has been shot. In addition there is continuity to worry about. During the scene actors may move items, which need to be exactly the same locations the for ongoing ‘takes’, some of which may occur on following days or even months later in the case of ‘pick-ups’. The props department is always VERY busy, but the work is some of the most creative and satisfying of all film jobs, and includes On-set and Off-set jobs.

The Head of this Department is the Props Master or Props Supervisor with the Set Dressers the next in seniority as they take resposibility for the look, taking direction from the Production Designer, Art Directors and Props Master. Other jobs which support these people in the prepartion of props for the set, and in the on-set management and adaptation of proprs are;

Boat Builder / Furniture Maker Mold Maker Props Buyer / Props Maker Set Dresser Standby Assistant / Standby Props Sculptor /

If you know how to draught (English) or draft (U.S. English) then you can start out working directly for the production designer. On smaller jobs the production designer, and sometimes art director, will do their own ‘construction drawings’. These might be little more than a sketch and rough plan on a piece of A4 with some overall dimensions, the skill and imagination of the head builder is relied upon to extrapolate details and many are able to be resolved on the fly through a direct interaction between sculptors, builders, painters and the designer. As a job grows in size, numbers of crew and numbers of sets, the designer will get less and less time to take a ‘hands on’ approach. They will be attending meetings about budgets, design issues, going to see screenings of the days footage (‘rushes’ or ‘dailys’) and moving quickly between a collection of half built sets. In these circumstances the production designer comes to rely on the construction and design drawings issued by the art department, as an agreed set of instructions about what the set should be created like. Sometimes these drawings will be signed off by the producer and/or director before issuing. In the absence of the production designer or and art director, these drawings are an agreed reference point for continuation of the set or prop.

The nature of the drawings will vary depending on the needs of a production, the set up of the rest of the art department and the style of the designer. If the team consist of a well organised ‘dressing’ department the designer may be confident that hey can leave props and furniture decisions to the lead set dresser. In other instances a designer may prefer that the draughtsperson includes these within the drawings. Thus unlike with a traditional set of architectural drawings a draftsperson working on a film job will  include furniture, wall fixtures, surface materials and so on. The more information that is included and the greater input to the overall design shifts this job towards ‘set designer’ which is the role a draftsperson will progress towards with experience.  An experinced set designer will take over some of the research and design decisions, as well as implementation, from the busy production designer. they ill extrapolate and implement the sketch design as briefed by the designer. The more the drawings are orientated towards pure construction details and set out information for the construction department, or simple overviews for distribution to department heads like the lighting gaffer, the more likely the role will be one of draftsperson despite the experince of the employee.

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For example on a smaller job the construction crews pay and employment might solely be managed between the Art Dept. Manager and Accounts (or the Art Dept Coordinator if there is no accounts). As the scale of the operation grows Construction will hire their own coordinator or payroll administrator to cope with the huge number of labourers and so on.

The following are the jobs found most typically within the core Art Department all working closely with the Art Director and Production Designer;

Art Department Manager / Art Director / Assistant Art Director / Art Dept. Assistant

Art Dept. Coordinator / Art Dept. Runner / Draftsperson / Graphic Artist

Production Designer / Props Buyer / Researcher / Picture Vehicle Technician

Set Designer / Set Dresser / Story Board Artist / Supervising Art Director

See Also:  Greens, Construction, Costume, Set Finishing (Paint), Props.