MAJOR PROJECT: Researching/Sourcing Props

As the Producer, I was in charge of sourcing all of the props required for the shoot and allowing for these in the budget. I began by making a separate column in the budget labelled 'Props' and listing each one with a predicted spend to give me an amount to try and stick to. It was important to keep everything organised in a list so that when it came to filming I could create a check list and ensure I had everything with me for the shoot.

I knew that several of the props I would already have or have access to like a car, some of the documents/posters and the head torches so these would be free. However, the majority of the props needed to be purchased specially for the shoot to ensure that they were suitable for the production and  would serve their purpose in the film. Some more specialist props included the toy laser blasters. We had decided as a group that these needed to be brightly coloured and make some kind of irritating sound to add to comedic effect. The guns needed to look plastic and pretend so that they would be believable as children's toys. To find these I looked online and found the ones shown below on Amazon at a reasonable price, which were exactly what we were looking for. Bobbie and Clive use tights as masks. In the script we wanted the appearance of the characters to look as ridiculous as possible. They also needed to highlight how amateur they are as criminals and act as a hint to Clive's plan. The tights were easy to purchase from Sainsbury's at a reasonable price, which I will measure up and cut holes out of during the shoot days to fit the actors faces. The balaclava for George's cameo was a little more specialist and not something I could easily find on the high street, therefore I also shopped for this on Amazon and purchased the one shown below.

Toy Laser Blaster

Other props included a bag for life which I managed to find from a pound shop. It was important that I didn't just use a supermarket branded one as I felt it best to keep any well known brands and logos out of the film unless absolutely necessary. Most of the cardboard boxes were free, which Ellen managed to collect from her work. However, we ordered a few new ones which will be the ones that are at the top of the piles and in view on camera. After talking to Simon about the set up for the warehouse location, he said the warehouse would need to be full to make it look believable as a store room space. To ensure that the boxes that would be opened looked full, I purchased more than 150 apples to fill the 2 boxes that will be opened on camera. As the Producer, I felt it important that this location would look believable to audiences and lift the production value of the film.

Balaclava

Lastly, we required a framed photo of Bobbie and Clive which would sit on Clive's desk and be seen by Bobbie as she wanders past. We knew that the last time we would see the actors before the shoot date was the rehearsal a few weeks ago. Therefore, we made sure we got a photo of the two of them together, which Josh photoshopped onto a different background. I then purchased an inexpensive, simple black frame and placed the photo in it.

I found the prop buying process quite enjoyable as most of the objects were easy to source and inexpensive, therefore didn't drain the budget too much. I made sure that anything that I ordered online was purchased well in advance to ensure it arrived on time, and tested out any of the props prior to filming to make sure they fit their purpose. Some of the props I couldn't get until we were nearing the shoot days like the sandwiches or the apples as these needed to look and be fresh, not only in appearance but for health and safety reasons also.