The SALT FLATS prop list has 19 hand and hero props, two food items, and two safety-sensitive items. That's typical for a small, contained drama. What makes it work is the scene and quantity columns: every prop is tied to the scenes it appears in and the number needed to get through every take.
The dollar figures are illustrative estimates for this fictional show, so the summary arithmetic has something to add up. Your own costs depend on what you can borrow, what the prop master already has in kit, and how many duplicates the action requires.
For definitions, see props, hand prop, and hero prop. This page covers building and using the list.
What goes on the list and what doesn't
A prop is anything an actor handles, or anything the script points at. Dell's race photo is a prop because June picks it up. The engine parts on the salvage office shelves are set dressing unless someone grabs one. The alternator in Scenes 9 and 11 crosses that line, which is why it's on this list even though the salvage yard is lending it.
Vehicles are tracked separately as picture vehicles. Wardrobe is tracked on the wardrobe breakdown. Some items sit on the border, and the list should say who owns them. Hollis's cap and Bev's name tag are on props here, with a note to confirm with costume, because both departments tend to assume the other has them.
Reading the columns
Type separates hero props, which get close-ups or story weight, from hand props that are just handled. Heroes get more attention and usually more dupes.
Qty counts the hero plus duplicates. The race photo needs two dupes because June folds it in Scene 13, and every take after the first starts with a creased photo unless there's a fresh one. Hollis's cap has three because the fight on the salt flats gets it progressively dirtier.
Source is buy, make, rent, or loaned. Made items usually go through graphics, and they often exist because of clearance. The real diner's menus print the business name, so the production makes fictional Tumbleweed Diner menus instead. The clearance glossary entry explains why brand names and logos get replaced. The race photo is shot by the production using the actor, which avoids clearing an existing photograph.
Status tracks where each prop is: approved, ordered, in graphics, aging, in kit.
The cost summary groups rows by source so the producer can see where the money goes. On SALT FLATS that's $581 to buy, $130 to make, and $315 to rent (the duty belt package at $175 and the rubber stunt chain at $140), for $581 + $130 + $315 = $1,026 against account 2800. The alternator costs nothing because the salvage yard lends it, but it still has a row, since it has to go back to the owner at strike.
Building the list from the script
- Start from the props category (violet) on each script breakdown sheet, and copy every prop into the list with its scene number.
- Merge duplicates. The shop rag in Scenes 13 and 14 is one row with both scenes.
- Assign each prop to a character, or to set if no one owns it.
- Read each scene for what happens to the prop and set quantities. Broken, eaten, soaked, folded, or thrown means dupes.
- Pull anything with a weapon, flame, blade, or stunt use into the safety section and name who is responsible.
- Decide the source for each item and get estimated costs.
- Flag anything with a brand name, a logo, or someone else's artwork for clearance.
- Review the list with the director and prop master, and get approvals on hero props with photos.
- Total costs by source and check them against the 2800 Property account in the budget.
- When the script is revised, compare scenes again and update the version and date in the header.
Where props cause trouble on the day
There aren't enough dupes. Take 4 of Scene 13 starts with a photo creased three times, and the scene loses continuity or waits while props flattens it.
Food runs out. Six plates per setup sounds like a lot until the director adds a second angle on June eating. Count plates per setup, since a scene with three angles eats three times the food.
A weapon isn't handled as a weapon. Even a rubber replica gets the safety section, and the rule is written on the list: handed over at set, returned at cut, no firearms anywhere on the production.
Continuity between the prop list and the script supervisor breaks down. Mug levels, which hand holds the photo, and where June's bag sits on the booth all have to be communicated. The continuity log for Day 4 records them, and props should read it at lunch.
Where the prop list connects
It starts from the breakdown sheets, feeds the 2800 account on the budget, and shows up in department notes on the call sheet ("Hero race photo plus 2 dupes for Sc. 12"). Practicals like the work lights appear on the equipment checklist too, so electric knows to power them.
Props in Storiara
When you upload a script, Storiara pulls props and wardrobe into its Assets page, where Props is its own category. Each item can hold photos, availability, and cost fields, and "find in script" jumps to where it appears. After a revision, uploading and activating the new script version pulls in new items, and the list prints. The props and wardrobe feature page shows how it's organized.