Hard-to-Find Props? Think about Manufacturing a Custom Piece

Have you ever wondered where prop masters find the props they use in movies? We used to until they started coming to us and we were given the opportunity to create custom designed props for movies, TV shows, theatrical productions and more.

We love movies, TV and theatre in our house, ranging from bang’em ups, shoot’em outs, dramas, romantic comedies and documentaries. And we all have an opinion about what we have watched, how they have been staged, produced and casted.

Prop Master Problems: Need to Find the Perfect Prop

Now though, you can see us scouring the screen for Lucite awards as props or for the custom designed prop that a prop master asked us to design. Many prop masters search antique shops, eBay, friends and families, goodwill shops and the internet in the hopes of finding the perfect prop. Sometimes it works; sometimes they find items they can adapt. Sometimes prop masters scour for a specific piece; they might find an object they feel would work but it just doesn’t quite cut it.

Finding the Perfect Prop – Create a Custom-Designed Piece

This is where we are able to help with those hard-to-find props. We have helped solve prop master problems by creating the piece they need to their precise specifications. It makes us proud and gives all of us a thrill to see the piece we have just created up there on the big screen.

Imagine our surprise when Katniss Everdeen, while running through the woods in The Hunger Games pulls out her flask and it happens to be the same as the SIGG vintage flasks sitting in our inventory room! As a family, we went to see the movie and the people around us must have wondered what was wrong with us when we all let out a loud gasp! The piece fit with the feel of the movie due to the vintage look and was the perfect prop.

Custom Designed Props for the Entertainment Industry

For a TV show, Wind at My Back (Season 3, Episode 6, The Crystal Skull), the prop master was looking for a crystal skull. About 5:00 minutes into watching the episode, you will see the first sighting of the crystal skull. Real crystal would not have been durable enough for every day handling and the way in which the prop was used in the storyline. So, the producers found Clearmount and we were able to create a Lucite skull that had the same clarity and shine of crystal, but could stand up to the rigours of daily handling and filming. It was a thrill to see our piece on the television and for all of us to say, “We made that!”

Last August we received a call from another TV show asking if we could make tombstones; not the tombstones for funerals (although, we are able to custom design and manufacture those types of tombstones as well). They were looking for financial tombstones or deal toys as they are known in the United States. Creating custom designed financial tombstones is one of our specialties and who could say no to the show Suits.

We worked with them to design and create five different styles of financial tombstones. In Season 4, Episode 6, you can see the main characters using the financial tombstones as a part of the plot of the show. It was so exciting to know that just a short while before they had been working their way through our manufacturing plant on their way to the TV set. Since Suits is one of our daughter’s favourite shows, it was a huge moment of excitement in our house, as Kate got to lord over her sisters that she had worked with the producer to design them!

On stage in Toronto, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert had a major prop / costume problem. When you have rather statuesque, muscle-bound men dressed as women and dancing in high heels, something’s got to give. The high heels on the shoes kept on breaking! The costume/ prop master needed to find a strong and sturdy material that would allow the lovely dancers to keep on dancing without the heels being a constant casualty. Clearmount worked with them in building molds that fit the shape of the heels and produced heels to fit dozens of shoes to keep the production going.

Designing and Creating the Perfect Custom Prop is Easier than You Think… With a Little Help

These are just a few of the hard-to-find props and custom designed props Clearmount has created for the entertainment industry. We have also created items for the advertising industry for commercial shoots and even furniture for films. Lucite is the perfect medium as it was a great product for manufacturing jewellery and Art Deco pieces. Sometimes when you are looking for the perfect piece, it is often better to source a custom designed prop instead of searching for the impossible.

At Clearmount, we are known for our custom designs and unique approach to impossible situations. Let our people assist your prop masters in creating and finding the perfect prop for that must-have moment.