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Managing props

Props are the things your cast touches, and every one of them has to be sourced, paid for, and on the truck by call. Tag them in the script and each prop gets a board for where it comes from, what it costs, and what it looks like. In the project nav, click Breakdown, then Elements. Under Props, click Open hub. The Props list for Harbor Lights (Second Unit): coffee tin, map, marine radio at $89.00, marked-up map, and tide chart, each in one scene Each row links to the prop’s board and to its scene in the script, shows how many scenes it appears in, and has a delete button. Est. Cost shows what the prop is expected to cost once someone costs it. Only people who can see the budget see that column.

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Tag a prop from the script

  1. Open Breakdown and click the arrow in a scene’s Breakdown column.
  2. In the script, select the words for the prop, like lantern.
  3. In the panel on the right, under Select Category, click Props.
  4. Click Add to breakdown.
Selecting lantern in the cellar scene and choosing Props, then lantern listed under Props in the scene's elements You can also click Add Element without selecting any text and type the name yourself. See Tagging elements in a script breakdown for more on tagging.

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Record how many you need and where it comes from

Open a prop’s board from the Props list. The Info tab holds the prop’s details:
  • Quantity: how many the scene needs.
  • On screen: turn it off for a prop that’s only mentioned in dialogue.
  • Source: Rental, Purchase, Owned, Made, Borrowed, or TBD.
  • Scene: the scene it’s tagged in, with a link to it.
The marine radio's Info tab: quantity 1, on screen, sourced as a rental, with two budget line items totaling $89.00

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Track what a prop costs

List what you paid for under Budget on the Info tab:
  1. Type a Description, like “VHF radio rental, 1 week”.
  2. Set the Qty.
  3. Type the Unit cost.
  4. Click Add line item.
The total fills Estimated on the prop’s Cost / Budget card and the Est. Cost column in the Props list, and the prop shows as one line in your Budget. If you’d rather track the prop as a single amount, leave the line items empty. Open the Notes tab and type the amount in Estimated on the Cost / Budget card. For more on line items, see Line items and board sync.

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Add a Specifications card

  1. On the prop’s board, click Add Card.
  2. Click Specifications, then Continue.
  3. Type a Title, like “Chart on the office wall”.
  4. Click + Add field… and pick a field, like Dimensions.
  5. Type its value.
  6. Repeat for each field you want, then click Create Card.
Adding Dimensions, Material, and Condition to a Specifications card for the tide chart, then the card on the board For a prop, + Add field… suggests object fields (Dimensions, Weight, Material, Color, Condition), sourcing fields (Source, Vendor, Cost, Pickup date, Return date), and production fields like Duplicates required and Aging / distressing notes. You can also type a field name of your own. A prop’s board also takes Note, Link, Image, Todo, Contact, and Moodboard cards, for reference photos, vendor pages, a checklist for aging a hero prop, or the rental house’s contact.

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Rename a prop

Props take their name from the words you selected, so the list can say “coffee tin” when the department calls it “Maya’s cash tin”. From the Props list:
  1. Hover the prop’s name and click the pencil next to it.
  2. Type the new name.
  3. Press Enter, or click Save.
Renaming coffee tin to Maya's cash tin in the Props list, which then shows In script as: coffee tin You can also rename a prop two other ways:
  • From a scene: on the scene’s breakdown page, hover the prop in the sidebar and click the pencil.
  • From the board: click the prop’s name at the top of its board.
The new name applies in every scene the prop appears in. The script keeps its words, so the list and the board show In script as: with the original text. Names can be up to 120 characters. If another prop already has that name, Spell Slate tells you instead of combining them. To combine them, merge them.

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Merge duplicate props

When the same prop was tagged under two names, like “marked-up map” in one scene and “map” in another, merge them into one.
  1. In the Props list, click Merge Items.
  2. Tick the prop whose name you want to keep.
  3. Tick the duplicate.
  4. Click Merge Selected.
Merge mode with marked-up map and map ticked, then marked-up map listed with 2 variants across 2 scenes The first prop you tick keeps its name, and its row is outlined. The merged prop shows how many variants it has and counts every scene it appears in.

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Move a prop to another category

If you tagged something as a prop that belongs in another department, like set dressing:
  1. Open the prop’s board.
  2. Click Change type.
  3. Pick the category.
The prop moves in every scene it is tagged in, and its budget line moves to the new category’s department. See How to change element type. The Change type menu on the marine radio's board, listing Vehicles, Extras, Set Dressing, Costumes, and the other categories

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Other categories that work the same way

Set Dressing, Animals, Stunts, Special Effects, Visual Effects, Special Equipment, and Other use the same board: an Info tab with quantity, source, and budget, and a Notes tab for cards. The Specifications card suggests fields that fit each category. Camera Notes and Sound Effects & Music boards have the Notes tab only. For vehicles and costumes, see Managing vehicles and Managing costumes.