So you've joined Filmbase! It’s a great start and being listed on the directory and receiving job alerts will give you a massive advantage. However, it’s a tremendously difficult industry to get in to so we recommend being as proactive as possible. Read on to see what else you can do to maximise your chances of getting the jobs you want.

Your profile should mark you out as someone that the head of the Props Department, the Prop Master (for Dressing Props), of the Head of Department Prop Modeller (for Prop Modelling), would want to hire. They will be looking for details in your profile that tell them that you have the required skills or experience for the job at a junior level. You can add information to the notes section to mention any relevant points. For example, if you want to work as a Dressing Props, then you need to demonstrate that you have some experience and an understanding of handling and dressing props on a set. If you are more interested in Prop Modelling, then let the employers know what experience you have of using workshop machines, mould making, welding, or any of the other prop modelling skills.

If you’re looking for work as a Props Trainee, then you don’t necessarily need professional experience, as it is a starter role, but you should mention that you have an aptitude for the skills needed for the Props department. For example, that you have practical and creative skills.

Edit your profile to add details in the notes section here

A CV is also extremely important when you are starting out. If you haven’t uploaded a CV to your profile, then employers may not take the time to look any further at your listing. You can upload a CV by clicking 'Edit Profile' on your Profile page.

A single page CV is best at this stage, clearly laid out without being too fancy. Check that there are no spelling mistakes and that your name and contact number are at the top. Most importantly, list any experience that you have had, or productions that you have worked on first. Make sure to also include the names of the HoDs you worked for, and the dates of employment so that employers can see how long you were on the projects for. You can also add your education, and training or skills, further down the page.

If you do have any professional experience, then make sure that you have an IMDB listing with any credits added to it. IMDB is almost as important as a CV as employers will immediately go there to check what you’ve worked on when you get more experienced.

You can detailed information on creating an IMDB listing on the Filmbase FAQ pages.

Portfolios are not so relevant for Dressing Props, but are very important for Prop Modelling roles. For dressing props, the Prop master will be more interested in seeing your CV rather than a portfolio. However, for Prop Modelling, showcasing evidence of techniques you are familiar with, skills you possess, and a keen eye for design is essential in a portfolio. An online PDF that can be emailed to Prop Modelling Heads of Department or a personal website are both effective ways to present your work. It is important to refrain from sharing any work from unreleased productions online. If you plan to email work that has not yet been released as a PDF, exercise caution in choosing who to send it to. It is advisable to only share work with individuals you have already engaged with and discussed their preferences for viewing. When in doubt, it is better to err on the side of caution.

When you select the job roles that you are interested in as part of your Filmbase Profile, choose positions that match your level of experience. You may have worked on numerous student films as a Prop Master, but that won’t mean much on anything with a bigger budget. Unless you’re aiming to work on low budget features (shorts or online content) then you will most likely need to start in a junior role. It does vary across the different budgets, so have a look further down the page to understand the different budget bands.

Be prepared for Job Alerts! Crew members are usually hired within a few days of a job alert going out, so time is of the essence. There are also often lots of Props positions that are dailies. That means that you are hired on a daily basis rather than for a week, so you’ll have even less warning of those types of jobs.

You may also receive Job Alerts at any time of day. So make sure you have an up to date CV and cover email ready to go. If you wait a few days, when you’ve had time to update your CV and think about what you want to say, you will most likely have missed the job. Have a look at the Job Alert page to see examples of recent Job Alerts. There is also further information on what kind of Job Alerts to expect on that page for your membership level.

It is entirely possible to pursue a career in Props for film and TV without higher education, such as a university degree. This is especially true for Dressing Props, where practical, communicative, creative, and logistical skills are highly valued but are not necessarily taught in university courses. Prop making follows a slightly different path, as training in materials and techniques can be crucial and provide a foundation for a portfolio. For those interested in Dressing Props, undertaking a short course focused on the practical skills required in the Props Department may be most beneficial. On the other hand, aspiring Prop Modellers may benefit from a university degree or a specialized course, granting access to materials and tools that can be costly to acquire independently.

You can find a selection of the most relevant courses for the Props Department on the Training and Support pages.

Being a member of Filmbase will give you access to Job Alerts, and will also mean that employers can find you on the directory. However, you can’t sit back and rely on the perfect Job Alert coming in as there will be plenty of other people out there doing their very best to make contacts and get the jobs before they are even advertised. You will need to do a lot of leg work yourself to make contacts in order to maximise your chances.

In order to make the best kind of contacts, it helps to have a clear idea as to which part of the Props department that you want to get into. For Dressing Props, you should be looking to send your CV out to Props Masters, who ultimately hire the whole department. Prop Coordinators are also often responsible for finding Props crew, so you can also send your CV to them. If you are interested in Prop Modelling, then focus on contacting HoD Prop Modellers. Or experienced Prop Modellers who may be likely to recommend a junior.

It is important to be focussed about who you send your CV to. You should ask yourself, which genres of films / TV are you most interested in? From there, by looking at the directories, pick a small selection of Prop HoDs who have worked on productions that interest you. Focus on forming a relationship with these select few rather than email blasting everybody. It's a small industry and word will soon get around if you blanket email everyone.

If you target specific employers, then you can write a genuine email to those people, telling them that you love their work and want to work for them. They will get many emails like this each week, so you will need to persevere and find a way to stand out from the rest. It’s a difficult balance between persevering to the right level without being annoying, but it has to be done! Don’t bulk email everyone on the directory indiscriminately as all the crew members talk to each other and you will get a name for spamming.

The ideal situation is to make contact with a few specific employers and maintain that contact regularly until at some point, they will find themselves starting on a job and in need of a junior. If they’ve talked to you a few times, they will be much more likely to hire you.

Not all productions are equal. A feature film can have a budget of anything between a few million to over £250M. TV episodes for the larger streaming services are also reaching ever higher budgets. At the same time, there are still dramas and comedies made on a shoestring.
There are many different 'budget bands' used to divide the productions up by budget. For Job Alerts, Filmbase uses the following basic bands to give members an indication of what kind of budget the production they are applying for comes under:

• Small feature / TV < £8.5m (Band 1)
• Medium feature / International TV £8.5m to £30m (Band 2)
• Major Motion Picture & Large international TV £30m+ (Band 3)

You will see different budget bands on the Bectu Props Department Rate card, and also on your contracts for TV Dramas. When applying for jobs, you should always ask what budget band the production falls under so you can negotiate the appropriate rate.

This difference in budgets across productions is reflected in the rates that the crew are paid. For example, more varied skills are needed for big budget films with complex requirements for dressing some of the sets for special or visual effects. Also a multi level medieval castle with suspended candelabras or sculptures will be more demanding on the Dressing Props crew than a living room for a sitcom. As a result, if you have the experience necessary to work on the larger budget features, then you can command a higher rate. You can see the different recommended rates by budget band on the latest Bectu Rate card. Have a look at theRates section for more details on rates.

The budget also has an effect on the size of the Props Department. You will find many more crew members employed on the larger budgets, whereas the Props Department on a small £5M feature might consist of just a Props Master, Storeman and a few Dressing Props, with no Prop Modelling department. As a result, your experience on these different budget sizes will be hugely different. It may be your ambition to work on the large features or TV series, but don’t dismiss the smaller budgets, particularly for dressing props. On a big budget, you may find yourself consigned to the prop room. But on a smaller budget, the positions are much more fluid and you may find yourself helping dress the sets more or creating some of the complex props because there is no one else to do it.

Figuring out who to contact for jobs can get tricky, especially because different crew members handle hiring on different budgets. As mentioned earlier, the Props Master usually handles the labor budget for Dressing Props. But sometimes, they might pass on the hiring of junior positions to the Props Coordinator or Assistant Prop Master. So, it could be helpful to reach out to Coordinators if you're eyeing junior or trainee roles. For Prop Modelling gigs, you'll be brought on board by the Prop Modelling Head of Department (HoD). Yet, if you connect with other Prop Modellers, they might recommend you when they're short-staffed on a project.

Work experience is no longer allowed as an unpaid position and has to be paid at at least the minimum wage rate. An exception for this would be a student on a placement, as part of a course. Job shadowing can be an unpaid position, but the crew member should just be observing and not actually doing any work. Before Covid, most of the larger production companies were open to providing paid work experience placements. This has slowed down somewhat since social distancing and testing has meant productions have encouraged as few crew members on site as possible. However, we hope that we can encourage more instances of work experience for our New to the Industry members in the future.

You may also have contact with very low budget productions who ask you to take a very low rate in return for ‘the experience’. It’s a difficult decision to make, and often these lower budgets are under funded and the crew work long hours without the appropriate wages. We would caution against doing too many of these, as it’s very easy to get trapped in the cycle of going from one low budget job to the next because these are the contacts you now have. It also doesn’t necessarily act as a stepping stone to the bigger budgets as the working environments are very different. We would recommend that if you find yourself stuck on low budget jobs, refocus your efforts into making contacts with employers who work on productions that will pay the Bectu Rates. It may take some time, but the individuals who persevere the most are the ones who get the jobs in the end. Also have a look at the Training and Support page as there are details of some mentoring schemes and bursaries that may help.

As mentioned above, you should respond to Job Alerts that match your level of experience. If you have no professional experience, it is unlikely that you will be hired above the level of Junior or Dressing Props on the majority of medium to big budget productions. It can always be worth trying your luck on the very low budget productions but you should bear in mind that working on a production in a position that you have no experience of can be a very difficult and stressful experience. Your reputation is probably the most valuable asset you have once you start getting regular work, and it’s important to keep it intact. It’s a small industry where people talk to each other about crew.

This is entirely dependent on what kind of experience you have and in what area. There is no other industry exactly like the film and TV industry, so there is no job that directly compares. However, if you have previous career experience in a creative and practical industry, such as woodwork or sculpting, then these skills are very transferable and will immediately make you more applicable for Props roles.

However, you will still have a lot to learn about the way the film and TV industry works, and because of this, we would generally recommend that however senior you are in the world outside of film, it’s always beneficial to take a step down for your first job in film. Films are short contracts and you’re not committing to that position long term, but it will give you time to fully understand how the industry works before taking charge yourself.

If you do want to leap straight in at the top, then you should target the lower budget productions and shorts. However, most of the job alerts on Filmbase are for larger budget productions.

It’s important to be aware that the film and TV industry is seasonal. There are more productions running in the summer months when the weather is better for location filming. This means that from September onwards, there will be less jobs and therefore less Job Alerts. Things normally get busier again in early spring.

In your first year or so of working in the industry, until you make solid contacts, you will definitely want to have a backup source of income, or be able to cover your expenses for at least 3-6 months. This is true even when you do gain more contacts and get steadier work. The film industry has its ups and downs, and as a freelancer you should always be prepared for the downs.

There are lots of pages on the Filmbase website with information that you will find useful.

Have a look at the following pages:
Props Department Guidance documents
Props Department Training & Support pages

We also run free webinars with experienced crew members and industry experts to give advice on the best approach on getting started.

Good luck!

Filmbase

To upgrade your New to the Industry membership to Accredited, please fill in this form. The Accredited membership is £35 for the year (currently discounted for the Props Department).

We ask that in order to join the Accredited membership, you have at least 2 credits on your IMDB profile. The credits must be for the department for which you are applying for. (ie, if you wish to join the Dressing Props Department Accredited membership, then you must have at least two credits in the Dressing Props Department.) The credits must also be for scripted, professional productions that have either had a cinematic, streaming or broadcast service release or that have been shown at an international festival, as listed on IMDB.

Please note that for the Prop Modelling membership, you will need to provide details of two referees who are able to confirm that you have 6 months paid experience in a prop modelling workshop. If you are able to provide this information, then you will not need to provide and IMDB listing.

If you need help setting up your IMDB listing, please look at the Credits & IMDB section on the FAQ page, or send us an email us if you have any questions.