Maybe I got ahead of myself here and overlooked a very important definition. What is a movie prop?

A movie prop is an accessory used or touched by an actor on the set. The term is short for “property” and comes from “theatrical property”. This dates back to a time when actors would supply their own costumes and it was necessary to differentiate these costumes and accessories from theatrical company property.

Examples of early props include hand held masks and weapons. Usage of the term naturally evolved to include television, movie and digital media productions.

What differentiates a prop from set decoration is whether the item contributes to the story in a significant manner.

In a production, the person in charge of procuring or fabricating a prop is called Property Master or Prop Master. Large productions have Property Masters and Assistant Property Masters as well.

The person responsible for the placement and maintenance of props on a set has the title Property Assistant or Prop Assistant.

Someone building props, either as an employee of a production company or hired as a subcontractor, is often called a Prop Maker or Propmaker.