Fake Pills and Bottles for film

6.14.2010             The definition of a prop is anything that will be handled or used by an actor through the course of a film. Though the course of any film there could be one, a hundred or even thousands of props. Prop designers create the props that are needed to for use in the films. Designing props can be a frustratingly wonderful joyride or nightmarish decent into hell. But, most of the time, it’s just plain fun. Let me give you an example of something we had to figure out for “The Kult”. In one particular scene we need to scan past a nightstand and see several bottles of pills. Shaun’s book never covers what type of meds the character could be taking. So you just do a little research and find out what meds will work for the character and then the fun begins. Now, for the most part, you want to keep real pharmaceuticals off of the set. So that leaves creating your own. There are several companies that manufacture pill bottles and you can get them very cheap. (.50 – 1.00 US) So you get a couple. Then, with just about any graphics program (Corel, Photoshop,etc) you can make a label. Usually the 2”x4” shipping labels from Avery are just the trick. Then you need to fill your pill bottle. I recommend Smarties, Tic-Tacs, Pez, or Dentyne Mints. You can usually use any small candy and no one will ever know. But that also depends on how good your label is. In these pictures I labeled the bottles for the character that requires them. When the movie comes out drop us a line and let us know what you think.

Kevin
Gharial Productions / Property Department