No matter the scale of your production, you, as a filmmaker, want your work to be the best that it can be. This includes casting, filming, and—yes, even them—props. Slashing the costs of producing a film can be difficult, but one of the easiest ways to do that is smart prop practices—one of which is prop money for movies.
Prop money is not the same as counterfeit money; counterfeit money is illegally produced and passed as authentic federal reserve notes in a real life money for goods trade. Prop money, however, is just that—fake money that looks real for film props.
The primary reason that prop money for movies is a fantastic way to slash production costs is obvious—it beats pulling hard earned, real dollars out of your bank. However, media money props are budget friendly because it’s inexpensive to make and reusable.
However, there are some stipulations for custom fake money in order to respect the legality of authentic currency.
For instance, prop money must be either 75% or 150% of the size of the respective authentic bill. However, most manufacture the bills slightly smaller than authentic ones so that the size difference is not noticeable on camera. Additionally, if your film includes digital copies of money, they must have a resolution not exceeding 72dpi.
Also, if your film includes any close-up shots of the funny money, keep in mind that prop money producers include phrases to disclose the purpose of the bills. The phrase could be “For motion picture use only” or “This note is not legal tender.” Prop money manufacturers cannot print the bills without these disclaimers, so plan your filming accordingly; many producers will firmly turn away the business of any filmmakers who want real-looking currency without the disclaimers.
Are you torching some greenbacks in your cinematic production? Burning real money is illegal, so there’s another reason to purchase the faux money. Under federal law, it is prohibited to burn any legal United States currency.
Additionally, new $100 dollar bills are not printed with the trademark hologram. The serial numbers on all of the bills are fictitious, and there is no text saying “federal reserve note” on the bills.
Slash your budget for your work of film magic by using prop money for movies and end up with a cost effective, reusable product that maintains your movie’s quality and authenticity.