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The Universal Studios Property Department supplies film and TV production companies with thousands of props each week, and we will do our best to supply you with everything you need to for your set. Whether you are creating a gritty police commissioners office in 1960 Manhattan, or a Pharaoh’s bedroom from thousands of years ago, our vast inventory will almost certainly have the items you need. We have created this site to let set designers and filmmakers browse our extensive inventory of nearly one million props from the comfort of the internet. This site was built for filmmakers by filmmakers. As such we have designed several tools that will help you easily manage productions, sets, and items you have assigned to them. We’ll even save them for you so you can easily recreate a set for pick-ups. This page will give you an overview of how to use the site. Note: The Universal Studios Property Department supplies props for rental only, not for purchase.
General Help Index
Browsing the Property Database There are two ways you can browse the database of props. The easiest way is to use the search box in the green area at the upper right corner of your browser. Simply type in the name of the item you want, like "candelabra" and either hit enter on your keyboard or click the button labeled "search" to the left of the search box. You will quickly be prompted with a search results screen containing all items that pertain to your keyword. The second way to search is to use the category search, also contained in the green area in the upper right corner of the screen. By clicking on one of the three primary categories, "Hand Props," "Furniture," and "Drapery," you will be able to browse through types of props. For instance, click "Hand Props" and you will see a list of all the types of hand props that begin with the letter "A." If you are looking for "Headphones," simply click the letter "H" at the top of the screen, then select "Headphones" from the subsequent "H" list. Wow! There are over 100 different types of headphones! 
Create an Account Although anyone can do searches, you MUST create an account for yourself to create request lists and save lists for future use. By creating an account, we can store your lists such that when you return to the site, you can pull up all the sets and productions you have created. All your account information, set and production names, and corresponding items are strictly confidential.
Productions and Sets When you create an account, you will be asked to create an initial production and set name, but you will be able to add more later. For instance, your initial production may be "Cookie Time" and your set might be "Kitchen." Once you have added the production and set, you might then search for items, like "spatula." When you want to save that item for later, you can assign that item to the "Kitchen" set. Also, if you want to add another set, like "Dining Room," you can do so and subsequently assign items to it like "Table," "Chairs," "Plates," and so on. In essence, you can use the system to store all the set decoration information for your production!
The Request List and the Items of Interest List Have you ever had a director who was very picky about the sofa that was to be used in a particular scene? Maybe you had to take a Polaroid camera and photograph all kinds of sofas, then show them to the director. Then, after the director chooses the sofa, you then can’t remember where you took the picture! The back-and-forth nature of the business may never go away, but we hope this site will help ease your pain. These two lists work hand in hand, and are designed to help the set designer – like yourself – in your typical approach to designing a set. The Request List (REQ) and the Items of Interest List (INT) were designed specifically to help set designers research items for a particular set then decide later which one of the items they wish to actually rent. Let’s try an example to make this more clear: Using our fictitious production “Cookie Time,” say you needed to rent a dining room table. Doing a search on “dining chair” produces several results (over 1,000!). After checking the details on various items, you narrow it down to:
Armchair, Dining, Black Enameled Steel W/Black Neoprene Upholstery, Modern Armchair, Dining, Salmon Pink & Green Plaid Seat Assume you show the prints to the director, and the “Armchair, Dining, Salmon Pink & Green Plaid Seat” is approved. You can then return to our website (from any web browser, it doesn’t have to be the one you originally used), log into your account, and pull up your Items of Interest list for the set, “Dining Room” of the production, “Cookie Time.” Find the “salmon chair” in your list, then click “Move to Request List.” This item has now been moved to your Request List, and will be part of the list that you actually submit for renting.
Manage Productions After you have used the site to create Items of Interest Lists for multiple sets, you may wish to rapidly move props from the Interest Lists to the Request Lists. Manage Productions is the way to move multiple items back and forth between Interest and Request lists. It is also the way to move items from Set to Set. For instance, if you had originally assigned the “salmon chair” to the “Dining Room” set, but later wanted it on the “Bedroom” set, you could move it using Manage Productions.
Request History This section of the site allows you to both view past Requests and past Receipts. The difference between Requests and Receipts are simple: “Requests” are items you have used the WEBSITE to request. “Receipts” are what you actually rented from the property department. For instance, let’s say you submitted a Request for a “salmon chair.” However, when you went to pick it up at the warehouse, you decided that you’d rather take a different chair that you saw on our showroom floor. That’s no problem! We’ll substitute the chair of your choice, then the website will indicate what you actually rented when you view your “Receipt.” Again, this feature makes it very easy for you to recreate an entire set at a future date.
My Account This is a very straightforward screen that allows you to update your account info if you move, change phone numbers, or wish to change your password.
Checkout When you click “checkout,” the site will process all the items on your current Request list and send them to the warehouse for fulfillment. There are three simple steps to checking out: First, you must assign a quantity to each item. If you need 4 “salmon chairs,” then set the quantity field to “4.” When you are satisfied with all your quantities, click “Proceed to Step 2” Second, you must assign dates to each set. These are the dates you intend to pick up the items and then return them. If you aren’t sure of the exact date, try to approximate your dates and we’ll try to accommodate your needs as your schedule changes. Finally, review your request. If you need to make a change to any part of your order, just go back into the site using the navigation buttons at the top of the screen. If you are satisfied with your request, then click the confirm button.
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