Prop masters gain recognition with inaugural MacGuffin awards

Prop masters, the teams responsible for the objects used in film and television, received formal recognition when the US-based Property Masters Guild inaugurated its annual MacGuffin awards in September 2024. Props — anything used in a performance that is not part of the set or costumes — are sourced or fabricated by crews overseen by a prop master.

The role is often overlooked: TV prop master Jode Mann says "it’s nice that you are asking about props, because they’re not really acknowledged," and recalls being told she could not be nominated for an Emmy because "there’s no category for you." While the Oscars have recently added awards for casting and stunts, prop mastery has remained unrewarded.

The work can be intensely creative as well as technical. Jamie Wilkinson described designing dozens of versions of Elphaba’s broom for Wicked in close consultation with Cynthia Erivo, and Catherine Miller’s team for Severance fabricated bespoke office equipment — even keyboards missing an escape key as a narrative symbol.

Period dramas and historical projects bring research and sourcing challenges, and weapons carry safety risks: the article cites the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust when a live round was discharged from a prop revolver. The Property Masters Guild was founded three years earlier and its MacGuffin winners are chosen by peers; Mann received one for her work on Lessons in Chemistry.

Key Topics

Culture, Property Masters Guild, Macguffin Awards, Prop Master, Jode Mann, Halyna Hutchins