Ross: And a lot of times the frame of reference that viewers have is other shows. Narrator: As a prop artist, you'd maybe spice things up with a flashy gold badge or this type of giant FBI logo you see popping up a lot in shows and movies. But on a TV screen, they might be sort of holding it up, and we're looking at them from eight feet away. Military ID cards, police identification, even the FBI identification, they're meant to be looked at really close up. But specialized IDs pose another problem. For these, prop artists can make fake chips out of vinyl to stick on top of the ID, or they can print it on a card that already has the fake chip built in. And for special forms of ID, like those for the US Army, the prop makers might have to mimic metal chips. For projects that call for close-ups, they use this old-school embossing machine to make sure the lighting reflects off the numbers on the card in the right way. Narrator: Laminating will also give it the weight of an actual driver's license, so that when the actor holds the card, it not only looks, but feels like the real deal. And that's what we're going to get from the lamination process.
Jacob: A lot of the driver's licenses you see, especially now, have this kind of matte, but also a bit of a sheen look. Narrator: To nail the aesthetics, prop makers often focus on the sheen of the ID. Ross: The rule of thumb is convincing is better than accurate. Luckily, according to graphic props artists Ross MacDonald, simplifying elements like holograms and shadow images can make the ID look better on screen, since it won't be as jammed with tiny details. Narrator: For a special close-up, they might simulate the hologram physically using a silk screen and iridescent powders mixed with clear ink. Jacob Kubon: There's a lot of tricks that you can use in the graphic itself to make it look like it's catching light and having some shine to it. Like with this New Mexico driver's license, which The Hand Prop Room made for "Black Widow." The photo of Scarlett Johansson has been swapped in for a stock photo, and the hologram, which in real IDs would be 3D, is actually 2D. It's the prop maker's job to make these IDs look as real as possible on screen without crossing into any legal gray areas. When creating fake IDs for production, agencies might limit their customers to major studios. We stopped by The Hand Prop Room in LA, which made the McLovin ID, and the studio of graphic props artist Ross MacDonald to see how Hollywood makes its prop IDs. Too good, and they could get into legal trouble.
That's why prop makers have to be extra careful when making fake IDs for movies and TV shows. Narrator: This might be the most famous fake ID in any movie - so famous that someone tried to use it as a fake ID in real life. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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