Crime, Bank & Evidence Scenes
Track the money’s story across bank, crime, and evidence scenes with a practical continuity matrix.
Money can connect several scenes without a line of dialogue. A distinctive group of stacks may appear in a bank, move into a bag, and later sit on an evidence table. If its denomination, condition, or story detail changes without explanation, the audience may lose that connection.
PMA 304 teaches you to plan that visual continuity across a fictional sequence. You will build the money’s story states, stage readable action, and preserve the details that matter from one location to the next.
Course track: Production Use Cases · Suggested study time: 25 minutes, plus a sequence-planning exercise.
You will finish with: a three-scene cash timeline, a story-state matrix, and a prop identification sheet for the sequence.
Before you begin: Bring the script pages and storyboard. For quick product and layout decisions, use the existing bank, crime, and evidence table guides.
Lesson 1 — Map the money through the story
Treat the cash as a recurring prop. Identify where it begins, who handles it, what is removed or added, and what the audience must recognize later.
Write a starting and ending state for each scene. If the story jumps in time, record the implied change between scenes. Keep shooting order in a separate column so the crew can prepare the correct state even when the sequence is filmed backwards.
Choose the continuity anchors
Not every bill needs individual identification. Select the details the camera and story actually depend on: denomination, number of visible stacks, band orientation, container, condition, or an approved fictional label.
If a bill carries a clue, specify exactly what must be readable and when. Create that clue through approved original custom artwork if needed; do not alter existing prop markings or reproduce real security features. Keep the clue consistent across every copy used for the shot.
Lesson 2 — Stage a bank scene for the particular setting
A teller counter, a cash office, and a vault shelf are different environments. Start with the script’s action and the production’s reference material. For a production seeking procedural accuracy, have an appropriate adviser review the scene’s institution, period, and location.
A visually ordered arrangement can help the audience follow a transaction or count, but there is no single layout that represents every bank. Reserve clear space for hands, documents, trays, and the specific money movement.
Make the count understandable
Define a source pile, a destination pile, and the number of bills transferred. Use suitable two-sided Full Print for handling. Rehearse the count at performance speed and photograph the beginning and end.
If a money counter appears, test the actual machine and selected props in advance, following the equipment instructions. Do not assume compatibility or a successful feed. If the action fails, redesign the coverage with the director; do not modify the prop to imitate a genuine banknote more closely.
Lesson 3 — Design a crime scene around the narrative
Crime-drama cash does not always need to look worn. Newly obtained money, an organized payoff, a hidden reserve, and cash carried for months tell different stories. Choose the condition from the script rather than applying the same gritty appearance to every scene.
RealAged® can support a handled look. Clean stock may be more appropriate when the money is meant to have been kept in orderly storage. Preserve the chosen condition across related scenes unless the story explains a change.
Plan the action without losing identity
For a grab, spill, or bag transfer, decide which continuity anchors must survive the movement. Keep a featured stack or clue bill in a known position, and provide matching copies when the production needs an insert or pickup.
This is a staging plan for fictional scenes. Location control, public-facing activity, stunts, weapons, or special effects belong with the production personnel responsible for those elements. Coordinate the cash action with their approved scene plan.
Lesson 4 — Make an evidence table legible
Decide what the table represents in the story: material being processed, a prepared display, an investigator’s working arrangement, or a close-up of one item. Those choices affect the layout and the action.
The table should help viewers understand relationships. Group related cash, leave space around important objects, and make any necessary label readable at the planned framing. A large pile can communicate volume; it can also hide the very clue the scene needs.
Separate screen labels from crew records
Use fictional or production-approved labels for anything appearing in the scene. Check names, dates, amounts, spelling, and the relationship between the label and the visible prop. Keep off-camera kit IDs on containers or sleeves so the crew can track the items without adding unintended story information to the shot.
The production’s inventory log is not a real evidence chain-of-custody document. Do not present this course’s arrangement as a universal police or forensic procedure. Have a qualified adviser review procedural details when accuracy is part of the brief.
Test bags, sleeves, and covers
An evidence-style bag can create reflections, obscure the denomination, or cover the clue with a seam. Test the actual packaging, camera angle, and hand position. If the prop must leave the package during the scene, document both states and confirm that the replacement package matches the approved one.
Lesson 5 — Build a sequence matrix
Illustrative fictional sequence: Six $100-denomination stacks leave a cash office. A character removes one stack before the remainder is recovered. The story later shows five stacks on a display table.
For this exercise only, each complete stack represents 100 bills. The opening fictional amount is therefore $60,000; the removed stack represents $10,000; the remaining five represent $50,000. These are story amounts, not purchase prices. Verify the actual product count used in a real production.
| Story state | Physical arrangement | Continuity anchor | Required record |
|---|---|---|---|
| A — Cash office | Six matching stacks in an ordered layout | Same denomination, finish, and band style | Starting layout and count |
| B — Transfer | Six stacks in the bag before one is removed | Identified removal stack and position | Before and after action photos |
| C — Recovery | Five stacks in the approved recovered arrangement | Remaining group matches State B | Group photo and container details |
| D — Evidence display | Five stacks grouped beside an approved story label | Label amount agrees with the scene | Camera frame, overhead photo, label version |
Reconcile the sequence before dressing
If a later rewrite says the recovered amount is $60,000, the matrix exposes a problem. Either the story must restore the removed money, change the amount, or change the earlier action. Resolve it with the responsible creative team rather than letting set dressing silently change the narrative.
Prepare separate kits when different story states are filmed concurrently. Keep state labels on storage containers and remove them from anything that could accidentally enter the frame.
Lesson 6 — Plan the clue insert
An insert often reveals more than the master. Identify the exact information the audience needs: a denomination, an original fictional issuer, a designed serial detail, or a production-approved label.
Test that information at the final crop. A one-sided Close-Up Bill may suit a controlled view of an available printed face, but it is not a custom clue design and it cannot support an unplanned turnover. For original story details, discuss the brief through Print A Bill™.
Save a clean reference image of the approved clue and record which copies match. If the story depends on a serial or date, check every camera-visible copy rather than assuming all units are identical.
Lesson 7 — Rehearse the sequence handoff
Have a second crew member assemble one later story state from the matrix without looking at the original arrangement. Check whether they can identify the correct cash, condition, quantity, packaging, and label version.
Sequence readiness checklist
- Each scene has a defined starting and ending state.
- Additions and removals agree with dialogue and visible amounts.
- Important denominations, finishes, bands, and clue details match.
- Handled bills support every exposed side and action.
- Packaging and labels have been camera tested.
- Story states needed simultaneously have dedicated kits.
- Procedural details have the appropriate production review.
- Cash is issued, recovered, and stored under a named custodian.
Follow the Compliance Guide for production handling and the Continuity Guide for reset references.
Completion exercise: Build a three-scene cash timeline with one deliberate change. Give the matrix to another person and have them identify both the change and the details that must remain consistent.
PMA 304 · Put it into practice
Practice lab: Story-state continuity audit
Reconcile a cash story across locations and catch a count or label mismatch before filming.
Download PMA 304 worksheet (PDF, 2 pages) ↓
Your brief
Audit a fictional sequence: six matching stacks leave a cash office, one is removed during a transfer, and the remaining group appears on a display table. For this exercise only, each stack represents 100 bills of $100. This is screen continuity planning, not real evidence-handling procedure.
Fictional worked example
The label contradicts the action
Fictional worked audit: State A begins with six stacks. State B removes one. State C has five stacks, but the draft screen label still reads '$60,000.' The worksheet should expose that mismatch even if State C is shot first.
- State A / office6 stacks × 100 represented bills × $100 = $60,000 of fictional story value. Record the visible denomination, finish and band arrangement.
- State B / transferOne stack is removed: 6 - 1 = 5 remain. The removed stack represents $10,000. Preserve the before-and-after arrangement and the removal point.
- State C / display5 × 100 × $100 = $50,000. The '$60,000' label conflicts with the planned action. Flag it for the responsible creative reviewer; do not silently add a stack.
- Approved resolutionFor this teaching example, the creative team chooses to keep the removal and revise the label to '$50,000.' Record the new label version, retire the old one, and recheck connected dialogue, inserts and photos.
What this demonstrates: Story order explains the change; shooting order explains which version must be ready today. Keep both visible so an early-shot aftermath does not accidentally become the opening state.
Your assignment
- Build three story-state records with starting count, change, ending count and represented amount. State every arithmetic assumption.
- Assign a separate shooting-order number to each state; choose an order that differs from the story.
- List the continuity anchors that must survive the change, including any packaging or readable label.
- Find the deliberate mismatch, propose a resolution, and record who must approve it. Keep approval pending if this is a solo paper exercise.
Check your work
Use these criteria to review your worksheet. If a criterion is not met, record the next action before treating the exercise as complete.
- The state-to-state arithmetic agrees and physical count is distinguished from represented value.
- The correct kit and label version can be identified from the shooting-order record.
- The proposed fix names every affected record or shot and preserves a clear approval decision.
Knowledge check
Answer each question in your own words before opening the explanation. If you miss a decision, revisit the linked lesson and revise your worksheet.
1. Five stacks each represent 100 bills of $100. What fictional amount should the worksheet calculate?
Reveal answer 1 and explanation
$50,000: 5 × 100 × $100. This relies on the exercise's stated 100-bill assumption; verify actual product counts for a real build.
Review: Lesson 5.
2. The later display scene films first. Should it use the six-stack opening arrangement?
3. The screen label conflicts with the visible count. Is adding one stack during dressing the right fix?
Reveal answer 3 and explanation
Not without creative approval. It changes the story. Flag the mismatch, agree on the intended resolution, then update affected props, labels, dialogue and continuity records.
Review: Lesson 5.
These examples illustrate planning decisions; they are not footage from a production or measured product-test results. Completing the exercise is self-assessment, not certification.
Crime, bank, and evidence scene FAQs
Should bank-scene money always be clean and crime-scene money always be aged?
No. Condition follows the history of the cash in the story. Use the same finish across connected scenes unless something happens that explains the difference.
Is there one correct way to arrange an evidence table?
No. The arrangement depends on what the scene depicts. This course teaches visual storytelling and prop continuity; production-specific procedural accuracy requires appropriate reference and review.
What if the scripted amount does not match the visible bills?
Raise the mismatch before filming. When the audience can count or read the amount, agree on the correct denomination, bill count, labels, and dialogue with the responsible creative team.
Can I reuse the same money for every state in the sequence?
Yes, if the schedule allows it and the states can be restored accurately. Concurrent units, permanent changes, or complex resets may justify dedicated copies.
Prepare the sequence
Compare Full Print and RealAged® options, then send production support your scene matrix for product planning.
Continue with the prop-masters guide, or return to Prop Money Academy.
Production education for creative use. Prop money is not legal tender. Follow the responsible-use guidance for your project.
