How fake diploma props set the scene in Hollywood

You’re watching a movie comfortably in your living room. The main character is not feeling very well so she needs to get herself checked by a professional. You see the main character enter the doctor’s office; after a few seconds of waiting. The doctor finally appears and you get a glimpse of his office while the camera follows him. You notice all sorts of doctor’s instruments, the table where patients sit for the check-up, and of course you see a wall covered in diplomas behind the doctor sitting at his desk.

Maybe you never paid much attention to this detail, but once you notice the doctor’s diploma you start to realize all of these diplomas are very convincing. They’re not just pieces of paper with magazine cutouts or scribbles. Otherwise you would have noticed much sooner. Then it hits you, somebody paid close attention to the set and had to make sure each and every one of the diplomas was believable.

How Fake Diploma Props Can Enhance a Scene


dipoma props in movies and tv showsdipoma props in movies and tv shows

Just like the doctor’s example, there are millions of cinematic productions that make use of fake diplomas props for movies. The cool thing about this is that set designers are very meticulous about the way they portray a space so that, even if you don’t pay close attention, you’ll see everything “normal”. When you see a doctor’s diploma in a movie or TV series, you truly believe he’s a doctor. You might even think that’s what any doctor would look like. The same thing can happen with a lawyer. If you noticed his office walls were filled with diplomas, you’d have no trouble believing he’s an accomplished lawyer (or at least his character).

Diplomas such as the Harvard diploma in the movie "Departed", are very important in Hollywood and in any major film production because they help set a scene in a convincing and natural way. The purpose of all movie props is to enhance an actor’s performance or help them develop their characters better. Fake diplomas as props can make a scene feel more authentic, and without them you’d just have a bunch of actors playing in the middle of nowhere holding invisible objects.

Where to Spot Fake Diploma Props in Movies!


The most common professions that require a person to clearly display their credentials or diplomas, are doctors and lawyers. This is why movie scenes that take place in the offices of these professions often showcase such diploma props. The following shows some examples we have handpicked to prove our point.

The first example is from the movie, “Nutty Professor 2”. Here you see the main character entering an office to have a conversation. On the wall there are a couple of college diplomas hanging neatly and framed.

In Patch Adams, here we have another scene that takes place at an office. Notice the diplomas which are again framed on the wall behind glass.

In the movie “Patch Adams”, there’s a big graduation scene and many diplomas are presented to the actors playing graduates. In this case, the diplomas are not seen up-close and in great detail; but the paper is nonetheless a prop.

In case you didn’t know, Hollywood studios (and all movie studios for that matter) use all sorts of props, and that includes personal documents such as fake diplomas. When a character is getting an acceptance letter, graduating high school or getting his/her college degree and there’s a scene that involves the ceremony; it’s only natural that set designers need to purchase a fake diplomas props for productions to include all of the character’s information. There are many people who like to make close-ups to certain movie scenes and they’ll find how all the information is shockingly accurate and sticks to the movie’s story.

As you can see, using movie props is just one of the many reasons why people reach out and purchase fake diplomas. If you’re into film making or theater and you’re working on a project; give your sets the proper attention and get a fake made so the audience can immerse better in your scene. And even if you don’t do either films or theater, you could also get a fake novelty diploma. There are many movie and TV show fans who enjoy collecting memorabilia, such as diploma props from movies featuring fictional schools in their favorite productions. Which one are you going to get?