What Independent Studio Services does

Independent Studio Services (ISS), doing business as ISS Props, is a family-owned B2B prop and weapons rental house founded in 1984 by Gregg Bilson Sr. and headquartered in Sunland, California. The company maintains the world's largest private prop inventory — over 1 million items spanning furniture, electronics, medical equipment, vehicles, and period-specific goods — stored across a 150,000 sq. ft. warehouse on a 17-acre main campus. Its weapons division operates the largest private armory in North America with over 12,000 live firearms, complemented by armorers, gunsmiths, tactical training, and ammunition services delivered through sister company High Desert Theatrical Blanks.

ISS generates revenue primarily through rental and sale of props and weapons to film and television productions, with pricing quote-based and structured around account setups (P.O. or C.O.D.) and insurance compliance minimums ($1M–$2M depending on coverage type). Secondary revenue streams include custom prop design and manufacturing, a separate expendables e-commerce site (expend.issprops.com) for consumables, graphics services, and entertainment marketing. Distribution is direct-to-production across 11 U.S. and European locations with worldwide shipping capability.

The customer base spans virtually every major Hollywood studio (Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Lionsgate, DreamWorks, Marvel Studios) and the leading streamers (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Studios). Visible recent inventory placements include titles such as Dune, Top Gun: Maverick, Wednesday, The White Lotus, The Mandalorian, Stranger Things, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Blue Beetle. The company operates an online customer portal (props.issprops.com) for inventory search and order management and has deployed an AI-powered 24/7 customer support chatbot. Management includes Rick Caprarelli (President), Alex Csernay (EVP), Hayden Bilson (VP Business Development, family member), and Karl Weschta (VP Global Sales & Weapons).

Name

Independent Studio Services

Legal name

Independent Studio Services, LLC

Website

https://issprops.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Independent Studio Services is a family-owned B2B prop and weapons rental house serving film and TV productions, operating 11 locations across the U.S. and Europe with over 1 million props and the largest private armory in North America (12,000+ firearms).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film and Television Prop Rental

NAICS

General Rental Centers (5323)

SIC

Services-Equipment Rental & Leasing, Nec (7359)

akta.pro primary industry

Prop Storage, Warehousing & Asset Management (MPADAIAM)

Keywords

• Film prop rental
• Television prop rental
• Production weapons rental
• Prop house services
• Entertainment production supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Sunland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Prop Rental/Leasing: Rental of props to film and TV productions. Clients lease props for production use, with rental periods and terms governed by standard rental agreements. Includes liability and property insurance requirements.
2. Prop Sales: Sale of props to productions, including custom-designed props manufactured to client specifications. One-time purchase transactions governed by purchase agreement terms.
3. Expendables: Sale of consumable prop items such as blood syrup, herbal cigarettes, director chairs, and other single-use production items through expend.issprops.com.
4. Weapons Services: Rental of weapons including live firearms, plus ancillary services such as consulting, armorers, gunsmiths, tactical training, and ammunition services through sister company High Desert Theatrical Blanks.
5. Graphics Services: Entertainment marketing and graphics services for branded content and production needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Independent Studio Services (ISS) rents and sells physical props and weapons to film and television productions, maintaining an inventory of over 1 million props across diverse categories and the largest private armory in North America with 12,000+ live firearms. The company supplements rentals with custom prop manufacturing, graphics and entertainment marketing services, expendables (consumable production supplies), and ancillary weapons services such as armorers, gunsmiths, and tactical training through its sister company High Desert Theatrical Blanks.

Product overview

Independent Studio Services operates as a comprehensive prop house offering both rental and purchase options for film and TV productions. The core offering centers on Prop Rental of over 1 million items across diverse categories, complemented by specialized Weapons Rental featuring the largest private armory in North America with over 12,000 live firearms. The company provides Graphics services and maintains a separate Expendables Store (expend.issprops.com) for consumable products. Custom Prop Manufacturing enables creation of bespoke props. Entertainment Marketing services support brand and production promotion. The ISS Props Customer Portal (props.issprops.com) serves as the digital platform for inventory search and order management. The company operates from 11 locations across the U.S. and Europe, with headquarters in Sunland, CA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prop Rental Rental service providing access to over 1 million props across diverse categories (animal supplies, aviation, business and education, electronics, home goods, jewelry, medical equipment, musical instruments, set dressing, sports equipment, tactical/police/military gear, tools, vehicles, and vice items) for film and television productions of all sizes.
• Weapons Rental Rental of weapons including over 12,000 live firearms (the largest private armory in North America), covering firearms and other weapons from any era — past, present, and future — for film and television productions.
• Graphics Graphics services integrated with prop rental, providing set dressing and visual design elements for film and television productions.
• Expendables Store Online e-commerce store offering thousands of consumable products for film and TV productions, including director chairs, blood syrup, herbal cigarettes, and other single-use or disposable items.
• Entertainment Marketing Marketing services for entertainment brands and productions, providing brand partnership and promotional support.
• Custom Prop Manufacturing Custom design and manufacturing services that create, engineer, design, and program bespoke props based on client product requests when items are not in standard inventory or cannot be externally sourced.
• ISS Props Customer Portal Online customer portal that allows productions to search the ISS inventory across all categories, browse detailed product listings, and manage rental orders.

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• High Desert Theatrical BlankscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company providing ammunition services in conjunction with ISS's weapons department. High Desert Theatrical Blanks supplies blank ammunition and related services for film productions using ISS weapons.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Omega Cinema Props: Long-established Los Angeles prop house serving major Hollywood film and television productions with rental and custom prop services. Directly comparable to ISS in customer base (major studios), product (general props, set dressing), and geography (Hollywood hub).
• Earl Hays Press Studios: Hollywood-based prop house specializing in furniture, draperies, and decorative prop rentals for film and television. Directly comparable to ISS in the prop rental category, though narrower in scope (focused on decorative and period set dressing).
• Premiere Props: Industry-known prop house and auctioneer serving film and television productions, with a notable auction business for screen-used memorabilia. Comparable to ISS in supplying props to major productions, with a complementary auction/revenue stream.
• National Western Props: Hollywood prop rental supplier providing props, set dressing, and wardrobe to film and television productions. Directly comparable to ISS as a Southern California prop rental competitor serving the same studio customer base.
• Select Props: Los Angeles-based prop rental house supplying film, television, and commercial productions with general props and specialty items. Directly comparable to ISS in product category and customer base, with a more concentrated single-location footprint.

Regional players

• The Hand Prop Room: One of the U.K.'s longest-running film and television prop houses, supplying productions across drama, period, and contemporary projects. Directly comparable to ISS's London/Amersham operation and weapon/prop rental model, but focused exclusively on the U.K. market.
• East Coast Props Room (ECPR): U.S. East Coast prop rental house serving New York and East Coast-based film and television productions. Comparable to ISS in product offering but focused on the New York/East Coast market rather than the Hollywood-centric footprint that anchors ISS.

Broad incumbents

• Western Costume: Long-established Hollywood rental house specializing in costumes and wardrobe with adjacent prop and set-dressing offerings. Comparable to ISS as a major Hollywood rental supplier serving the same production customers, though its core specialty is costume rather than props.

Others

• High Desert Theatrical Blanks: Sister company to ISS providing blank ammunition and related weapons services for film productions using ISS's armory inventory. Closely related ecosystem participant enabling ISS's weapons rental offering rather than a direct competitor.
• SAT-FX: Special effects services provider that partners with ISS to deliver combined prop and effects solutions to productions. Adjacent service provider in the film production supply chain rather than a direct prop rental competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/issprops
• Facebookfacebook.com/IndependentStudioServices
• Instagraminstagram.com/issprops
• TikToktiktok.com/@issprops
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/independent-studio-services-props-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Independent Studio Services