I was on my first set of a Hollywood movie. Like, right in the middle of the set during filming (I had something to do with the IP). I was looking at the horribly janky set design, and the lighting looked awful. I guess the director saw me scowling. He called me over, "Come see what I'm seeing!" This was when RED cameras had just come out. I went over and looked at his monitor. I didn't say another word. It looked like a $10m movie. Amazing what a good crew can do.

If you want to see how really crap a lot of production materials are, go take a tour of say the Universal prop warehouse and see real movie props up close. Especially before the days of 3D printing. Props from the 70s, 80s are all just drainpipes and duct tape and lots of spray paint.