3D Printing In TV and Film
Save time and money on Prop design and manufacture
Prop Makers across the world use 3D printers to turn ideas into props ready for use on-set next-day - from spectacles to shields and photon blasters
How important is 3D printing in TV and Film?
Head of Props at Marvel Studios, Russell Bobbitt explains just how integral 3D printing has become to his extensive prop design and manufacturing operation. He has 8+ 3D printers or “machines” as he calls them, working 24/7.
A new prop can be in use right off the 3D printer 24 hours after the director has an idea. It can easily be reprinted bigger or smaller, making it easy to achieve the perfect scale for the actor. Every prop manufactured has to pass the “Russell test” for reliability (it’s thrown 20 feet in the air before it drops to the ground) to avoid expensive hold-ups.
Russell embraces new materials, printing with Formlabs harder resins which can easily be painted, softer resins for stunts, or if they are going for an ageing effect..Other props are cast for production so he also 3D prin
How does 3D printing fit in the creative process?
Why printing over conventional manufacturing?
3D printing is an iterative process going from idea to physical object is perfect for the creative industries. Printers are cheap labour, working 24/7 so that new props and other pieces can be ready and in use 24 hours after a new idea is born. It doesn’t stop with props either – pieces can be printed for costumes and sets
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