Madly FX Special Effects & Props

12/07/2022

04/14/2020

Half-Life: Alyx is one of those “this changes everything” moments. It is by far the most immersive experience I’ve ever had, and one of the most motivational too. I loved the design for the Combine battery puzzle element, and spent the last week making one of my very own!
I ripped the model from the game, and remodeled it in a higher fidelity. Most of the parts were 3D printed masters, either resin or sanded FDM, and all 27 parts were molded and cast in the right color.
One day I’ll get around to adding some LEDs, but for now I’m quite happy with it!

@ Madly FX Special Effects & Props

01/16/2020

Woo! Excited to finally release everything for my open source LED film light, the OpenLUX!

Files and code at: https://github.com/MadlyFX/OpenLUX-LED-Video-Light

It’s is a high-CRI, flicker-free, bicolor LED light intended for film and video use. It's small enough to fit in a Bowens mount flash adaptor, letting it accept accessories like soft boxes and reflectors.

The motivation for making this this was working with so many G&E departments that love building their own gear, but are limited by the resources they have access to on set. The result is you see things like Litegear strips taped onto Coroplast rather than properly engineered fixtures. My goal was to provide an extensible platform that solves all the major issues associated with a light of this type, leaving people free to build and experiment with a much better starting point.

It costs about $150 to build one of them, and about $100 for subsequent ones. It can be built in a few hours and it equivalent to about 300-500W tungsten, depending on lens.

11/15/2019

MadlyFX now offers custom made chair backs! Made right here in Chicago from locally sourced materials, they're the best way to impress clients and cast.

More details and pricing at

The base price includes a one color, vector graphic logo and name. If you want additional colors overlayed, you can specify that for additional cost. At this time we can’t do full color, raster graphics.

10/19/2019

MadlyFX is seeking a contract mechatronics engineer to assist with building functional film/TV props.

Due to a heavy workload we’re looking for an extra hand to work on some really cool projects!

Ideal candidate meets the following requirements:

—Experience with robotics, industrial automation, or prototyping.
—3D CAD design experience
—Familiar with designing for additive manufacture, FDM/SLA/Polyjet
—Familiar with CNC and manual machinery, mills, lathes, laser cutters
—Familiar with coding for robotics, Arduino/Matlab/Mbed/Python
—Familiar with servomotors, stepper motors, and RC control protocols

Not required but a bonus if you have experience with:

—Pneumatic control systems
—Welding
—Carpentry
—Moldmaking and casting
—Painting and finishing

MadlyFX builds props, gags, and setpieces for productions all around the country. We’re known for our technical accuracy and quick delivery. Our 3000sqft shop has a plethora of tools and robots to help us build amazing things.
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09/28/2019

This is a bunch of the stuff I made last year for !
The custom phones were designed to be ridiculous designs and colors that would make you go "Who would ever buy that?"
I 3D printed a master on the Form 2 and cast them in colored resin, and laser cut thin acrylic fronts to emulate the smartphone glass look.

The MNAX computer was made from an old printer, a microfiche, and a police scanner all cut up and remixed together. It was a lot of bondo and kitbashing, going for a vintage computer look.

I also made a few stunt props, my favorite being these barcode scanners I cast in foam and rubber. @ Madly FX Special Effects & Props

08/21/2019

Belt-mounted quick release sized for an AB battery plate. Plus some 1/4-20s for extra fun!

05/13/2019

I made these stunt lanterns for last week's climactic finale of . Made from multiple pieces that were cast separately and assembled, they had to be squishy enough to, well, murder .

I delivered them as-new and their paint dept. made them nice and beat up. Those guys don't get enough credit.

Primarily made from TC-266 foam, TC-277 foam, and FP-60 rubber.

@ Madly FX Special Effects & Props

04/30/2019

Excited to share this 12" tall maquette I made for from the film Singularity, directed by .
Entirely 3D printed with the Form 2, and meticulously hand painted. It's hard to convey just how small and jampacked this is in real life!

@ Madly FX Special Effects & Props

04/20/2019

Having an awesome day shooting a short for .