On Office Christmas Party (filmed in 2015), the script took the classic “employees abusing the office copier” gag and updated it for the modern era — except this time the office toy was a 3D printer, and the “copies” were… body parts. The problem was that in 2015, 3D scanning and printing wasn’t the streamlined, affordable process it is now. Outsourcing the volume we needed would’ve been painfully expensive.

I pushed for an in-house solution and got the go-ahead from the property master. I taught myself the basics of 3D scanning fast, then coordinated loaner equipment to make it happen: MatterHackers provided a turntable 3D scanner, and Fusion3D supplied a large-format professional printer in exchange for being featured on screen. To generate enough variety in the prints, I modified soft silicone adult novelty items by reshaping them with low-carbon steel wire, then scanned and printed the altered versions.

At the time, each piece took roughly 13 hours from start to finish — most of that was print time — so the pipeline had to be tight and constantly moving. As the script evolved, we also needed the props for an explosive copy-room gag where prints get launched at the cast, including a hit-to-the-face moment with Jennifer Aniston. To keep everyone safe (and protect the set), I learned mold-making and produced foam duplicates for the stunt versions, which let us turn out an additional 40 props that could be thrown and blasted without risk.

In about two weeks, I produced 60+ props in-house and saved the production over $55,000 — while still delivering the look, quantity, and on-camera functionality the scenes required.