The Honesty Box Trailer

Bespoke Structural Prop Fabrication & Live Puppeteering for Channel 4

MACHINESHOP provided professional on-set puppeteering for Channel 4’s major promotional campaign for The Honesty Box. Developed alongside a premium creative network, this stylized and engaging broadcast spot relies on oversized, highly reactive practical set pieces to drive its distinctive narrative themes.

Our workshop brought the main visual asset of the shoot to life, constructing a puppeteered giant box designed to interact seamlessly with the cast. Our certified special effects technicians operated the custom build live on location, manipulating the structural components in real time to capture an organic, in-camera performance under the director’s lens.

Advanced Mechanical Prop Engineering & Practical Puppetry

Building a large-scale, interactive moving structure for a fast-paced commercial timeline requires careful weight distribution, seamless hinge placement, and robust counterweights for the operators:

• Custom Mechanical Hinge Engineering: Fabricating a heavy-duty, low-profile internal hinge matrix where the sides lift up to close smoothly and repeatedly on a live performance cue.
• Live On-Set Stunt Puppeteering: Coordinating precise, expressive movements by hiding special effects operators within or behind the custom build, allowing the box to react instantly to actor dialogue.
• Lightweight Structural Integrity: Constructing the giant prop panel frames from specialized, lightweight composites to ensure maximum ease of movement for the operators while maintaining a perfectly rigid look on camera.