Get Holiday Ready

Bespoke Inflatable Body Suit Costume Props for Post Office’s “Get Holiday Ready”

MACHINESHOP engineered the custom practical special effects and customized wearables for the comedic commercial campaign “Get Holiday Ready” for the Post Office. Developed to visually illustrate a traveller getting hilariously over-prepared and physically expanding with holiday gear, the broadcast spot relies on creative, synchronized physical mechanics to execute surreal in-camera transitions.

Our workshop brought this highly visual concept to life by designing custom wearable inflatables and specialized air rigs. The behind-the-scenes highlight the extensive testing and costume fittings required to flawlessly capture the perfect, smooth inflation of the character on set under studio lighting.

Custom Costume Inflatables & Practical Air Mechanics

Executing a clean, rapidly expanding practical character effect on a live commercial set requires precise pneumatic calibrations, silent internal blowers, and direct coordination with the wardrobe department:

• Bespoke Wearable Inflation System: Engineering custom, low-profile internal air bladders hidden completely beneath standard holiday apparel, calibrated to expand evenly on a live trigger cue.
• Silent Pneumatic Control Fitting: Integrating quiet electronic air valves and hidden battery power packs into the costume linings, ensuring zero mechanical or electrical hum disrupted live dialogue microphones.
• Flawless Take-to-Take Resets: Designing rapid deflation mechanisms that allowed our on-set technicians to completely shrink and reset the body suits between takes, keeping the studio crew tightly on schedule.
• Collaborative Set Integration: Working hand-in-hand with the production designer to safely coordinate all portable compressed air lines within the practical location layout.