Research & Development
When I’m not prepping or shooting at Claro Studioworks, the most important thing I emphasize is research and development. What capabilities do we want to offer to our clients? What rigs could have made that last job easier? Can something be designed with more than one capability—like our Jump Table/Launcher Combo? And sometimes… what just looks freaking cool? All of these things are taken into consideration when choosing the next tabletop SFX rigs to develop.
It’s been a busy year of R&D at Claro Studioworks, so let’s take a closer look at some of the capabilities we’ve added and improvements we’ve made so far in 2025.
The Trigger Control Box: Same Tabletop SFX Rigs, but Smarter
Possibly the most exciting capability is also the most unassuming—it’s just a black box—but the Trigger Control Box has completely changed our approach to operating our SFX. Let me nerd out for a second: all of our pneumatic rigs used to be operated manually, which was a bit clunky and required someone to be right next to the set. This risked shadows and unwanted reflections on shiny surfaces. When the set is only an 18 sq ft surface, shadows and reflections happen all the time.
To fix this, I switched our entire arsenal of tabletop SFX rigs to electronic triggers and wired them into a housing where they can all be triggered by the push of a button. With two momentary switches and two latching switches, the box allows us to trigger up to four effects at a time in “on/off” or “on and hold” variations—useful for effects needing to reset immediately or others requiring only a power input.
With the Trigger Control Box, all SFX (even non-pneumatic, but we’ll get to that next) can now be fired remotely by running a single airline and 12v cable loom to set. It’s much more precise, and we can reset shots twice as fast while taking up half the space.
Spray + Pump: Liquid Effects on Demand
Our next rig is a Swiss army knife of liquid effects. We’ve used it to spray high-pressure liquids into products mid-air, slowly dribble raindrops from above, and dial in the perfect flow for a continuous pour out of hero containers. The heart of it is based around a simple water pump, but by using a regulator we can electronically adjust the rate of flow as needed. At the output end, we can simply swap the receptacle for the correct effect—rain box, plumbing fittings, or another solenoid to control its release.
The one I’ve personally been having a lot of fun with is the solenoid outfitted with pressure washer nozzles. With the push of a button, I can fire a range of liquid shapes—from high-pressure jets to a light mist. It’s a very useful capability, and I’m excited to bring it to future productions.
Dropper: Precise & Repeatable
This next one is a great illustration of the precision tabletop SFX rigs offer. Some may ask, “Why would I need this when I can just use my hands?” Well, in many cases you can, but this rig has a few advantages that save a lot of time and headaches over doing it manually.
For starters, it’s 20” long, and when put at the end of a standard 40” C-stand arm, it’s five feet away from what you’re filming. Having the stand so far from set avoids casting shadows and eliminates the possibility of bumping the tabletop. Having it at a fixed height and position also ensures it’s going to be a repeatable drop every time—no guessing where you were holding it in the last take.
The Wave: Grab Your Surfboard
This is one of the coolest effects out there, and I’ve seen it popping up in commercials for ice cream, beer, and even hair loss treatments. By heat-forming a sheet of plexiglass into a curl, I’ve built a practical effect that lets the camera peer into the center of a crashing wave. Shot at high speed, a large volume of liquid rushes down the ramp and into the curl, creating a brief, dramatic moment where the camera sees nothing but the curl of the wave itself. By anchoring the hero product in the middle, we can create a jaw-dropping moment that viewers won’t quickly forget.
Messy? Very. But an incredible way to showcase a brand.
Drop Tube Upgrades: Accuracy Matters
A few months back, I posted an extensive write-up detailing the process of building a tabletop SFX rig following the journey of the Drop Tubes. Since then, they’ve received a major upgrade. Once we’d gotten them on set a few times, I noticed a common point of friction that could be improved: it was taking too long to dial in the exact point of intersection mid-air. To remedy this, I added rail-mounted laser sights onto each actuator. Now when we use it on a production, we can know precisely where the intersection is by holding up a piece of paper and aligning the dots. Problem solved!
Why Tabletop SFX Rigs Matter for Commercial Production
Each one of these builds solves a real-world problem I’ve encountered directing tabletop commercials—shadows, reflections, repeatability, precision, and perhaps most importantly, speed. When you walk onto set at Claro Studioworks, you can be assured that we’ve already planned and engineered solutions for these common problems. Our continued R&D efforts in tabletop SFX rigs translate into more efficient shoots, cost savings, and stronger visuals. Bring us onto your next shoot to see them in action… and get done in time for wrap drinks. 🥂🍸