Custom Prop Electronics & Film Technology
When a prop has to light up, move, count down, or talk to camera, we make the gak that makes it work
Knabe Labs is the technical partner behind the props that have to actually do something on screen. Based in Ardmore, PA, we design and build custom electronics, mechanics, and control systems for film and television, and we show up on set to make sure it all works on the day.
We build experiences that matter, with people who make it fun.
Why Productions Bring in Knabe Labs
The Gak Specialists
Every props department eventually hits a piece that needs real engineering: a working readout, a motorized reveal, a screen-accurate device an actor has to operate live. That’s the “gak” we live for. We take the brief from your prop master, production designer, or SPFX supervisor and turn it into a reliable, camera-ready build.
Practical, On-Camera, On-Cue
We specialize in practical effects technology: the things that happen physically in front of the lens, not in post. Lights, motion, sound, and timed sequences that hit their mark take after take, triggered exactly when the shot needs them and simple enough for the crew to run.
We Don’t Disappear After Delivery
A hero prop that fails on a shoot day costs real money. We engineer for repeatability, build in fail-safes and backups, and travel to set to commission, operate, and troubleshoot on location, so a dead battery or a missed cue never stops the camera.
Film & Television Technology Services
Custom Electronic Props & Working Devices
Functional props that actors interact with and the camera loves up close:
- Hero prop electronics - Screen-accurate devices, readouts, and controls built for close-up detail
- Custom PCB & circuit design - Bespoke boards when off-the-shelf won’t do (a Knabe Labs specialty)
- Practical lighting & displays - Integrated LEDs, panels, and animated displays driven on cue
- Wireless & remote control - Triggered effects an operator runs off-camera, no visible wires
- Sci-fi & tech props - Believable “future tech,” instrument panels, and interactive gadgets
Mechanical Props, Motion & Animatronics
When it has to move, we make it move, reliably and on command:
- Motorized & servo-driven mechanisms - Reveals, transformations, and repeatable motion
- Animatronics & puppeteering electronics - Eyes, articulation, and radio-controlled movement
- Pneumatic & motion control - Precise, programmable movement for props and rigs
- Breakaway & stunt-safe builds - Mechanisms engineered around actor and crew safety
- Motion control integration - Repeatable passes that play nicely with camera and VFX teams
Show Control & On-Set Automation
The same bulletproof control systems that run award-winning attractions, brought to your set:
- Cue-based show control - Lights, sound, motion, and effects synchronized to the action
- PLC & industrial automation - Reliability built for thousands of cycles, not one good take
- Multi-device coordination - Tying practical effects, props, and lighting into one trigger
- Operator-friendly interfaces - Controls simple enough to hand off to the crew on day one
- Repeatable, resettable sequences - Hit the same beat take after take after take
On-Set Technical Support & Custom Fabrication
We’re a build-and-be-there partner, not a drop-ship vendor:
- On-location commissioning & operation - We travel to set to install, run, and support our work
- Rapid prototyping to delivery - Fast turnarounds that respect a production schedule
- Custom fabrication - 3D printing, CNC, laser cutting, and electronics integrated into one piece
- Software & Unity development - Interactive content, screen graphics, and custom interfaces
- Department collaboration - We work alongside props, art, SPFX, and fabrication shops, not around them
The Knabe Labs Difference
Most prop shops either sculpt and finish beautifully or engineer the electronics, rarely both, and rarely with the on-set discipline a shoot demands. We sit at the intersection. Our team blends mechanical, electrical, software, and PLC engineering, sharpened on award-winning escape rooms, haunted attractions, and themed entertainment where a system has to fire flawlessly thousands of times.
That entertainment pedigree is exactly what film props need:
- Reliability under pressure - Systems designed for continuous operation hold up easily to a shoot day
- Cue-perfect timing - Precision show control honed on dramatic, synchronized effects
- One technical partner - Electronics, mechanics, software, and on-set support under one roof
- Plays well with others - We collaborate with prop masters, production designers, SPFX supervisors, and fabrication shops
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Film & Prop Technology Projects
We’ve built the technical guts of props, effects, and on-screen technology for productions on NBC, Netflix, and PBS, plus stage and brand work. A few that show the range:
The Blacklist: On-Screen Computer & Server “Gak”
Functional tech props for the computers and servers seen across a full season of the NBC drama
- Production: The Blacklist (NBC), Jon Bokenkamp’s long-running crime thriller starring James Spader
- Technical scope: Custom “gak”: believable, working electronics dressing the many computers and servers featured throughout the season
- Key capability: Screen-ready tech that reads as real in constant close-up, built to hold up across an entire season’s shoot
- Why it matters: A tech-heavy FBI procedural where the technology has to look authentic take after take
Spaceman: Spaceship Interior Lighting & Screens
Custom interior lighting effects and in-ship screens for the 2024 Netflix sci-fi drama
- Production: Spaceman (Netflix, 2024), directed by Johan Renck, starring Adam Sandler
- Technical scope: Custom lighting effects throughout the ship interior plus the custom screens seen across the vessel
- Key capability: Practical, in-camera lighting and displays that sell a lived-in spacecraft
- Why it matters: The production’s analog, exposed-tech ship design leaned on practical lighting and screens, not post
“The Cage”: Controllable Shot Clock
Screen-accurate 1950s shot clock prop with custom remote control for an award-winning film
- Production: The Cage by Neighborhood Film Works
- Collaboration: Built in close partnership with prop master Tim Stevens
- Technical scope: Bespoke control system for the time display and countdown behavior
- Key capability: Simple enough for the film crew to run live on set, accurate enough for the camera
Albie’s Elevator: Character Lighting & Effects
Custom lighting and effects built into the characters of WHYY’s Emmy-winning preschool series
- Production: Albie’s Elevator, WHYY (Philadelphia PBS), Mid-Atlantic Emmy winner
- Technical scope: Custom lighting and practical effects integrated into several of the show’s characters
- Key capability: Reliable, performer-friendly effects designed for a live, character-driven production
- Why it matters: A Philadelphia production in our own backyard, recognized with a regional Emmy
Have a Prop That Needs to Actually Work?
Whether you need a single hero device, a rig full of practical effects, or a technical partner who’ll be there on shoot day, we’d love to hear about your production.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (215) 821-7635
Location: 63 W Lancaster Ave Suite 9, Ardmore, PA 19003
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly do you mean by “gak”?
Gak is industry slang for the gadgets, gizmos, and technical gear that fill a set or live in an actor’s hands: the working devices, instrument panels, readouts, and interactive props that have to look right and actually function. If a prop needs electronics, motion, lights, or a control system behind it, that’s our wheelhouse.
Are you a full prop fabrication shop?
We’re primarily the technical and electronics partner: the electronics, mechanics, software, and control systems that make a prop work. We also do custom fabrication and integration in-house, and we regularly collaborate with sculpting, molding, and finishing shops so the final hero prop is both beautiful and bulletproof.
Do you come to set, or just ship the prop?
Both. Many builds we deliver and hand off; for anything with live cues or complex operation, we travel to set to commission it, train your crew, and provide on-location technical support so nothing stalls the camera.
Can you work with our prop master, production designer, or SPFX team?
Absolutely. That’s how we prefer to work. We take direction from your props, art, and special effects departments and slot in as the technical specialists, the same way we partner with fabrication shops and creative leads on every project.
How fast can you turn something around?
We’re used to production schedules. We prototype quickly and scope realistic timelines up front; tell us your shoot date and we’ll tell you straight what’s achievable.
Where are you located and do you travel?
We’re based in Ardmore, PA (Philadelphia area) and travel for installations and shoots, regionally throughout the Northeast and beyond as a production requires.
Knabe Labs builds custom electronic and mechanical props, practical effects technology, and show control for film and television: the gak, the motion, and the on-set support that make it all work on camera.