Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
When Sylvania reached out again and wanted me to build another machine this year, I knew I had to go bigger and better than before. So I assembled an all-star team of @joelsinventions and @SpriceMachines to help me make a giant house-wide machine in just 3 days. It was a lot of work (and we really went above and beyond Sylvania's original brief!), but the final machine is seriously awesome. I hope you enjoy!
Support me on Patreon! patreon.com/jackofallspades98
LINKS:
Check out TheInvention11: youtube.com/theinvention11
Check out Sprice Machines: youtube.com/spricemachines
Watch last year's Sylvania project, The Lightbulb Machine: youtu.be/ipBrSzKSSRw
To explain the context of this project a bit further, both this machine and last year's machine were built to announce/celebrate Sylvania's sponsorship of the Rube Goldberg competition, while also including messaging/signage about Sylvania products.
Special thanks to Glen Gracia, our contact at Sylvania, who is literally the best client anyone could ever hope to work with. He is the reason it was a no-brainer working with Sylvania again; his dedication and involvement with this project was incredible. It was a very collaborative process, especially since Glen has such a deep understanding of chain reactions. Thank you, Glen! Hopefully we'll get to work together again!
During the initial stages of planning, Glen & I decided that, in order to make the machine feel like it actually takes place in a familiar location (instead of just "big room"), it would be built in an Airbnb, and take on a house-wide machine style. Glen also wanted to "go bigger" than the year before, with larger objects, more dramatic motions, and more height elements. Upon hearing this, I knew I would need help to make the machine come to life, and thankfully Joel and Steve (the house-wide machine expert himself!) were available.
I'm extremely proud of how this machine turned out. The initial brief was a 1-minute machine, but we *far* exceeded that goal, and ended up building a 3+ minute machine in only 3 days. Joel did most of the tricks on the kitchen counter, the entire dining room table, and both living room tables. Steve built the dining room shelves, the dining room bench, the couch dominoes, and the end table, while I built the other kitchen counter tricks, the racquetball bounce, the transition from the cooler to the dining room table, the zipline, fish pulley, and Hot Wheels sequence, the rolling lamp, and other miscellaneous connections.
The machine has really awesome tricks in it, but the thing I'm most proud of by far is that it ended up being extremely reliable. During the build, we were originally discussing potential "cut points," places where a secret stitch point is disguised so that we only needed to get each half to work, instead of the full machine. Everyone (including Glen!) wanted a one-take machine, but with a machine of this length, a full working take can be hard to come by. Luckily, It only took 24 fails before the first of many complete runs, which is *unbelievably good*. In fact, it worked all the way through three times in a row on filming day...maybe could've been more if we didn't just take it apart after that! This reliability has given me hope that maybe the house-wide style isn't inherently unreliable, and that, with the right team, and with the time available to test thoroughly, it could be possible to build an even longer machine like this someday...
MACHINE STATS:
Time taken to build: 3 days
Number of fails: 7 where we pushed it along when it failed, 17 "real" tests
Time: 3m23s (2m45s without bike wheel)
Favorite trick: Spinning spice rack (0:50)
Most fails: Tea kettle (1:00), placemats (2:03), and bike wheel (2:41) (3 each)
Most unreliable: Nothing, really :)
Most frustrating during building: Cooler transition into tipping chair
Most frustrating during testing: Nothing, really, but if I had to pick something, the final few steps. Several tests made it 98% of the way through before failing at the very end!
MUSIC:
Atef & Velocitize - Carefree
youtu.be/ARYdG7vso-Q
Follow Atef:
Facebook: facebook.com/AtefFansOfficial
Twitter: twitter.com/4T3F36
Follow Velocitize:
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/adheep
Twitter: twitter.com/velocitize
Instagram: instagram.com/velocitizeedm
Want to hang out with other chain reaction artists and enthusiasts? Join the official Domino & Machine Community Discord server! discord.gg/9x8trKhS8K
I am also interested in commissioned work, such as live events, commercials, or product placements. Contact me via e-mail at jackofallspades98@gmail.com if you have any questions.
When Sylvania reached out again and wanted me to build another machine this year, I knew I had to go bigger and better than before. So I assembled an all-star team of @joelsinventions and @SpriceMachines to help me make a giant house-wide machine in just 3 days. It was a lot of work (and we really went above and beyond Sylvania's original brief!), but the final machine is seriously awesome. I hope you enjoy!
Support me on Patreon! patreon.com/jackofallspades98
LINKS:
Check out TheInvention11: youtube.com/theinvention11
Check out Sprice Machines: youtube.com/spricemachines
Watch last year's Sylvania project, The Lightbulb Machine: youtu.be/ipBrSzKSSRw
To explain the context of this project a bit further, both this machine and last year's machine were built to announce/celebrate Sylvania's sponsorship of the Rube Goldberg competition, while also including messaging/signage about Sylvania products.
Special thanks to Glen Gracia, our contact at Sylvania, who is literally the best client anyone could ever hope to work with. He is the reason it was a no-brainer working with Sylvania again; his dedication and involvement with this project was incredible. It was a very collaborative process, especially since Glen has such a deep understanding of chain reactions. Thank you, Glen! Hopefully we'll get to work together again!
During the initial stages of planning, Glen & I decided that, in order to make the machine feel like it actually takes place in a familiar location (instead of just "big room"), it would be built in an Airbnb, and take on a house-wide machine style. Glen also wanted to "go bigger" than the year before, with larger objects, more dramatic motions, and more height elements. Upon hearing this, I knew I would need help to make the machine come to life, and thankfully Joel and Steve (the house-wide machine expert himself!) were available.
I'm extremely proud of how this machine turned out. The initial brief was a 1-minute machine, but we *far* exceeded that goal, and ended up building a 3+ minute machine in only 3 days. Joel did most of the tricks on the kitchen counter, the entire dining room table, and both living room tables. Steve built the dining room shelves, the dining room bench, the couch dominoes, and the end table, while I built the other kitchen counter tricks, the racquetball bounce, the transition from the cooler to the dining room table, the zipline, fish pulley, and Hot Wheels sequence, the rolling lamp, and other miscellaneous connections.
The machine has really awesome tricks in it, but the thing I'm most proud of by far is that it ended up being extremely reliable. During the build, we were originally discussing potential "cut points," places where a secret stitch point is disguised so that we only needed to get each half to work, instead of the full machine. Everyone (including Glen!) wanted a one-take machine, but with a machine of this length, a full working take can be hard to come by. Luckily, It only took 24 fails before the first of many complete runs, which is *unbelievably good*. In fact, it worked all the way through three times in a row on filming day...maybe could've been more if we didn't just take it apart after that! This reliability has given me hope that maybe the house-wide style isn't inherently unreliable, and that, with the right team, and with the time available to test thoroughly, it could be possible to build an even longer machine like this someday...
MACHINE STATS:
Time taken to build: 3 days
Number of fails: 7 where we pushed it along when it failed, 17 "real" tests
Time: 3m23s (2m45s without bike wheel)
Favorite trick: Spinning spice rack (0:50)
Most fails: Tea kettle (1:00), placemats (2:03), and bike wheel (2:41) (3 each)
Most unreliable: Nothing, really :)
Most frustrating during building: Cooler transition into tipping chair
Most frustrating during testing: Nothing, really, but if I had to pick something, the final few steps. Several tests made it 98% of the way through before failing at the very end!
MUSIC:
Atef & Velocitize - Carefree
youtu.be/ARYdG7vso-Q
Follow Atef:
Facebook: facebook.com/AtefFansOfficial
Twitter: twitter.com/4T3F36
Follow Velocitize:
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/adheep
Twitter: twitter.com/velocitize
Instagram: instagram.com/velocitizeedm
Want to hang out with other chain reaction artists and enthusiasts? Join the official Domino & Machine Community Discord server! discord.gg/9x8trKhS8K
I am also interested in commissioned work, such as live events, commercials, or product placements. Contact me via e-mail at jackofallspades98@gmail.com if you have any questions.
