Entertainment Animatronics

Silicone Paint being applied

2011-09-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

AMI_Paint_WIP1, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's a base coat of tinted silicone being applied to a silicone skin.

Animal Makers Hits Broadway!

2011-08-15T12:15:00.001-07:00

Pink Dino, originally uploaded by Viridia.

Here's a flickr image from "Viridia" showing one of Animal Makers' velociraptors in a window display at Broadway and Spring in New York City! They are stunning in the designed environmnent...

Extremely Realistic Animatronic Red Macaw Replica

2011-07-25T14:34:00.001-07:00

Extremely Realistic Animatronic Red Macaw Replica, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Ang Lee, Director "Life of Pi" goes boating with an Animatronic Lion!

2011-07-18T13:38:00.001-07:00

Ang Lee went boating with Animal Makers' animatronic lion, just prior to traveling to India and Taiwan to shoot his latest movie, "Life of Pi". Ang told us he wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to be on a small boat with a large, exotic cat. Well, I guess he found out!

Animal Makers is proud to have supplied some of the animal props for the filming of this new 3D project!

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Animal Makers Inc.

Designing and Performing Signature Characters for the Film, Television +

Location-based Entertainment Industries Since 1979

Jim Boulden

President / Creative Director

Phone 805-523-1900 / Fax 805-523-1903

11991 Discovery Court, Moorpark, CA 93021

www.animalmakers.com

Check out:

STORE: http://www.animalmakers.com/store

FILM: http://www.animalmakers.com/Portfolios/film.php

Posted via email from Animal Makers

Extremely Realistic Mexican Red Rump Tarantula Replica

2011-07-17T11:31:00.001-07:00

Extremely Realistic Mexican Red Rump Tarantula Replica, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This image was the number 1 searched image of the 1,000's of Animal Makers' images posted at Flickr.com! Three weeks running!

Animatronic Wild Boar

2011-07-06T16:19:00.001-07:00

Animatronic Wild Boar, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This item is a full-sized, animatronic wild boar. It has a variety of moves controlled by cables and radio controllers. Hand punched hair really "stands out' on this special effect!

Fluorescent Pink Velociraptors !

2011-07-06T15:48:00.001-07:00

Hi there!

The latest series of velociraptors are amazing and beautiful! You need one of these! These are like "Barbie Malibu" dino's! Fun critters!

jim boulden

jim@animalmakers.com

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Animal Makers Inc.

Designing and Performing Signature Characters for the Film, Television +

Location-based Entertainment Industries Since 1979

Jim Boulden

President / Creative Director

Phone 805-523-1900 / Fax 805-523-1903

11991 Discovery Court, Moorpark, CA 93021

www.animalmakers.com

STORE: animalmakers.com/store

FILM CLIENTS: animalmakers.com/Portfolios/film.php

BEAR SUIT Blog: bearsuitinfo.blogspot.com/

ANIMATRONICS Blog: animatronics.blogspot.com/

YouTube CHANNEL: youtube.com/animalmakers

Animal Makers Image Farm: flickr.com/photos/animalmakers/sets/

TWITTER: twitter.com/jimboulden

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jboulden

Posted via email from Animal Makers

Animal Makers Animatronic CUBE on display in Beijing!

2011-05-25T22:11:00.001-07:00

Animatronic Automobile to be shown at the Beijing Center for the Arts presentation by Kenya Hara "Designing Design" and the Nissan CUBE presented as a sensitive, responsive mode of transportation. Amazing and creative presentation by an internationally renown designer.

Link and scroll throught the images for the Nissan Cube:

http://www.beijingcenterforthearts.com/

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Animal Makers Inc.

Designing and Performing Signature Characters for the

Location-based Entertainment Industries Since 1979

Creative Director, Jim Boulden

Phone 805-523-1900 / Fax 805-523-1903

11991 Discovery Court, Moorpark, CA 93021

Store

Location Based Entertainment Portfolio

Posted via email from Animal Makers

Giant Animatronic Marlin in operation!

2011-05-18T13:12:00.001-07:00

MarlinAnimation1, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Animal Makers just finished building this giant, animatronic marlin for HBO and their new film, "Hemingway and Gelhorn". Great show with nice people, and a fascinating subject matter. Operator holds a small control panel, and simply pushes buttons. All you add is compressed air! It's available for rental for your next film!

Mermaid Suit Bra material and construction

2011-05-06T14:17:00.001-07:00

MERMAID SUIT CONSTRUCTION:

This is the Mermaid suit bra. The platinum silicone mix shows off the scales, the spandex backing gives structure to the garment. The silicone is keeping a bit of the each of the cups shape, as we see in the wrinkles. This fabric and silicone laminate is very sheer and strong. This material is designed to be shipped to the wardrobe department for final fitting and trimming on the model.

This coloring is just the base tint of Pantone 485, which will receive transparent coating of more Pantone 485 with some darker and lighter highlighting.

The coloring also includes pearlescence. The color really responds well to light.

Submitted 5/6/11 by Jim Boulden, Animal Makers Inc.

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Animal Makers Inc.

Designing and Performing Signature Characters for the Film, Television +

Location-based Entertainment Industries Since 1979

Jim Boulden

President / Creative Director

Phone 805-523-1900 / Fax 805-523-1903

11991 Discovery Court, Moorpark, CA 93021

www.animalmakers.com

Check out:

STORE: http://www.animalmakers.com/store

FILM: http://www.animalmakers.com/Portfolios/film.php

Posted via email from Animal Makers

Mermaid Tail Construction / Mold work

2011-05-06T12:52:00.001-07:00

Mermaid Tail in the Making:

Here we see the latest in Mermaid tail technology! This is a silicone laminate with apandex with a slick liner and between-the-leg inserts which hide the individual legs to create the mermaid shape. Inside the tail is strong, tough, semi-flexible urethane foam, which comes up and is fit under the human model's feet.

The first run in the molds was a success! We are very pleased with the progress of the mermaid tail. This picture shows the human body form (in dark grey) laying on it's face and inserted into the tail.

Trimming, touch ups and paint are next for the outside, with a sleek liner and attachments in the fabrication.

Reported 5/6/11 by Jim Boulden, Creative Director, Animal Makers Inc.

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Animal Makers Inc.

Designing and Performing Signature Characters for the Film, Television +

Location-based Entertainment Industries Since 1979

Jim Boulden

President / Creative Director

Phone 805-523-1900 / Fax 805-523-1903

11991 Discovery Court, Moorpark, CA 93021

www.animalmakers.com

Check out:

STORE: http://www.animalmakers.com/store

FILM: http://www.animalmakers.com/Portfolios/film.php

Posted via email from Animal Makers

MarlinAnimation1

2011-02-25T22:33:00.001-08:00

MarlinAnimation1, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's the animatronic marlin in action, just before it went in for paint. THis is a pneumatically powered figure, with hand button control box. As you push the buttons, this massive (10' long) fish kicks about. It's also plumbed for water and blood. It's performing in an HBO special currently entitled, "Hemingway and Gelhorn".

MarlinAnimationDetails1

2011-02-25T22:29:00.001-08:00

MarlinAnimationDetails1, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Animatronic Marlin control box, signal wire, and power cable bundle are shown here. These are the controls for an animatronic creature built by Animal Makers. There are 6 orange buttons that control the pneumatic valves. By pressing them singly or by groups, the animatronic creature's performance changes. In the case of use with the animatronic marlin, the buttons are grouped in twos, vertically. Pressing the two buttons for the "rear fin" will kick the tail over to the other side. Pressing the two buttons labelled "front fin" will get the marlin's head to move to the other side. The "Gill" buttons each control a gill's opening, on each side of the fish as labelled. The fish's right or left is the standard.

Amazingly Realistic Animatronic Doll Video

2010-12-08T11:56:00.001-08:00

Amazingly Realistic Animatronic Doll Video, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This is a video of an animatronic doll with 14 robotic servos installed! Animations include: head up/down, mouth open/shut, arms lift and drop, arms turn out, fingers are all poseable, bows at the waist, turns left and right, and sways back and forth. The eyes blink and look right and left as well. What a cool doll! We make them right here at Animal Makers!

Rhino Construction 1

2010-12-08T11:48:00.001-08:00

RhinoConstruction1, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This image shows an animatronic rhino suit during construction phase. The aluminum frame is visible through the front leg space in the front. This suit has it's own cooling system and is actually very lightweight.

Rhino Mechanism 10

2010-12-08T11:45:00.001-08:00

RhinoMech10, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This image shows off animatronic work inside of a fake rhinoceros! This is the head turning mechanism that was fabricated at Animal Makers studios.

its cooling down in Southern California today!

2010-11-19T14:25:00.001-08:00

Posted via SMS from Animal Makers

Animatronic Special Effects Suits

2010-09-20T15:57:00.001-07:00

Animatronic Special Effects Suits

2010-09-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

Animated Bird Toucan Replica

2010-09-13T11:57:00.001-07:00

Animated Bird Toucan Replica, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

We love this little animated talker! The long beak is colorful and attractive to every age group! This animatronic bird should be great in a restaurant, bar, family fun center, or even museum! Here's the pricing info on it:
http://www.animalmakers.com/store/products/Animated-Bird-Toucan-Replica.html

Talking Indian Greyhound Dog

2010-08-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Almost 100,000 viewers for this in house, no-budget project shot by Bould Productions and Animal Makers in the mid 90's.

Animatronic Fish, Rainbow Trout

2010-07-16T16:37:00.001-07:00

Animatronic Fish, Rainbow Trout, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's a new animatronic fish on the workbench. It mounts on a nice plaque and animates as your guests touch the buttons.
www.animalmakers.com

Year of the Tiger @ Palazzo

2010-06-29T10:32:00.001-07:00

Year of the Tiger @ Palazzo, originally uploaded by HQN.

Nice photo of the huge (18' long!) tiger Animal Makers' completed for the Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Can you believe the hotel gifted this to a gambler who left $10,000,000 behind! Fortunately, this figure easily separates into several pieces that easily ship (to China). Great project!

Animatronic Baby Birds being constructed

2010-06-27T16:10:00.001-07:00

Animatronic Baby Birds being constructed, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's a work-bench photo of two baby birds being built. These have three moves each. http://www.animalmakers.com/store/products/Bluebirds-in-a-Nest-%28Special-Animatronics-Package%29-%28New-Build-Purchase%29.html

Control Panel Animal Makers

2010-06-22T13:23:00.001-07:00

ControlPanelAnimalMakers, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This is a typical interactivity control station that installs with an animatronic animal figure. Instead of having a computer control the figure, you let the viewer control the figure.

Giant Rooster Attraction For Sale

2010-06-20T23:00:00.001-07:00

Giant Rooster Attraction For Sale, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This rooster is 10 feet tall and was once displayed at the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's an ideal show stopper!

Interview With an Animatronic Cat - Walking

2010-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

We love the response of viewers. Check this out:

I thought "OMG SUCH REALISTIC MOVEMENT...."
then it started talking and was like "OHSNAPITTALKS..."
XDDDD

Very funny!

Regional Commercial with animatronics

2010-06-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

This is a good, regional commercial using some simple dog paws created here at Animal Makers!

Tony Hawk Proving Ground Commercial - Hecklers

2010-06-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here's another copy online with almost 100,000 hits! These are all over the web. That's alot of heat for a few birds!

Tony Hawks / Animal Makers animal blending

2010-06-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

This spot came up in a conversation with one of my clients today. Animal Makers created feather "dickies" that the performers wore to ease the post production process. The blend areas for composition is lower than the talking heads.

Animatronic Pirate Skull Treasure Chest Replica

2010-05-03T14:43:00.001-07:00

Animatronic Pirate Skull Treasure Chest Replica, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This one of our favorite rigs, here at Animal Makers. This pirate skull always gets the attention in our showroom!

Furry Vengeance

2010-05-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Check out this review of "Furry Vengeance".
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/04/30/996262/furry-vengeance-possibly-this.html

It's not often you see a 1/2 star rating! Animal Makers rented this show some off-the-shelf animal props, but most of the "animatronic effects" were designed and built by Mark Rappaport's Creature Effects.

Here's the IMDB listing for the show: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492389/

"Mr. Movie" calls out the bad animatronic effects in his review! That means those effects were so bad, they overshadowed the weak script.

So often, in today's production environment, very little money actually is used to make the movie. Then the vendors must produce effects for pennies on the dollar, and that loss of quality is immediately evident!

The 3D world is even less forgiving of bad props.

Perhaps producers, Ira Shuman, Robert Edmonds, and Production Designer, Steven Lineweaver can find a few sheckles in the budget, for the animatronic effects team on the next show?

And maybe a better script?

Solenoid Valves Cued, But Not Operating

2010-04-23T10:46:00.001-07:00

Solenoid Valves Cued, But Not Operating, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's what a set of valves firing, but the valve not opening looks like up close.

AVStumpfl Control System

2010-04-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

AVstumpflFranklinMills2, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here is a control system operating in a restaurant located near Philadelphia, PA. The show is counting down and we can see various cues going out to the animatronic figures in the main dining room.

WizardBoardIntro

2010-02-26T12:24:00.001-08:00

WizardBoardIntro, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's a look at an affordable control box that Animal Makers uses in several of the animatronic rigs here. This is a Servo Driver board from Bluepoint Engineering. Great little servo board!

THQ Goes Wild as Its New Intellectual Property World of Zoo™

2010-02-09T12:22:00.001-08:00

Animal Makers worked closely with the THQ promotions team to put this ad together!

Velociraptor posed by tree

2010-02-08T12:46:00.001-08:00

Velociraptor and tree, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This animatronic velociraptor is shown here posed behind a tree. Dinosaurs still remain as one of life's great curiosities. This little fellow will add interest to anything you put it near! Built by Animal Makers. Online information: http://www.animalmakers.com/store/products/Realistic-Dinosaur-Portable-Attraction.html

Animatronic Dinosaur Entertains On The Go!

2010-02-08T12:40:00.001-08:00

Perform your own dinosaur puppet!, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Animatronic figures are interesting, but how about when they arrive at your location? This portable attraction is a great way to entertain the crowds patiently waiting in line.

Incredibly Realistic, Animatronic Velociraptor Replica

2010-02-08T12:37:00.001-08:00

Incredibly Realistic, Animatronic Velociraptor Replica, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's what the effect looks like from the back of the performer.

Velociraptor Puppet that you can own!

2010-02-08T12:36:00.001-08:00

Velociraptor Puppet that you can own!, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's another photo of the animatronic dinosaur puppet.

Perform your own dinosaur puppet

2010-02-08T12:34:00.001-08:00

Perform your own dinosaur puppet, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This photo shows an animatronic dinosaur puppet used to entertain audiences wherever they are! The puppeteer walks with the Velociraptor puppet to an area, and starts an informative talk with the kids. Works like a charm!

Product Link: http://www.animalmakers.com/store/products/Realistic-Dinosaur-Portable-Attraction.html

Wiring Rats Nest

2010-02-02T15:18:00.001-08:00

WiringRatsNest, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This photo shows you what we sometimes run into when fixing the work of others. This is what we term, a "rat's nest". The technician must trace everything, there is virtually no labeling on these wire bundles. Lots of loose open circuits also. This can cause feedback problems with animatronic characters.

Bugaboo Moose

2010-02-02T15:03:00.001-08:00

Bugaboo Moose, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This animatronic figure is covered in "fun fur". Animal Makers' on site repair crews will be improving the look and performance of this figure. This is one of 8 animatronic figures that perform at Bugaboo Creak Steakhouse. As we improve these figures, the photos will get posted here.

Bugaboo Moose

2010-02-02T14:33:00.001-08:00

Bugaboo Moose, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This moose figure is part of the sweeping Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse animatronic rehabilitation starting in 2010 and done by Animal Makers.

Tiger at The Palazzo, Las Vegas

2010-02-01T12:17:00.001-08:00

The Palazzo, Las Vegas, originally uploaded by Kevin Dincher.

See more shots at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/animalmakers/

Interview With an Animatronic Cat hits 45,000 Views!

2009-11-16T10:51:00.001-08:00

We started this little series, and have attracted and entertained over 45,000 people! Amazing! Come see this video and help us get to 100,000!

Moving mannequins

2009-11-03T12:23:00.001-08:00

Here's a video of basic animatronic mannequins. These are interesting!

Animatronic Mannequin - Running Man

2009-11-03T12:16:00.001-08:00

This video shows a wonderful use of animatronics in a store window! Love this piece! It floats on the stand you can barely see behind it. This store is in Nice, France.

Horse + Burro 2010 Sculptures

2009-10-14T16:28:00.001-07:00

Horse + Burro 2010 Sculptures, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

These are the new horse and burro models we offer. Much improved for 2010! Much more definition, a stronger mold set (so we can run more models), and ready for animation installation. Everybody who has seen these is excited about the realism.

Foam Latex Ovens

2009-10-14T13:05:00.001-07:00

Foam Latex Ovens, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

We're selling off the two ovens pictured here. They are used for foam latex work. Both are set for perfect foam latex curing. They have timers and can be set for overnight use. They are located in Moorpark, CA. Call us at 805-523-1900 for more info.

Lifelike Mermaid Suit

2009-10-13T13:03:00.001-07:00

Creation of an Incredibly Accurate & Lifelike Mermaid Suit, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This Mermaid Tail is on eBay right now (Oct 2009)! Check it out at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190341652689&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_1170

This cost is less than the actual silicone material it is made of. This is a great deal!

New animatronic boy

2009-10-07T16:06:00.001-07:00

Flying monkeys...

2009-10-07T15:48:00.001-07:00

Flying monkeys..., originally uploaded by melisdramatic.

Isn't this a fun display? Easily done, yet so effective! Flying monkeys always "bugged" me!

Waving shrimp

2009-10-07T15:44:00.001-07:00

Waving shrimp, originally uploaded by EvilChick.

This is a fun street sign done as a lobster that waves at people! It's in Mexico City...

Here's another view of the Animatronic Dinosaur effect!

2009-10-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Animatronic Dinosaur Effects We Installed back in 2000

2009-10-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Turntable Repair Continues

2009-10-01T16:42:00.001-07:00

Turntable Repair Continues
Originally uploaded by GatorMoto

This shows an ongoing repair job of an animatronic carousel owned by a client. This is an electrically operated clutch assembly that is not engaging completely.

Bear Suit in Denmark

2009-09-04T10:37:00.001-07:00

Bear Suit in Denmark, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

Here's a close up of Papa bear working in the woods of Copenhagen, Denmark. This is one of Animal Makers best suits, and has worked all over the world.

Find out more about pricing and availability at:
http://www.animalmakers.com/store

Gorilla Suit Front View

2009-09-04T08:01:00.001-07:00

Gorilla Suit Front View, originally uploaded by Animal Makers, Inc.

This is a decent shot of Animal Makers' new Silverback Gorilla Suit

Video shows combination of special effects techniques.

2009-08-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

Post Magazine article recommends props!

2009-07-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

It was a strange experience to be reading an article in "Post Magazine" that actually presented a view that recommended using props in special effects filming! It sometimes seems that the post production world doesn't need the rest of the film-making world. In an article entitled, "The Screening Process", we read an interview with Andre Stringer (co-founder/creator/creative director at Shilo Studios) where he shares a TIP. Andre recommends to "Use Props when appropriate". He goes on to say, "Anything the actor could interact with that's real is extremely helpful because the more you put in the scene that is an actual element, the more easily it is to populate a scene." Thanks Andre! Here at Animal Makers, we've seen the truth to what you are saying!

MVPuppets Debut for Nike!

2009-07-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the Most Valuable Puppets? This series of commercials are being created for Nike for basketball enthusiasts. Popular basketball players Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have been caricatured by none other than Legacy Effects! This is the team that used to be lead by the late Stan Winston. John Rosengrant is now running the show over there. They moved out of the studio that Stan built into a place at 340 Parkside Drive, San Fernando, CA. Here's an interesting interview with John that shows off the wonderful creatures and robot monsters they have built over the years. Of course, the new stuff is in "Terminator Salvation" and "Iron Man 2". Building simple foam puppets is an interesting development in their work. Andrew (Puppetvision Blogger) has the info on who performed these foam head puppets. Here are a few of the spots to watch. The puppets turned out wonderfully and the performers are spot on. Greg Ballora and Greg Manion performed the LeBron character. Love this character!

CUBE triennale 1

2009-04-29T00:16:00.001-07:00

CUBE triennale 1
Originally uploaded by GatorMoto

A talking, fabric covered car? Yeah, they had those at Design Week in Milan Italy 2009. It's the CUBE, and it was built in model form at Animal Makers in Simi Valley, California.

Animatronic Eyeball Mechanism

2009-04-28T11:10:00.001-07:00

Here's an up close look at eyeball animatronics. If you look closely, you can see that there is only one axis of animation for the eyeball itself (up/down). That movement is controlled with a servo. Also, there is a brow move above the eye, and a jaw movement under it. The jaw movement is cable controlled.

Giant Whale Animatronics

2009-04-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Animal Makers recently worked with H2O Films of Miami, Florida to put an actress on the back of a 35' long whale. This was a trick! The spot is covered in this article. The whale was created in two major sections. The tail and the body made up two different types of animatrons. The body was rigged as an upside down "marionnette" and the tail was rigged like a cable puppet. The two sections moved together to seem as one.

Test 2

2008-05-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

A test of mobile blogging
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Animal Makers' mobile blog

2008-05-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

Now, we will start blogging mobile.

Blog start

2008-05-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

Blog start test
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Anatomy of the film animatrons

2006-07-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's Alive! Bringing Animatronic Characters to Life on Film.

Hi again! Just wanted to make a note on the interesting show being put on over at AMPAS until August 20, 2006. Finally, there is a place to see film animatrons.

Check out the pictures HERE. Lots of animal shown here, by the way. In fact, it's just about every other companys' animal rigs, in total. Many creature shops have tried their hand at building animals, and this display will show you a great portion of that.

A few of Animal Makers' works are on display. Although the work we did for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (animatronic "Max" the dog) is on display, that piece doesn't represent the best of our work.

The reason these are on display, is that these rigs aren't working. What I mean by working, is that they aren't available to rent (and in many cases, they don't operate either).

With over 600 animals and rigs in stock, AMI offers the largest selection to the active film maker.

My personal favorite is the "Harry and the Hendersons" head. Great work that worked over many episodes. That's hard to do.

There is a rather tatty cat that will get some laughs from your friends, as you walk through.

Interesting quote by Ellen Harrington, academy programmer, as reported to Susan King, the LA Times Staff writer:

"Harrington acknowledges that with the rise of computer graphic effects in the '90s, many people wrote animatronics off as old technology.

"When CGI became such a wonderful tool, some people went all the way doing things in CGI and forgot the things that animatronics can bring to the table — a wonderful 3-D realism to characters or creatures. And it allows live performers to interact with characters in real time instead of relying so much on things being done in postproduction."

Audiences, she says, relate more strongly to an animatronic character such as a Yoda or Aslan than one digitally rendered. "These are characters that people have an enormous emotional interaction to and respond to them if they are really the star performers in the movies. I think sometimes if you have a completely computer-generated character, it doesn't happen. You don't have the same kind of immediacy and warmth."

This is so true!

Get on by AMPAS and see the show!

-Jim Boulden
July 4th, 2006

http://www.animalmakers.com
http://www.bouldproductions.com
http://www.animal-channel.com

Blogger: Animatronics :: Advancements in Technology

2006-06-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Animatronics :: Advancements in Technology: 2006

Good Morning from Jim Boulden, Creative Director at Animal Makers in Simi Valley, California. The history of the company started prior to 1980 serving retailers at first, then movies starting in 1985 (Disney).

Over the past quarter of a century, I've seen some interesting changes develop. One of the biggest changes has been in the useability and cost of the control "brains". The audio-animatronics of the past simply played back whatever program was installed. The control systems were large, refrigerator sized computers with spinning tape wheels. These systems were extremely expensive and hard to program. Specialists were on call at all times to adjust or tweak the programs, feedbacks, and connections.

Today, the controls fit into the palm of your hand and can easily be programmed using onboard inputs or a laptop computer. By utilizing the various inputs, the control system starts to become very responsive to it's environment. Leaving behind the "dumb" single program character of the past, and introducing "smart" characters. These "smart" characters can playback hundreds of different "shows" successively, or according to various inputs.

One input may be a pressure pad in a certain area. The smart character will then play to that area, looking at that point, and perhaps commenting on what that person may be seeing or hearing.

If you would like to see one of the industry's hottest controllers for audio-animatronic characters check out the Mini Sam 2.

The Mini-Sam 2 is a digital sound & motion controller that competes well in the animatronics field. It's built by Simon Kaloi Engineering in Westlake Village, California. They just were awarded the "Technology Partner of the Year" for it's contributions to Rockwell's research projects. Rockwell, now there's a company that knows good technology!

Next time, we'll take a look at how you can use this technology to spice up any decor, short film, website or television show.

Until next time,
be well and do good work,

Jim Boulden
Creative Director
http://www.animal-channel.com
http://www.animalnewsnetwork.com
http://www.bouldproductions.com
http://www.animalmakers.com

Polar Bears get "LOST"

2006-06-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hello again from sunny Southern California! It's mid June and the skys are cloudless and blue.

Just received an email from Alain Bielik researching for "Star Book Magazine" (a French language magazine focused on movies and TV series). The magazine is featuring the special effects of the TV hit phenom, "LOST".

To me, one of the amazing special effects of "LOST" is keeping all of the actors happy. That's a tough job. I watched Jean Higgins (Producer) and Jack Bender (Executive Producer) wrangle all of those egos on the sprawling, Hawaiian set. They always kept their cool.

Animal Makers creates and performs animatronic animals for film and tv. The company has been serving since before 1980 and is located just 30 minutes drive from Hollywood, California. Now stored inside it's 7,000 square feet of studio are over 600 animal props and puppets. Besides what's hanging from the ceiling, sitting on the shelves, or mounted to the walls, are 2,000 animal molds shelved and stacked.

The first season, it was Peter Clarke who called us wanting to book an animatronic Polar Bear for the running and getting-shot scene. We had worked recreating the title character for Peter back in 1994 on "Lassie" (Don Petrie, Directing) and in 2001 on "Heartbreakers" (David Mirkin, Directing).

There are several scenes from episodes cut together to show the polar bear attacks. I talked with Bender while we shot the tree sequences. He told me that the polar bears were the subject of the most repeated questions from audience inquiries.

Here's a shot of Jim Greenall with the second rig that did all of that close up attack work.

I performed the **"head-on-a-stick" part of the polar bear, Jim Greenall performed the paws. There were two sets of claws created for the paws. One set were tough epoxy and steel and were for breaking down set pieces. Doug Madison Jr. (property master on Season 2) and Ron Yates (Set Design) built and installed balsa wood root replicas for us to smash. That was the fun part! The second set off claws were flexible and nerfed. These were for performing safely in close proximity to the child actor (Malcolm David Kelley).

Jim and I have performed together (and individually) for over ten years. We built and performed Salem the Cat on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". That animatronic cat was very popular with the audience. We still receive fan mail to this day.

Generally, I would say that animated animal figures receive more attention than most producers initially imagine. Perhaps it's because so many people relate to their pets, or to animals in general.

This fact really was tested back in the early days of film when Warner Bros. was on the verge of bankruptcy. There was a small film being released at the time called "Rin-Tin-Tin". Nobody at the studio expected much from this "pooch film". Instead, the little movie won the hearts of millions of film goers making the studio plenty of cash to pay off it's debtors. Nu-Image Films is even planning another sequel called "Finding Rin Tin Tin" which is the true story of that dog and his owner.

Never underestimate the power of "animal magnetism"!

-Jim Boulden, Creative Director and President of Animal Makers Inc.

footnotes:

** film-speak for an animatronic rig crafted of aluminum and machined parts