It's easy to become numb to media that on its surface appears to be an easy money grab off an established franchise.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
A raptor almost bit my head off, today. Well, an actor in a 140-pound dino suit almost bit my head off
It's easy to become numb to media that on its surface appears to be an easy money grab off an established franchise.
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Honestly, would have never thought there were actors in the live actions dinosaurs. But i suppose that helps make the movements of the animatronics more organic and natural than all robotic. I also was surprised about how physically challenging being a dinosaur puppet actor would have been. I didn’t expect the actor to have to do much other than “drive” the costume. I have a lot of respect for the dinosaur actors now, knowing how much time is put into being physically capable of operating a live action velociraptor. I wonder what the audition process is like for velociraptor actor? The article did a brief overview of the process but it would be really interesting to actually see it. These half-robot-half-costume live action dinos are highly interesting to me, as a costume designer. It was probably a huge challenge to fit all the electronic parts into the costume while also making it safe for a person to be contained in it for long periods while also looking realistic from the outside.
This article reminded of Tom Strong visiting our class last year to talk about Walking with Dinosaurs. I wonder how the Dinosaur costumes are different between the two shows. The dinosaurs must be very different because Tom described the Walking with Dinosaurs pieces as having two operators, one driver and one operating the hands and head. Since Jurassic World costumes are controlled by a single person, I imagine that they are smaller and move in a more humanoid manner. I love these sort of shows where the theater magic is in the allusion. One of the main appeals of these shows is that you get to see the magic of CGI and film on stage. It’s amazing that the actors can embody the dinosaurs physicality with the weight and restriction of the suit. I would love to tour backstage, as the writer of the article did, to see the dinosaur suits and how the actors move with them.
To be completely honest, I was very confused about what this live tour actually is after reading this article. After doing some extra research, it seems that this is just a stage adaptation of the Jurassic World movie, which is an interesting thing to decide to put on stage. This feels to me like another case of turning a popular flashy thing into a theatrical money maker to create more of an audience. However, I cannot ignore how cool these puppets are! I am not surprised that the company had to bring their own gym equipment and trainers to keep puppeteers in shape, and I wonder how long it took to train the puppeteers to be able to stay safely in those animatronic frames for the duration of the show. I want to know what the inside structures of this puppet are and how the puppeteers are situated and operate the dinosaur puppet. The movement of just the muscling in the neck shown in the gif in this article seem so specific and detailed – I want to know what makes it happen.
Not once did the author elaborate on the rapor nearly biting his head off. I think this is fake news. Just kidding, just kidding. In all truth, the Jurassic World Live looks absolutely phenomenal. I want to go see it so badly, specifically because it reminds me of the show Walking With The Dinosaurs, which I had the privilege of seeing when it came to Pittsburgh a while ago. I distinctly remember the show was astoundingly beautiful and incredibly done too. However, I also remember losing the joy from the effect of dinosaurs being on stage in front of me (even in my dinosaur-loving phase), just because it felt as though the show had not much else to offer. The Jurassic World show seems much different, seemingly applying itself to the lore and story that the films, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, followed. The plot meshed with the effects, I think, will be a wonderful concoction of action, modern practical effects, and fun.
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