Jurassic Park would not be what it is today without the use of animatronics or Stan Winston!
And that's why today we'll be taking a look at more of Stan Wiston Studio creations and
also some of the other most important studios creating Jurassic Park animatronics currently!
Stay until the end of the video to see the animatronics from the upcoming Jurassic World:
Dominion movie!
Velociraptors Jurassic Park: The Lost World Stan Winston Studio
We know that there can't be a Jurassic Park movie without Velociraptors.
And honestly, since the team at Stan Winston Studios created the first design for these
animatronics, they have been making sure that each new version is better and more terrifying
than the one before.
So that's what they did when they were designing the velociraptor animatronics for Jurassic
Park: The Lost World.
They took the most terrifying dinosaur and gave it an upgrade.
There were many changes made to the original sculpture, the paint job was radically changed,
and of course, because in this second installment, there would now be male dinosaurs and not
only female ones like in the first movie, there had to be changes made so that there
could be a difference between them.
They literally skinned the animatronic and began separating its parts into many different
sections so they could add different shapes and be able to transform the dinosaur visually.
This whole process took about a month.
After that, a total of three full-scale animatronics (one female, two male) were constructed with
complete mechanical upgrades to the design.
Of course, the idea for these raptors was to make the velociraptors in Jurassic Park:
Lost World much better than the ones used for the original Jurassic Park movie.
And in order to do so, the team at Stan Winston Studios decided to use telemetry-controlled
hydraulics instead of the radio cables that were utilized in the first film.
This gave the raptors much more fluid and life-like movements, and not only that, but
it gave the animatronic movements more speed.
Because of this change, the response of the movements was quicker than the slow response
that they used to have due to the levers and movement of cables.
The upgrade in the mechanics also meant that instead of the eighteen total puppeteers required
to man the cable-operated animatronics in Jurassic Park, the new Raptor animatronics
needed as few as two operators, and these two operators had all the power to ma ke the
animatronic's moves precise and swift.
The interior armor was created from aluminum so that the animatronic was as light as possible;
that way, it could move quickly and use less energy so that accelerometers could be used
so that when the movements stopped, they could do so in a smoother way.
The system that was used for the next was one of the most complex systems made at the
time.
Due to the moments and weight of the raptor's head, electronics had to be designed to compensate
and slow it down.
The whole work was so impressive that when the final animatronics were presented, both
producers and the actors were shocked to see the quality of the finished product.
These animatronics, fully completed, measured six feet tall and thirteen feet long and are
without a doubt some of the best animatronics that Stan Winston's team has ever created.
Sick Triceratops Jurassic Park Stan Winston Studio
We can agree that all of the dinosaur scenes in Jurassic Park are seriously impressive,
but one of the most amazing and life-like of all is the one where Ellie Sattler and
Allan Grant stop the tour to investigate a Triceratops who is constantly becoming ill.
One of the main reasons for this scene was actually to allow the audience to get up close
and personal with a dinosaur and witness a magical moment.
And it truly is a magical moment!
But being able to create this scene was a huge challenge, not only in terms of logistics
but also with the synchronization of movements to bring this creature to life.
To bring to life this Triceratops, Stan Winston Studio designed and built a full-size puppet
that performed alongside the actors on location in Hawaii.
There were two mech designers in charge of controlling the animatronic, Al Sousa and
Shannon Shea.
To create this animatronic, the team went through the same process as with any other
animatronic.
Sculpture, molds, fiberglass, mechanisms, etc.
They built a small-scale version of the character before the full scale so they could show how
everything was going to work before building it on a full scale.
The breathing mechanism was basically a post underneath that pushed a lever up and down
to move the skin up and down; the tail mechanism had movement from side to side and also up
and down.
This animatronic had no hydraulics; it was all mechanical, a lot of cable and pulleys,
and the tail was a direct linkage mechanism.
Out of all the animatronics and puppets created for the movie, this huge Triceratops was the
only one that shot on location, so it had to be shipped in parts to Hawaii.
To be able to control the animatronics, a big hole was dug in the ground with a platform
over the top so that all the puppeteers could be underneath, working the breathing mechanism,
the mouth, and the tongue.
They also worked the forearms and the legs.
All of those were all cable-controlled.
A camera was set up on the surface, and the team had a monitor underneath so that they
could be directed by Stan Winston on how to move the animatronic.
He wanted really smooth movements and to coordinate the mouth and tongue movements, with the rising
and falling of the chest and make them really slow and deliberate, so the Triceratops looked
really sick.
But, because there was no audio and they didn't have any walkie-talkies, the team could only
be guided by seeing Stan on the monitor pointing and gesturing to what he wanted.
Apart from the fantastic movements, the cosmetics like the pus, the spit, the inflamed vesicles
of the tongue, and the rheumy eyes made this Triceratops look so real that the cast couldn't
believe their eyes when they first saw it!
This is just another of the many examples that show that the Stan Winston Studio is
one of the best studios ever!
Jurassic World Exhibition Animax Designs
When we think of dinosaur animatronics, our minds go straight to Stan Winston Studios;
they set the bar so high in creating animatronics, especially dinosaur animatronics.
But since then, there have been companies that have created fantastic dinosaur animatronics,
and recently there is one in particular that has exceeded all expectations and challenges
in the creation of animatronics and interactive experiences.
This company is Animax Design.
In our opinion, this Nashville Based Studio has created some of the most impressive interactive
animatronics in the world.
This Studio deserves a full video covering their animatronics, and we'll make one for
sure.
Animax Design has worked along with Universal, Disney, and Warner Bros, among others, to
Motorbike Adventure, among other rides.
But without a doubt, one of their best projects is the Jurassic World Exhibition.
The exhibition is impressive, and we are preparing a complete video of every single animatronic
and creature that we can find on the tour.
But today, we will focus on two of the most impressive animatronics ever seen, the T-Rex
and the Indominus Rex.
When guests arrive at the Indominus Rex display, they can see the cage completely empty.
But suddenly, the Indominus Rex emerges from within the cage.
The movements of this animatronic are so organic and natural that we can even see how it shakes
its head as if it had just woken up.
There is a large piece of meat in the cage, and the Indominus Rex immediately notices
it and analyzes it for a while.
Then, without further warning, SNAP, she detaches it with great force and then eats it and proceeds
to roar with great power.This animatronic is not only immense, but the movements and
textures make you really think that it is a living creature, and it is seriously terrifying!
The Indominus is not full-body animatronics, but that does make it one bit less impressive.
But without a doubt, the best animatronic of this exhibition is the T-rex.
When guests arrive at her cage, everything is empty, but suddenly a loud roar can be
heard, and the T-Rex can be seen rapidly moving toward the audience.
The creature destroys the lights, and they begin to flicker, which adds a big dose of
terror to the experience!
The T-Rex is a full-body animatronic that states for a few minutes terrifying the audience
and then proceeds to leave from where it came from.
This is where the tour ends!
As we mentioned before, the work of Animax designs is impeccable, and fortunately, they
are not the only dinosaurs that they have created.
But we'll leave that for the next video!
Various Animatronics Jurassic World Dominion John Nolan Studio
Jurassic World Dominion is just around the corner!
We were lucky enough to have watched it we can confirm that it is full of animatronics!
But we won't be getting into detail because we don't want to spoil anything, so we'll
talk about all of the confirmed dinosaurs and animatronics that we've seen in the trailers
and sneak peeks!
When this movie was announced, one of the best news was that it was confirmed that this
film would have so many animatronics and use lots of practical effects.
This was confirmed by Colin Trevorrow, who has given some previews through social media.
In these videos, we can see remotely controlled animatronic mechanisms and small triceratops
animatronics, among other images.
About a month ago, an article dedicated to the animatronics made by Jonh Nolan Studio
appeared in FANGORIA magazine, in which they go into detail and talk about the new animatronics.
The article also shows so many images of the animatronics and the team working on them!
Some of these animatronics are a new version of Dilophosaurus with new textures, paint
job, and of course, a different mechanism, a Pyroraptor, which marks the first time we
see an animatronic dinosaur with feathers, Dimorphodons, and most impressive of all,
a massive Gigantosaurus animatronic.
In total, the team built thirty-eight dinosaurs, fourteen species.
Some were tiny, like the Compies.
And then there's the Giga, which has a head the size of a car.
Also, a few days ago, Chris Pratt published a video where the animatronic head of the
giganotosaurus appears in all its glory!
This animatronic is seriously impressive and equally terrifying!
The studio in charge of bringing these animatronics to life is John Nolan animatronics.
John Nolan and his team have been in charge of bringing endless creatures to life, mixing
different disciplines and techniques to create them.
One of the main characteristics of Nolan's animatronics is that they do not have a specific
process; each animatronic is unique both in design and in its operation and mechanisms.
One of the most outstanding works of the studio are the animatronics of Dark crystal: Age
of Resistance.
We can honestly say that the scenes with animatronics in the movie are incredible, and we get to
see one of the cutest animatronics we've ever seen!
We can't wait to watch Dominion again and even more so to see the behind-the-scenes
of the creation of these animatronics because we will probably have a complete video dedicated
to these animatronics after the film comes out!
But in the meantime, enjoy the first two parts of this series, and don't forget to subscribe!