FEATURE FILM FX The work we do for feature films usually covers a much broader range of styles than does our commercial work, often allowing us to explore the darker end of the spectrum. Creating decapitated heads for Ghostbusters II, Freddy Krueger and an unborn fetus inside a womb for Nightmare on Elm Street V, and Rick's early freelance work on the opening egg, running facehugger, and alien Queen of ALIENS are good examples of our "scary" work. Select any photo to view a larger version. Genetically-altered insects roam the abandoned subways of New York in "MIMIC". Animatronic Elephant built for Disney's OPERATION DUMBO DROP. Features animatronic tail, head, ear, eye, brow, swaying, and prehensile 5-way trunk movements.   A decapitated, mummified head, featured in a great, big close-up in GHOSTBUSTERS II. Sculpted at TCS by Adam Jones, now guitarist for the band "TOOL". Prosthetic Freddy Kruger appliance, womb set, and animatronic fetus created for NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET V. (That's Rick in the Freddy makeup!) However, in addition to walking on the dark side, we often must address extreme realism; convincingly aging Emilio Estevez to an 80 year old man for Young Guns II, creating a totally believable monkey stand-in for Outbreak, and mustering up a herd of hyper-realistic elephant elephants for Operation Dumbo Drop show that we can make our on-screen fx totally indistinguishable from nature. Life size realistic replica of "Betsy", the capuchin monkey from Warner Bros. OUTBREAK. Made from silicone with hundreds of individually hand-punched hairs. Featured a passively jointed skeletal structure and animatronic movements of its breathing, mouth, eyes, head, and brows. Old age prosthetic on Emilio Estevez for YOUNG GUNS II. Nine-piece appliance with translucent ears and flocked beard stubble. Created and applied by David Anderson and Rick Lazzarini.   If a current crop of literature and films can lay claim to a concept called "magical reality", then we can easily say that our creature and character effects allow us to create a "fantastic reality". An eight foot tall Buffalo for Radio Flyer, a mongo monster dog for The Sandlot, and a miniature animatronic reindeer puppet for The Santa Clause are all cases where we built authentic looking animal replicas, but then added a certain something to them to take them beyond the limits of reality, yet retain their believability. Animatronics and prosthetic effects for feature film work must be designed to be more durable than they would be for commercial spots, both practically and cosmetically. By cosmetically, we mean that the camera will linger, and shots will run longer; allowing the audience more time to study an effect. As for practical durability, feature shoot schedules run much longer than a commercial's; so an effect must be built to last over many days of filming. Feature film fx must have an increased level of quality, too. Whereas commercials will be seen on relatively low-res and small size TV screens, feature films have much higher resolution, which is needed for when an image is projected and shown 12 to 20 feet high. Feature film fx, because of their increased scope and running time, offer more (but never enough!) preproduction, or "build" time. Ironically, our budgets, when cost out per minute of fx, are generally lower on feature films than they are on TV spots. Commercials allow such precious little time for prep that they have to throw a lot of money to "cure" that situation. You know what they say: "Good, Fast, Cheap. Pick Two!" For further details (and pictures) about our feature film work, see our individual sections on Whimsical, Scary, Realistic, Prosthetic, Puppet, and Animatronic characters. Home What's New | Features | Commercials | Resume | Realistic | Whimsical | Scary | Animatronics | Prosthetics | Puppets | Waldo® | Publicity | TCS Fun | FX FAQ | Reference | Feedback Except where noted, all contents are the property of The Character Shop, Inc. and copyright 1995-99