In only three weeks, Lazzarini and his talented crew
constructed four animatronic frogs with complicated
mechanisms and authentic-looking bodies from scratch.
First, sculptures were painstakingly created. A
stone-hard plaster was then slathered over the sculptures
to make molds, from which hyper-realistic skins were
cast. Lazzarini says of the challenge "We had to achieve
a whimsical, attractive look for our puppet frogs. If you
look closely at actual frogs, they aren't really that
friendly looking!" A combination of radio control and rod
puppetry was used to give the frogs a wide range of
believable and expressive movement. The puppeteers then
added a splash of their own talent and expertise to give
each frog its' own unique personality. With the animatronic frogs completed, Lazzarini and
his crew flew to Louisiana to shoot the latest Bud spot.
For three days, they shot in an actual swamp. A custom
made tank with a platform was used to house the
puppeteers in the murky water without getting them wet.
Even without the benefit of a sound stage, the puppeteers
were able to breathe life into these lovable creatures.
Lazzarini and his experienced crew made it all appear
seamless: "Each frog required two puppeteers; one
underneath for body and leg movements and one off-camera,
operating the mouth, eyes, and other expressions. A
seventh person manned the breathing controls. "We work
together as a team, coordinating our movements to the
point that the director gives directions to the frogs and
not us puppeteers!" The frog characters are actually animatronic puppets,
operated by rods and radio control by Lazzarini and his
team of puppeteers. In creating the new female character,
Rick and his crew did extensive research, creating a
sculpture that stayed within the boundaries of realism,
yet giving it character as well. "With real frogs, its
hard to tell which are male or female," says Lazzarini,
"so we had to give her a more feminine appearance by
making her thinner, and giving her bigger eyes and pouty,
pink, inviting lips." Because of the hopping sequences in the ad, a special
jumping puppet also had to be created. Cable controlled
mechanisms were made to extend and retract the frogs'
legs to give it a realistic leaping motion. Keep your eyes open for more Character Shop creations
in the coming weeks; all we can say is that if you start
to feel "antsy", you'll know what we're talking about. But don't tell anybody we "toad" you! For more about TCS and the "Bud Frogs", see reprints
of articles in the L.A. Times
and Cinefex. What's New | Features | Commercials | Resume | Realistic | Whimsical | Scary | Animatronics Prosthetics | Puppets | Publicity | Waldo® | TCS Fun | FX FAQ | Feedback | Reference Except where noted, all contents are the property of The Character Shop, Inc. and copyright 1995-2006
THE CHARACTER SHOP BRINGS BUD FROGS TO LIFE, TO
LOVE
By now, most of the American population is familiar with
the hilarious Bud frog commercial spots. It seems that TV
audiences can't get enough. Due to the overwhelming
response, ad agency DDB Needham and Anheuser-Busch
decided to do a second spot, with much more sophisticated
animatronic effects. The Character Shop was called upon
to really make the frogs come alive. The concept was to
make it appear that the three frogs are sitting in a
swamp, only to be distracted by a passing Bud truck. To
the surprise of the others, one of them whips out his
tongue, latches onto the Bud truck, and hitches a wild
ride!
The new spot was so successful, in fact, that DDB
Needham, Budweiser, and Lazzarini recently geared up to
do yet another spot featuring the frogs, and this time,
it's love. You know, that boy-catches-flies,
girl-sits-in-swamp, boy-meets-girl kind of love. The new
Budweiser frog commercial stars the medium sized-frog
seen in the previous spot. He sits alone in a swamp,
uttering (what else?) "Bud..." From out of nowhere, a
feminine voice answers with "...Weis...!" Startled by the
unseen character, our hero begins to look, leap, and hop
around toward the voice, his every "Bud" rewarded with a
come- hither "...Weis...", as if it were some
amphibio-erotic version of "Marco Polo." We find what he
finds, revealed to us as a brightly colored female tree
frog. The amorous beau takes her in, then turns to the
camera with an approving leer, completing the phrase with
a knowing "Errrr........!"