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Rick had heard about the [VPL] DataGlove, and
figured that the same idea could be applied to facial
expressions. He invented a head gear device he called the
Facial Waldo®. We see Rick demonstrating the Facial
Waldo®. As he makes funny faces, we see the puppet do
the same. The Waldo® incorporates small electrical
controllers called potentiometers, which translate each
degree of movement to servo motors that operate the
puppet. As Rick demonstrates the Facial Waldo® by
puppeteering the "Veg Head" puppet, he explains how you
must sometimes exaggerate your expressions a bit to make
up for what is lost in the translation. Steve Glenn, president of SimGraphics, saw the
potential of Lazzarini's Waldo® device for creating
real-time animation of computer generated characters. We
see a man wearing another version of Lazzarini's
Facial Waldo®, in front
of a mirror and computer screen. As the actor moves his
face, a "sun" character on the computer screen mimics his
movements. Glenn adapted the Waldo® and came up with
a new performance technique called the Vactor - short for
Virtual Actor. The Waldo® allows for more natural
movement, quicker, and cheaper animation. By wearing a
Facial Waldo®, a performer can animate in real-time,
a computer generated character. Many clips of a CGI Super
Mario are shown, revealing that the TCS Facial Waldo®
was used to create those animations seen by millions on
T.V. commercials, in kiosks, and at sporting events. (under construction)
What's New | Features
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FAQ | Feedback | Reference Except where noted, all contents
are the property of The Character Shop, Inc. and copyright
1995-98
TCS' highly realistic rod-puppet replicas of
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy were
featured in this episode, which covered some highlights
in the history of cinematic flight. Shows shop meeting,
sculpting, molding, mechanical, test, and costume stages.
Favorite line used: Rick puppeteering the SJP doll,
smirking while saying, half-seriously: "You see, in my
mind, I am Sarah Jessica Parker!" Left out of the
aired footage: Rick's comment about how the Bette puppet
was given "a discount in the butt department."(!)
Movie Magic's producers had planned to do an
entire episode focusing on creature articulation. There
were plenty of major fx features in production at the
time, but Movie Magic did not yet have the cachet to
receive an okay for their in-depth coverage from any of
the big studios at that point. So they went with covering
John Carl Buechler's MMI and their work on "Carnosaur."
However, after viewing what they had, they discovered
they needed more; a full hour of the making of
"Carnosaur" wasn't going to cut it. So sandwiched in
between the Buechler segments lies a segment about The
Character Shop and our pioneering techniques in creature
articulation. Rick explains the philosphy behind our
Waldo® devices, and
demonstrates using an Arm
Waldo® to control a robotic right arm with
anthropomorphic joints, and the Facial
Waldo® to puppeteer the animatronic Coca-Cola
alien head, created for a Richard Donner-directed spot.
"At the Character Shop in Los Angeles, inventor
and master puppeteer Rick Lazzarini has applied Waldo®
technology to the art of special effects." We see Rick
Lazzarini demonstrating his Arm
Waldo®. Rick is shown on set, puppeteering the
Kathy Najimi puppet, from Walt Disney's "Hocus Pocus".
Then we see a short clip of a commercial with the Foster
Farms Chickens. We see Character Shop employee Anton
Rupprecht puppeteering an alien head used in a Coke
commercial. Rick explains how he came to invent the
Facial Waldo®. They
had to do a commercial for a salad dressing, which had a
vegetable man that talked. So Rick thought of creating
something that would operate off of a person's face.
E.T came out to the swamps in Louisiana where we
filmed the 2nd Bud Frog spot.
This was not an easy shoot, and E.T. was fortunate enough
to capture Rick after having had very little sleep,
looking very handsome in full mustache, chin whiskers, a
Bud T-shirt AND a Bud cap. They covered the puppeteering
of the frogs while shooting, and Rick and the TCS
puppeteers did a little demo and explanation of how the
radio controls worked.
Relying almost exclusively on "making of"
footage supplied by Disney, brief coverage of animatronic
manufacture, and clips from the drop sequence.
The L.A.
Times | Theatre
Crafts International |
The
Disney Channel |
TCS' press
release
E.T covers the re-making of The Shaggy
Dog for the Disney Channel. They caught up with us as
we were filming at Universal studios on the backlot. Rick
does a brief demo, showing the importance of synching
dialogue and action between himself (operating radio
transmitter) and the other puppeteer (Rick Galinson,
operating mouth and head). Also shows a stunt driver in a
suit and dog mask, revealing how they got that dog to
drive a little MG.
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