Animatronics and Puppets

Sea Serpent Puppet

This puppet consists of a 4-way cable controlled tentacle mechanism for the neck of the serpent, and a 2-way tentacle for the tail.

The head was sculpted in ZBrush and 3D printed in PLA, and the body is wrapped in a scalemail skin.

BL-14 Droid

An original animatronic droid design inspired by parts of broken electronics I thrifted.

To the left is some test footage of the final droid and the concept mocked up in Fusion 360. Below are some progress images and a handful of brackets and pieces that have been modeled for the project.

Custom servo bracket modeled in Fusion 360

Magnetic hand attachments modeled in Fusion 360

Greeble assortment modeled in Fusion 360

They Bloom and Fade

This fantasy film tells the story of a woman who reconnects with her late husband and daughter when they are reincarnated as plants. The SPFX team built various sizes of flower puppets operated via pulleys and servo motors, as well as some curling branch tendrils operated by pulling a wire. I assisted in both the fabrication of the effects and the puppet performance on set.

dir. Zharia Spaulding

SFX Supervisor: Lucas Saunders (lucassaunders.work)

Role: Special Effects Assistant

Three versions of the plant at staging. The most complicated version required a team of three operators working collaboratively to puppeteer (see next slide).

Myself, Jonny Weaver, and Jack Yaman puppeteer the plant directed by Lucas Saunders.

The inner workings of one version of the plant.

After making the robotic skeleton, we passed the flowers to the art department to be covered in latex and airbrushed.

Baba Yaga

This project served as a proof-of-concept trailer for an interpretation of the Slavic folktale of Baba Yaga. I worked on the creature team that designed, built, and operated a series of fantastical creatures for the witch’s house. This story was a dream prompt for me, and we were given a lot of creative license. One creature in particular, a fuzzy ball with wings, was an idea I was able to take from design conception to onset puppeteering, which was very gratifying.

dir. Annalise McCoy

Role: Animatronic Mechanical Designer

The first draft of mechanical designs for the primary creature I worked on.

The wing mech mid-build. The creature's skeleton was a combination of wood, foam, and brass.

The more organic shapes of the creature were sculpted in clay and painted with latex to give a skin-like texture.

Shots of me on set puppeteering a hand puppet creature. 1/2

The Girl and the Shadow

This storybook-style short film follows a girl who lives with her grandmother in the woods while her mother is in rehab. A van visits her house every day to collect home cooked meals, but the girl is convinced the van is bloodthirsty shadow monster. I was fortunate to work on this film from early creative development, culminating in a monster costume with long articulated fingers and glowing eyes as well as a shadow puppet sequence.

dir. Clara Hirata

Role: Special Effects Supervisor

A sample background and light rigged up for rehearsal purposes

Shadow puppets organized by shot at staging

Puppeteers Lucas Saunders, Dani Mann, and Jonny Weaver working on a shot

A movement test from the early stages of costume construction. A hood with foam-covered flashlights was added later for the glowing eye effect.

Articulated fingers were prepped with fabric sleeves to create a more solid silhouette. Multiple sets were prepped for backup.

Setup for a shot of the shadow hand chasing The Girl

Sammy, Without Strings

This film follows the story of Sammy, and African American man who has been trapped in the form of a puppet and forced to perform minstrel shows. I assisted in studying marionettes and building three puppets in total, each with animatronic eye and jaw movement. In the clips to the left, I operated the mouth.

dir. Ralph Parker III

SFX Supervisor: Lucas Saunders (lucassaunders.work)

Role: Special Effects Assistant, Assistant Animatronics Operator