{"id":10333,"date":"2015-07-07T16:22:08","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T20:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.puppeteers.org\/?p=10333"},"modified":"2015-07-07T20:45:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-08T00:45:09","slug":"all-puppets-are-equal-but-some-puppets-are-more-equal-than-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lacquiparledesign.com\/pofa\/2015\/07\/07\/all-puppets-are-equal-but-some-puppets-are-more-equal-than-others\/","title":{"rendered":"All puppets are equal, but some puppets are more equal than others…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Puppets and Creature Suits Of Animal Firm<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"logo2\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rod<\/p>\n

Rod puppet for Scott Nash – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Often when an animal is used in a film, TV show or a commercial, there will be scenes that wouldn\u2019t be practical to do with a real animal.\u00a0 Maybe the action could hurt the animal, be something that an animal cannot be coaxed or bribed into doing, or require an ability to act. In that case you might want to call in the experts at Animal Firm.<\/p>\n

\"Puma<\/p>\n

Puma \u2018attack puppet\u2019 for Desperation – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I would like to introduce you to some dear friends, Marc and Heidi Tyler, two of the most talented people I know.\u00a0 They are the 2 halves of Animal Firm.<\/p>\n

\"Marc<\/p>\n

Marc and Heidi Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Marc and Heidi met while working on Gremlins for Rick Baker. Both studied fine arts in college. They married in 1992<\/p>\n

Heidi started Animal Firm in 1994, when she found herself unable to work in special effects shops due to health issues.\u00a0 A year or two later Marc joined her on Animal Firm projects, as well as continuing to work at effects shops in the LA area. In 1998 they moved to Texas.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Static\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Static\u2019 Guinea Pig for an Adam Sandler film – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

According to Marc, \u201cWe saw the digital writing on the wall, and realized that we would never be able to afford a house in L.A.\u201d Moving to Texas was a leap of faith for them.\u00a0 Most of the creature work was in LA.\u00a0 However over the years they had built strong relationships with shops like Chiodo Brothers and KNB in Los Angeles, who valued them and were willing to work with them from a distance.<\/p>\n

\"Articulated<\/p>\n

Articulated Ram for HBO – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Animal Firm built a reputation for doing excellent realistic animals.\u00a0 According to Heidi, \u201cThe work is always challenging.\u00a0 Real animals are\u00a0incredibly subtle in their forms, colors and textures. \u00a0Matching fur color and texture is especially difficult because we are limited to those artificial furs on the market –\u00a0we never use real pelts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cow<\/p>\n

Cow from HBO film Temple Grandin – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The puppets and creatures Animal Firm builds have to make the viewer believe they are looking at a real animal.\u00a0 Their creatures projects range from tiny; such as putting fur on 100 life-size static mouse figures built by Chiodo Bros for the film Dinner\u00a0for Shmucks<\/u>, to enormous life-sized baby elephants and cows.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Elephant<\/p>\n

Elephant for a theatrical production – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The link below shows the fitting for the above baby elephant.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tBnv0tMxVdg<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Heidi, \u201cThe most challenging animal to make has been cats. \u00a0It\u2019s almost impossible to make them slender and delicate enough\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Cat<\/p>\n

Cat from Meet Dave, an Eddie Murphy film – Photo by Heidi Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Another challenge Heidi mentioned is the plumage for birds. They use real feathers because there is no plausible artificial substitute for them. \u00a0Marc and Heidi even raised some small chickens for their\u00a0plumage, which can be harvested without harming the chicken.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Static\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Static\u2019 Cockatoo for an Adam Sandler film – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Dove<\/p>\n

Dove Puppet for an Adam Sandler film – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Marc said that one of the most challenging projects for him was a Pelican they made for the film You Don\u2019t Mess with the Zohan<\/u>.<\/p>\n

\"Pelican<\/p>\n

Pelican puppet for You Don\u2019t Mess with the Zohan\u00a0 Hermione the cat in the foreground- Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He said \u201cWe knew it was going to be a tough job; it needed to be very realistic and it\u00a0had to be pose-able. It had a giant ball and socket armature like an over-sized animation puppet.\u201d \u00a0 This is a video of Marc operating the pelican.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HDYPes4jtjY<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Vulture<\/p>\n

Vulture \u2018attack puppet\u2019 for Desperation – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Marc and Heidi are both skilled artists in many areas.\u00a0 When they are doing a project, each specializes in different aspects of the creature build.\u00a0 For example, when they had to make a realistic \u201cattack vulture\u201d puppet with full feathering,\u00a0rod-operated wings and a trigger-operated mouth, Heidi did the sculpting and finishing. Marc did the molding, lab work and the mechanics.<\/p>\n

Marc told me that many of the puppets built by Animal Firm are pretty simple, with the emphasis on looking realistic.\u00a0 However, sometimes the job has called for something a bit more complicated.\u00a0 According to Marc, \u201cUsually these are cable actuated things, like a breathing sheep,\u00a0or a humping dog. \u00a0We\u2019ve had to do a couple humping dogs. \u00a0Actually one of those was operated by a cordless drill motor. The glamour of Hollywood!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pitbull<\/p>\n

Pitbull hand puppet for Fast and Furious – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Though most of their work was in building realistic animals, occasionally a job would come along that called for cartoonish characters.<\/p>\n

Heidi said that one of their favorite projects was creating the rabbit puppets for Scott Nash Productions, for a fire safety promotion. According to Heidi, \u201cMarc designed the puppets and I\u00a0did most of the construction. \u00a0These were simple hand puppets but the design was so much fun to work from; I love working from Marc\u2019s designs!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Puppets<\/p>\n

Puppets for Scott Nash fire safety campaign – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here is a video of the fire safety campaign.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/XAsjE2dh-4A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Political<\/p>\n

Political satire puppet\u00a0 – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Cow<\/p>\n

Cow Puppet for Front Paige Productions – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sometimes when they build puppets for a show, the customer is not trained in working with puppets.\u00a0 Marc told me a story about a puppet they built for a PBS children\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

\"Gato<\/p>\n

Gato from \u201cCatpaws in Motion\u201d – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe have made some costumes and puppets for a local PBS kids\u2019 show \u201cCatpaws in Motion\u201d. \u00a0It\u2019s to get kids active, a laudable goal for this overweight city. \u00a0There is lots of singing and dancing. \u00a0As the \u201cCatpaws\u201d name might imply, the mascot is a cat, named, simply \u201cGato\u201d. We made a walk-around first, and then a glove puppet. \u00a0The puppet turned out really cute but the host of the show is definitely not a puppeteer. \u00a0She wears Gato on her hand, gesticulates with it and handles props with it, but Gato is never a fellow cast-member. \u00a0It kind of freaks me out to see it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Recently Animal Firm has been concentrating on making the realistic bear costumes that they have become known for.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

Black Bear suit for \u201cBlack Bear\u201d, The Great Bear Foundation – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Heidi filled me in on the bear costumes: \u00a0\u201cSome of my best experiences have been with making these realistic bear costumes we\u2019ve specialized in, mostly Black Bears. \u00a0One of our bear clients,\u00a0whose real name is Black Bear (he\u2019s Native American), uses the bear suit we made for him to promote protection for wild bears, through the Great Bear\u00a0Foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Animal firm also built several bear costumes for a company called Animatronic Bear.\u00a0 They made several Black Bears, a Polar Bear, a Brown Bear, and a Giant Panda for him.<\/p>\n

\"Polar<\/p>\n

Polar Bear f\u00ador Matt Brady of Animatronic Bear – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Panda<\/p>\n

Panda f\u00ador Matt Brady of Animatronic Bear – Photo by Marc Tyler<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Recently Marc and Heidi have been branching out into different areas. Marc told me,<\/p>\n

\u201cAs fake animal jobs have become harder to come by we\u2019ve been looking into other pursuits. \u00a0A few years ago I decided to try making miniature figures for\u00a0hobbyists, mostly having to do with mid-century motor sports. \u00a0It may sound radically different, but we can use much of the same infrastructure and skill-set that we\u00a0use for making puppets and figures. \u00a0Heidi sculpts likenesses of famous drivers. \u00a0 I make a 3D scan of them, add clothes, helmets, etc. and get 3D prints made at\u00a0popular scales. \u00a0I make silicone molds from the prints, and resin castings are what we make available to hobbyists. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t pay the bills yet, but it broke even last\u00a0year.\u201d<\/p>\n

I look forward to seeing the new directions this talented family of artists pursues in the future.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Marc and Heidi for all your help in putting this together!<\/p>\n

If you would like to contact Mark and Heidi, here is their email:<\/p>\n

Marc Tyler,\u00a0Designer –\u00a0Animal Firm<\/p>\n

marctyler@animalfirm.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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