Specific projects
Animatronic design and engineering for exhibitions, museums, live shows, television and feature film.
Whilst the last fifteen years have seen incredible advances in computer generated imagery (CGI), especially in bringing lifelike creatures to the screen, animatronics still has some advantages over computers. Aside from often being cheaper, having a live creature, character or puppet on stage means that there is something there for your actors to interact with, something that your director can actually direct. Physical interaction between live actors and puppets is also frequently far more realistic, as there's something there to touch. Your actors are happier and give better performances than when they are merely trying to act at empty space or a blue/green screen. Directors and producers are happier because control of the scene remains on the set, where it should be, and not in the depths of a computer department months after the scene was shot.
At Elektrik Effekts we believe that physical effects and computer generated imagery can and should compliment each other, each playing to their respective strengths and keeping the audience entranced with your story.
Project: The Acid House (Director Paul McGuigan, Channel 4 Films) Internet Movie Database 
The script of this hard core black comedy required a talking baby that would reflect the adult personality living inside it. It therefore had to go from cute "gurgling" to swearing and drinking whiskey from a stolen miniature bottle!
Silicone skinned animatronic baby with full facial expressions and able to lip-sync to dialogue. Intentionally designed to show an adult mind trapped in an infant's body.
Project: Animal Farm (Director John Stephenson) Internet Movie Database
Torso and arm rig for Napoleon pig character when he finally takes to his two hind feet and takes over the farm in a re-telling of George Orwell's Animal Farm for The Jim Henson Creature Shop.
Small rig is a telemetry unit used to operate the arms of an animatronic rat. Linked through a computer system, when the arms were moved the ones on the rat mirrored the action exactly.
Project: Big Bug (Bristol Nature & Science Museum)
An interactive exhibition display piece for museum to show orchid pollination by a wasp. The design had to show the subtlety of the natural movement whilst at the same time being durable enough to deal with all that the public could throw at it.
Project: Cockerel
Animatronic cockerel for Portugese internet advert.
Project: Creature
Internal mechanism for a rod operated creature puppet.
Project: Gnottene
Live action animatronic characters for the Nord Magi children's show.
Project: Shirehorse Leg
For use in a BBC TV production where an actor was required to play a vet assisting a stallion copulating with a mare in a stall. As in reality it would be extremely dangerous for the inexperienced actors to be around such large animals a fake leg was built for closeup shots.
Project: Never Ending Story III (Director Peter MacDonald) Internet Movie Database
Large, animated creatures for the feature film.
Project: Reindeer
Animated Reindeer heads for a Jagermeister commercial.
Project: Salmon
Ford Ranger commercial that required a salmon to leap from a river and into the back of a truck. It was flown on wires and had a self-contained waterproof drive system to create realistic body movement.
