props for fuel tv

here are a few of the props i made at shadow machine for those fuel tv commercials. this first one is a motorcycle. the production designer made the initial frame (mostly from brass tubing. it has to be sturdy for the puppet.) and i did all the fleshing out with cardboard. the wheels and handlebars actually turn!



another cycle with the initial frame built by the production designer that i covered up with cardboard. this one also has moving wheels and handlebars.



a dumpster with an animateable lid.



some sort of space alien table/gurney thing that pinto was tied down to. the table part pivots up and down. that hole in the middle is there for tying the puppet down.



firehydrant with a removable top pipe. in one of the commercials pinto smashes into it and the top pipe opens and water shoots out. i also made the paper cut-out replacement series for that.



bad ass skull.



drum set with animateable cymbals.



animateable gong.



here's a fun one, it's the anal probe! lots of animateable stuff on this guy. the front mechanism rotates and has four claw-like pieces that move, there are some dials and knobs on the side that move and the whole unit is able to pivot on these three jointed arms i made (held up with the help of some armature wire). i was happy to see that the animator was able to get some good results out of all these movable pieces i incorporated.



i am not sure what to really call these. title cards? tags? either way they have the fuel tv name and logo and were placed at the end of each commercial. i made a few different variations of these.

fuel tv commercials

after the production for frankenhole finished up shadow machine had me back to help with a smattering of commercials for fuel tv. we made all the sets and props out of cardboard. it's a really fun medium to work with. i think there were ten commercials in all but all i found online were these five posted by the director. they're pretty fast paced.

CHECK THE LOCKS: FUEL TV ID from Jeff Gardner on Vimeo.

In this FUEL TV ID Pinto locks his keys in the van and smashes a window to get back in.

Created By: Jeff Gardner
Client: Fuel Tv
Production:Shadow Machine Films
Music:Jeff Gardner

ACUPUNCTURE -FUEL TV ID from Jeff Gardner on Vimeo.

This Fuel Tv Id follows Pinto to an acupuncture session, where he gets stuck in the back by his nemesis Santo instead.



Created by:Jeff Gardner
Client:Fuel Tv
Production:Shadow Machine Films
Music:Jeff Gardner

SNOW DUMPING: FUEL TV ID from Jeff Gardner on Vimeo.

In this Fuel Tv ID, Pinto attempts some urban snowboarding and ends up dumpster diving instead.

Created By:Jeff Gardner
Client: Fuel Tv
Production: Shadow Machine Films

SHOCKED & PROBED: FUEL TV ID from Jeff Gardner on Vimeo.

In this Fuel Tv ID our action Sports hero Pinto gets shocked by an electric fence, torn up by a cactus, abducted by a UFO and probed in outer space. That's how he rolls.

Created By:Jeff Gardner
Client:Fuel Tv
Production:Shadow Machine Films
Music:Jeff Gardner

POOL SKATE- FUEL TV ID from Jeff Gardner on Vimeo.

A 10 second Fuel Tv ID of Pinto skateboarding an abandoned mid century modern motel swimming pool then getting torn up by a cactus when he loses it coming off of the vert ramp.

Created By:Jeff Gardner
Client:Fuel Tv
Production:Shadow Machine Films

p.s. downtown film festival I MISSED IT

"No Naked!" totally played at the downtown los angeles film festival ON THE SAME DAY AS THE SHADOW MACHINE ART SHOW and i totally didn't get to go. i could have rushed down there and then rushed back but i wouldn't have had time to shower or put on clothes that were somewhat presentable. sometimes you just gotta let something go. i really wanted to go, too :[

also, i am officially no longer submitting my little short to any more festivals. "No Naked!" has had a good run and now it's time for something new! already got something in the works. need some time to decompress from all this art show and two job business though. this will be the first weekend i have to do whatever i want in a looong time.

hoppy day monster zoetrope

so for the past two and a half weeks i've been building this monstrosity in ALMOST complete secrecy. it's kinda hard to build something of this size in secret. so what the hell is it!? well it's a zoetrope... of sorts. most zoetropes are cylindrical shaped and have slits cut in the side and spin to allow for viewing of the images blurring together and giving the illusion of movement. my zoetrope (if i can even call it a zoetrope... i wasn't sure what else to call it) is more like a conveyor belt that needs to be cranked and relies on a strobe light to give the illusion of movement. oh, and it's inside the mouth of a monster.

here's a video of my hoppy day monster in action so you can see what i mean



there are seven bunnies that make up the hop cycle. you turn the crank clockwise to see them in action. turning the crank counter-clockwise shows the cycle in reverse.



i made the hoppy day monster zoetrope for the shadow machine films (the place where i work) art show which took place last saturday night. i can't really remember where i got the idea to make a zoetrope like this, i just really like zoetropes and the whole concept of camera-less (and computer-less) animation. my first introduction to 3-d zoetropes was at cal-arts through a visiting artist named katsushi boda (for reals that is his name). ever since then i have wanted to push the limits of zoetropes and camera-less animation and now that i know this particular style of zoetrope actually works i think i can do that. i have been loosely calling it a tank-wheel style zoetrope (i need to come up with a better name). my first goal is to make the zoetrope belt much longer to accommodate for longer cycles of animation. after that... well you'll just have to wait and see what i have planned ;]

also, there have been many, many other styles of camera-less animation devices but as far as i know this is the first one to utilize a crank wheel mechanism of this sort and display the animation on a belt rather than in a cylinder. let me know if you have seen any others like this!

and now for some retarded pictures of me with my monster :P



me with a co-worker. that is her piece on the right so we had to take a picture. duh! don't let that smile fool you, she is a BIG troublemaker.



me and my two roomies. obviously troublemakers. obviously.




2 le-git 2 quit dis gangstah life

my piece went over really well at the show. it made all that hard work and lack of sleep so totally worth it :] i can't wait until the next one!

and for your information, i am a real gangstah. for reals, yo. for reals.

Frankenhole: other props

found two pictures of some straggling props. i believe these were the last things i made for the show. in the picture above i made the picture frame for that sexy time photo of doctor frankenstein. ooh lala! the skulls below were pre existing resin casts, i made some modifications for the lights to fit in with the wires (i remember getting those tiny wires through being a very tedious task), did some hot glue art for the dripping wax and finished up with some paint.





so this officially concludes my frankenhole postings. the next shadow machine project i'll post stuff from will be the fuel tv commercials i worked on. get ready for some cardboard!

Frankenhole: ghandi's house

this was the third and final set i made for the show. the fun foam stuff was, well, FUN, but this was a nice change of pace for me since i got to get my hands a little dirtier here. the hanging cloth was a great creative challenge, especially on the brick wall that looks like it was cannonballed. i remember research for this set being really fun for some reason :D



and again, my favorite part is the stove... er... adobe oven thing.



the only real glory shot i was able to take of any of my sets. the lighting really brings everything to life!

Frankenhole: independence hall

the second set i made for frankenhole. like the log cabin set this one was pretty much entirely made out of carved fun foam. believe it or not, you will go through a LOT of razors cutting this stuff. fun foam likes a sharp blade. you can see this set in the john thomas jefferson episode (the same episode with the log cabin).