Season's Greetings from LifeFormations!

Greetings from IAAPA!

Welcome to the industry of Fun! It's IAAPA 2011. Thousands converge in Orlando Florida for 4 days of meetings, strategizing and of course a little "research." In our industry, research consists of visiting as many of Orlando's theme parks and attractions as schedules will allow! It's a tough job, but someone has to be on the cutting edge of fun and entertainment!


We're often asked, "how do you decide what to display at IAAPA?" Past shows include, singing zombies, misguided time travelers, cigar smoking disgruntled clowns and even a unique pair of newlyweds; a 12" groom and his 6'6" wife. (He stood proudly in the palm of her hand.)


This year's show features characters for our friends from Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Our artists and designers work closely with Ripley's creative team to generate conceptual designs for the new cast. 

As drawings evolve, the cast and appearance of the characters is defined. Thus, we're proud to present to you this year's featured show.

In addition to entertaining animatronics, our display includes our process for project development from a concept through show opening. The characters from Jaya Ancol Kalila Adventure provide a great example of how LifeFormations creative team achieves a desired design and production goals. 

An animated ventriloquist skeleton, our concept for an interactive water ride and an animatronic Jules Verne bust complete this years presentation.

Stop by booth 854 and say hello - or at least to rest a bit in our new lounge. (Couch rental fees are based on demand.)

Project Profile: 4H Frankie the Fox

Giant Megalodon Shark

Oh when that shark bites, with his teeth, babe!

We recently finished a giant megalodon shark for a new science center in Florida. 

Here is a link to the article and video footage of the beast on its way down the highway!

http://www.local10.com/news/29129250/detail.html

Here is the article content courtesy of Local 10:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A giant megalodon ancient shark made its way south on I-95 from Deerfield to Museum of Discovery and Science Friday morning.The megalodon, an extinct species of shark, will be installed in the Prehistoric Florida exhibit in the museum's new EcoDiscovery Center slated to open on November 11. 

The new 34,000-sq.-ft. EcoDiscovery Center, which more than doubles the Museum's current exhibit and program space, offers more dynamic hands-on explorations.Visitors can take a ride on the Everglades Airboat Adventure, experience hurricane force winds in the Storm Center, dig for fossils alongside a giant prehistoric megalodon, get close to a confrontation between a saber-toothed cat and an Imperial mammoth, learn about protecting and conserving the Everglades and Florida's natural resources, and follow the natural path water takes through Florida.Visitors can explore the physical principles of water while enjoying the playful antics of North American river otters in their two-story indoor/outdoor habitat.The new wing also features the Mangurian Foundation Lifelong Learning Center with four labs and the 100-seat Keller Science Theater with comfortable seating and technical features to support lectures, exciting science demonstrations, and presentations by community partners.For more information about the Museum, call 954-467-MODS (6637) or visit www.mods.org

Testimonial

We recently finished a stage show featuring several animatronic figures of historic people for the Dayton History Museum Carillon Park. They were very kind in providing an unsolicited testimonial. We asked for their permission to share it with you.

LifeFormations Team,
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of your hard work in
bringing our new theater on line this past week.  I realize that you
all worked some ridiculous hours, but it has already begun to pay off
for us.  We had a large, enthusiastic crowd on Friday evening and we
were busy all day on Saturday.  Sunday is off to a good start as
well.  We've heard lots of comments along the line of, "I can't
believe I'm watching this is Dayton."  or "Those people look more
realistic than the ones in Disney."  Edith Deeds has also been a real
crowd pleaser.
GREAT WORK and THANKS AGAIN!!!
Best,
Alex

Find out more about their facility by visiting their website: http://www.daytonhistory.org/destinations/carillon-park.htm

Animatronics - The right moves!

The following list is an attempt to create a generalized hierarchy of animatronic movements. The first movements on the list are often the most important for an animatronic to have. As each animatronic exhibit or attraction is different, this hierarchy is simply a starting point for a discussion that should involve the client, show designer, and animatronic designer. 

The Essentials
Mouth and eye blinks: The mouth and eye blinks are essential for creating a character that talks. A single digital mouth move can simulate most talking movements, and the blinking eyes are absolutely required.

Head turns and eye turns: Head and eye turns are typically the next movements added because they help the animatronic figure appear to have an awareness of it’s surroundings. The eyes make it appear to look around the room, and the head follows where the eyes lead, just like in humans.

Arm gesture: One or two moves are typically added to the arm or wrist before additional head moves are included. This allows the figure to make a few casual gestures or movements that make it appear that the body could move more if the figure so desired. The audience makes the same assumption about the figure that they make about a human or animal they walk up to: that it could move all if its body parts if it wanted, it just does not need to at that point. Typically the arm movements are concentrated in one arm, with the other arm being positioned so that the lack of movement does not appear unnatural – holding something, leaning on something, etc.

Body move: Once a body has been give the ability to gesture an arm, the next move added is typically a body lean or weight shift. This movement goes a long way toward creating personality in the figure, and also making the figure appear real. The personality comes from the ability of the figure to lean toward part of the audience when delivering a dramatic idea, or lean back when surprised or laughing. The increased realism come from the appearance that the figure’s body is mobile, and so it could walk away if it wanted.

Head nods and tilts: Additional head moves are added to create personality for the figure. It can look up as if remembering something, it can tilt its head if it is curious about something. It can look down if it is sad.

Additional arm moves: These are moves that allow the figure to point at something, or make more sophisticated gestures than the couple of arm moves discussed above.

Additional body moves: These are moves in the torso area that help create a more dynamic presentation, and give the figure the ability to look more places around the room.

Asian Attractions Expo 2011 - Resorts World Sentosa Singapore

Leads from various corners of the world including Lebanon, Iran, Thailand, UAE, China, Hong Kong, and Korea. It was well worth the trip half way around the world.

The industry is truly buzzing again. Thanks to all who stopped by for a visit at the Asian Attractions Expo 2011 at Resorts World Sentosa Singapore.