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As a dinosaur fan, I think you’ve seen the movie Jurassic Park. In the film, the dinosaurs move flexibly, as if they were real. Do you know how the dinosaurs in the movie achieved such a realistic effect, and did the production team use animatronic dinosaurs?
The answer is Yes, the first Jurassic Park movie in 1993 extensively used animatronic dinosaurs and alongside computer-generated imagery (CGI). Actually, after calculation, the 127-minute film has 15 minutes of total screen time for the dinosaurs, including nine minutes of animatronics and six minutes of CGI animals. The use of animatronics, especially in close-up shots, added to the sense of realism and believability of the dinosaurs
For the film of first Jurassic Park, director Steven Spielberg wanted to use practical dinosaurs as much as possible. He chose special-effects artist Stan Winston to create animatronic dinosaurs for the film, after seeing his work on the Queen Alien in the 1986 film Aliens. Winston said the Queen was easy compared to a dinosaur animatronic: “The queen was exoskeletal, so all of its surfaces were hard. There were no muscles, no flesh, and there was no real weight to it. The alien queen also didn’t have to look like a real, organic animal because it was a fictional character — so there was nothing in real life to compare it to. There was just no comparison in the difficulty level of building that alien queen and building a full-size dinosaur”. Winston’s team spent much time perfecting the animatronics, which used metal skeletons powered by electric motors. They molded latex skin that was then fitted over the robotic models, forming the exterior appearance. Up to 20 puppeteers were required to operate some of the dinosaurs. After filming concluded, most of the animatronics were disassembled.
The Tyrannosaurus rex was the most impressive animatronic, weighing between 9,000-12,000 pounds and requiring up to 20 puppeteers to control. Two versions were created – a full-scale animatronic and a separate T. rex head for more intimate shots. The T. rex’s appearances in Jurassic Park are characterized by a mix of terror and awe, with the dinosaur often portrayed as both a threat to the human characters and, at times, an unlikely ally. Its roar, appearance, and behavior have become iconic elements of the franchise, contributing significantly to the film’s success and lasting impact on popular culture.
T-rex By Jurassic Park film
Life-sized Animatronic T-rex by MyDinosaurs.com
The combination of animatronics and CGI in Jurassic Park revolutionized special effects in filmmaking and set a new standard for bringing extinct creatures to life on screen, In our daily life, a dinosaur exhibition with 10-20 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs is also a great opportunity to meet the animatronic dinosaurs in the movie in person, MyDinosaurs is an original animatronic models factory based in China since 2010, we provide custom design, sale, ship, installation, and after-service to clients from all over the world, contact us to build your products.
Animatronic dinosaur for dinosaur hotel by MyDinosaurs.com