Animatronic Hulk footage from 1998

[[A]]

Woah, it actually looks good. And the movement is very fluid too -- hard to believe it's from 1998

 

[Bruce Banner]

It would have been cool to see the final finished prototype.

I would have loved to have known how they would have handled the tranformations

 

[Lex Luthor]

The Spawn comment arose from my memory of a Spawn DVD that claimed some sort of special effects award. Looking this up, it won best special effects at the catalonian international film festival in '97. But I agree there are better effects movies out there. I was being sarcastic.

Nevertheless, I'll give you T2. Those effects were ground breaking, but the were not used to the extent that a proper Hulk treatment would require. Most of the terminator/terminator fight scenes were still actor vs actor. And the animation industry is better than that now.

I knew you were being sarcastic, dcHulk. That's why I brought up Anaconda to add to the "award winning" special effects comment.

And yeah, I think the special effects/CGI would have had to be much more limited in 1998 than what we saw in 2008, or even 2003 for that matter. Although I think it could have been feasible in 1998 to have made a Hulk film using the combined efforts of animatronics and CGI for specific shots, how satisfying that would have been for fans and the general public is questionable.

 

[dcHulk]

I knew you were being sarcastic, dcHulk. That's why I brought up Anaconda to add to the "award winning" special effects comment.

And yeah, I think the special effects/CGI would have had to be much more limited in 1998 than what we saw in 2008, or even 2003 for that matter. Although I think it could have been feasible in 1998 to have made a Hulk film using the combined efforts of animatronics and CGI for specific shots, how satisfying that would have been for fans and the general public is questionable.

Coolio t:

 

[bubbadoom]

If they could pull off JURASSIC PARK in '94, they could have pulled of a Hulk in 98 using the same techniques. And remember, in the 2+ hours of JP, there's only 6 minutes of cgi dinos, ALL the rest is animatronics.

 

[Kirmit]

An animatronic hulk would have the exact same problem as a cgi hulk in terms of the face. We as humans see other human faces every day, we know how a face should look, we know how it should move, even subconsciously. IMO it would be too difficult in 98 or even now to create an animatronic hulk face the we would believe is real, cgi has come tremendously close, various scenes in both hulk movies have got it near perfect. I know some will say 'well jurassic had real looking animatronic dinosaurs', problem is, we've never seen a real dinosaur, it's much easier than creating something we see every day.

 

[bubbadoom]

How about the apes in GREYSTOKE, GORILLAS IN THE MIST, HARRY AND THE HINDERSONS, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, etc.? Why not a prosthetic face for CUs, an animatronic for full shots, and cgi for action? I'm just saying '98 methods would have worked just fine. Not much has really changed in the last 10 years as far as make-up effects goes [other than silicone prosthetics], so the tech was there. Some CGI has gotten better, just depends on who's doing it [just like any effect work does].

As I have said before, my main beef with both hulks has been the design more than the animation. He was way to big in HULK, and looks too bland. The size was better in TIH, though I think he could still be a little smaller, and the look was getting better, but still not there. The long hair was the wrong call, and the muscles looks too much like a wood carving. They need to dial it down a bit and give him more character in the face. He should be more than just a big green dumb looking guy, he needs to be more monsterous - like the Kirby/Ayres Hulk.

 

[bubbadoom]

oops, double post for some #%^@% reason!

 

[WormyT]

Around the 1:30 mark.[YT]aRRMMmWnevo&feature=player_embedded[/YT]

Awesome find!!!!!!!

Thanks for posting. Just saw that prototype Superman suit near the end.

 

[Octoberist]

holy crap, you're right. that's like the first time I've seen that Burton suit in action.

 

[Nivek]

Are you crazy? You want to see the "ninja turtle" method applied to the incredible hulk? Again, LL and others tried this way and it didn't work. They didn't go the cgi route for financial reasons, but rather practical and realistic ones.

Thank you.

Big scale character animatronics are dead for a reason. CG doesn't beak on set and cause delays because of a pneumatic piston went down the crapper.

But I still believe that having one on set for some human interaction shots are better for the actors.

 

[Stripesy Strip]

It would have been cool to see the final finished prototype.

I would have loved to have known how they would have handled the tranformations

That's why I think I would have prefered this Hulk. All the methamorphosis from Banner to Hulk have been underwhelming to me with CGI.

 

[dcHulk]

It would have been cool to see the final finished prototype.

I would have loved to have known how they would have handled the tranformations

Think Mr. Hyde from LXG.

 

[webhead731]

Wow.

Really interesting video.

 

[Bruce Banner]

Think Mr. Hyde from LXG.

Might have to re watch it then one day soon.

 

[Judson Caspian]

This helped me realize why animatronics won't work. Thanks. Holy crap, did that look stiff...

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Loved the video but a fully Animatronic Hulk would never work.

 

[[A]]

I would have loved to have known how they would have handled the tranformations

would have o.d.!

 

[DarthDaveBanner]

Its an interesting idea but I agree it wouldn't have worked unless Hulk spent the majority of his screentime standing on the spot.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Keep the action in CGI, sure, but the emotiong scenes, stuff with Betty, use the animatronics. It gives COnnelly/Tyler something real to perform with.

Nah, I found the emotional scene's in both Hulk movies very effective with the CGI Hulk's, the movement on their faces was very realistic so I was more than satisfied.

 

[dcHulk]

Might have to re watch it then one day soon.

Looking at these youtube videos is interesting. But now I realize that Hyde from LXG is more of a man-in-a-suit vs animatronics. Although some animatronics were used.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=170M2J6BcH0

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFzK3zmZMNs

Still, the combination of a suit and animatronics presents challenges, and these are apparent in the videos. One of these challenges is life-like movement. The director even discusses the pros/cons at the end of video 2 and talks about the digital Hulk. So all in all, I am very pleased with what cgi can do now versus the alternatives.

 

[bubbadoom]

dcHulk - thanks for the LXG links. In the videos, that is Steve Johnson the make-up effects creator, not Steve Norington the director.

 

[dcHulk]

dcHulk - thanks for the LXG links. In the videos, that is Steve Johnson the make-up effects creator, not Steve Norington the director.

Cool, I didn't realize that was Steve Johnson. Thanks

 

[Evil Twin]

I don't know if I really want an animatronic Hulk, but I do think that there's some balance between pure cgi and man-in-suit that could be struck. I really think some kind of motion capture is the way to go, as I think the presence of Andy Serkis on-set in LOTR and even Michael Chiklis in FF helped. I think the Hulk needs an actor to give him life as much as he needs a computer, a modern day Karloff if you will.

 

[Nivek]

But, since the Hulk isn't even the same size and scale as a Human being (even the biggest guy you could find wouldn't match up) the stand in would have to be animatronic. Both recent movies gave us an awesome looking Hulk, I just want more physical interaction between the actors and the Hulk.