Expressive Robot face - Gobbledok, previously unseen animatronic from 1996

This is the never before publicly seen M.E.G. Gobbledok head mechanised by myself and Matt Ward, with skin and sculpt by Paul Katte and Nick Nicolau from M.E.G.
It was an all new update based an earlier Gobbledok design by Warren Beaton, so we had to keep the same sort of look but make it slightly more realistic.
Even the addition of he teeth was agonised over by the Ad agency.
It was never intended to speak but I tried some dialogue just for fun. Take a look at my later Starwars lipsynch on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID2Fkse1bmg for comparison.
Comissioned for a Smith's potato chips ad campaign
the Chararcter was finished exactly at the time Smiths changed advertising agencies and not even the original advertising agency saw the final results.
The character was to be worn by a short stature suit performer and was fitted with a countercurrent heat exchange refrigerating cool-suit to keep Julie comfortable. The head was fitted with video lcd goggles for Julie with a lipstick camera hidden in the forehead to feed video of where she is facing so she could see without external viewports.
The expressions were mixed by computer system and able to be recorded and edited for playback.
Greg designed the control system, based on a "mediamation system", later evolving into the mobile "gilderfluke" based editing/playback system used for Star Wars Ep III

Category:

Film & Animation

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[lilroddi]

I came at 00:23

[GregOrca]

@lilroddi

You mean the jaw activation servos being triggered by my own jaw movements? Or just that I look so hot right now....

[MrDisneyfanman]

Have you shown Disney this?

[GregOrca]

@MrDisneyfanman

No, I did this 15 years ago. It's very primitive compared to what I would do nowdays and I'd be embarrased to show to Disney. Have a look at the Lip-synch on my Star-Wars Nemoidian character we made in 2004 . This gobbledok guy can barely move his lips.

[GregOrca]

I know the lip synch is pretty rubbish on this guy but he was never intended to need to talk and his mouth mechanisms were not particularly well suited for the purpose. For a better example of more recent animatronic lipsynch programming, my Nute Gunray dialogue got a bit closer to the mark in 2003

watch?v=ID2Fkse1bmg

[TheProfessorMeow]

KILL IT! BEFORE IT LEARNS TO OPEN DOORS!

[sword90000]

01:52 Robotic face of derp

[fuckpantsss]

Tobey?

[theMaxinateor]

this is amazing, especially for 15 years ago!

[MeenyMcSweeny]

Well...we're screwed

[tonyspazfur]

goes derpy at 1:50

[katai11]

Hey, thats Roy Batty speaking. "Tannhouser Gate" :D

[ShadowDevelopment]

I just visited your home site, really nice and worth the look around. Amazingly definite neck control on the larger robot, again, good work:)