How the ‘Spitter’ dino was made at Stan Winston Studio.
In this brand new episode of the VFX Artifacts podcast, Legacy Effects co-founder Shane Mahan looks back at his work at Stan Winston Studio on Jurassic Park’s Dilophosaurus dinosaur.
It’s the dino that faces off against Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight), and was one of the only full practical creatures in the film.
Here, Mahan–in what may be his first ever podcast–talks to befores & afters editor Ian Failes about the design, sculpt, animatronic mechanics and puppeteering of the Dilophosaurus.
This includes the attempt to have the dino positioned on Mahan’s shoulders, and the trials and tribulations of trying to make its ‘spit’ work in a very humid shooting environment.
That was great Ian, I have always wanted to ask Shane, when in the making of Jurassic doc, Steven runs his hands down the neck of the spitter sculpture, I wince whenever i see that, wondering if Shane had to “touch up” the whimsical stroke of damage. Fixing scales and texture is no small repair job. Since I’ve seen Steven damage sculptures in my presence with running finger nails across a finished sculpture. ouch!