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1

AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - STAN

WINSTON THE ROBOT
Steven Spielberg's AI:ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE called for Terminator maker Stan Winston
to create dozens of totally unique "Mecha" characters.

Category: Behind The Scenes

August 24 2013
 Like 1.5K
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THE ROBOTS OF AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

When he was approached by Steven Spielberg for AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, Stan Winston had more experience
building robots than any other creature effects artist in the world but the robots of AI would be unlike anything Winston, or
anybody else, had ever created. It was important to Steven that the robots in AI have absolutely nothing to do with the Terminator
or any of the robots wed done previously, Winston remarked.

...
MECHAS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES
These robots, called mechas in the story, ranged from the utilitarian type such as gardeners, security guards and other blue-
collar workers to Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), a true love machine, and Teddy, a robotic teddy bear who serves as Davids sidekick.

THE MECHA GRAVEYARD

When the film's young robotic hero, David (Haley Joel Osment) meets Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), they soon thereafter witness a
garbage truck dumping mecha parts in the forest. The parts were actually Stan Winston Studio reject designs that prop master Jerry
Moss mass-produced from Winstons molds.

Pictured above: Aaron Sims and Eric Fiedler put the finishing touches on the Insecurity
Guard at SWS.
LOOKING FOR REPLACEMENT PARTS
Damaged mecha outcasts rummage through the pile, looking for replacement parts. The studio designed twelve key mecha
characters for the scene including a security guard mecha that was built from a lifecast of Stan Winston each of which was
realized as either a mechanical puppet or an appliance makeup worn by a performer.

RECREATING STAN WINSTON

According to FX Mechanic Eric Fiedler, recreating Stan Winston as Mecha involved multiple approaches, "The Insecurity
Guard was primarily a kinetic rod puppet where all the joints articulated like normal human joints. It had a cable-operated neck.
The head was silicone. The armature for the body was aluminum rods, bearings, torsion springs, all nicely machined."

Pictured above: The "Insecurity Guard" prepares for his demise at the brutal "Flesh Fair" in AI: Artificial Intelligence.

USING EVERY TRICK IN THE BOOK

"[The Mechas of AI: Artificial Intelligence] were unlike anything audiences had seen before,"
said Winston, "and we were able to do it by using all of the available technologies." From live-
action puppetry to traditional makeups and Practical/CGI hybrid approaches, the Stan Winston
Studio robot makers pushed themselves to a brand new level of innovation by bringing every
magic trick to the table, all to help Steven Spielberg make his modern day Pinocchio a reality.

-Jody Duncan

Excerpted from THE WINSTON EFFECT: THE ART AND HISTORY OF STAN WINSTON STUDIO
More ROBOT STUFF from Stan Winston School:

TERMINATOR 2 - T-1000 "Splash Head" Effect

TERMINATOR 2 - T-1000 Special Effects Part One
TERMINATOR 2 - T-1000 Blade Arm Kill & Sarah Connor Nightmare FX
ROBOT PAINTING TECHNIQUES - Metallic Finishes
TERMINATOR 2 - The NEW T-800s
TERMINATOR SALVATION - T-600 Puppet Test

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COMMENTS
 7 Comments Sort by Oldest

Add a comment...

Rod Parsons Owner-operator at The Robot Workshop

Thankyou. That is one of my favourite films!
Like Reply 1 Aug 24, 2013 5:28pm

Abel Ehp Instituto tecnologico eiger

I love this movie! thanks for sharing this.
Like Reply 1 Aug 24, 2013 8:58pm

Alan Pimenta Inst. Educ Biblos

Magnifico!
Like Reply Aug 25, 2013 3:51am

Tale of the Firefox

Stan and his crew took cinematic robots to the next level on AI. In doing so, many of its
wonders that were realized predominantly through practical and miniature effects were
mistakenly attributed to CGI.
Like Reply Aug 27, 2013 11:03am

Gaston Vivanco RRPP at Law Firm (Estudios de abogados Bs As)

Amazing! I like so much!
Like Reply Aug 27, 2013 11:48am

Paulo Tony Stark Fortaleza, Brazil

http://youtu.be/GDG59mJ9_DQ
Like Reply Jan 29, 2014 10:22am

David Boccabella Owner-operator at Howling-Wind.com - By Fursuiters for Fursuiters

I will be honest - this film disturbed me on many levels. Not that I am against AI, or
sentient computers. I would love to sit and chat with one re how they view the world.
We ourselves cannot see how we think, only that we do. Likewise pain is but a stimuli from
the body to alert of danager.. - but we feel. Who is to say that one man's emotions are not
as true of our own. And so if we imbibe our creations with these then we must likewise
consider that to our creations - those feelings are as true as our own.
I will not go in to the philosophy of the 'soul' but rather the concept of the 'Self'. Self is a

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