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The oral history of the Dinosaur Input Device

The oral history of the Dinosaur Input Device or: how to survive the near death of stop-motion By Ian Failes In visual effects lore, it is well-known that the full-motion dinosaurs of Jurassic Park…

Craig Hayes (computer interface engineer, Tippett Studio): Basically all the full-motion dinosaurs were going to be foam, latex, aluminium and steel armature stop-motion puppets, that would then be shot on bluescreen. Computer Tech Adam Valdez artfully incorporated such notes, and also efficiently addressed various “emergencies” as they arose such as roving “floating feet”, a strange artifact that the DID system would occasionally gift us with. “Joint chains” in the necks of the Raptor and T.rex presented problems with accumulated error, which translated into varying distances of where the CG dinosaur’s nose would actually end––crucial for interactions with props and objects, such as the Ford Explorer vehicle.

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