Dozens of amazing stop-motion puppets can be viewed inside LAIKA LIVE San Diego at 2018 Comic-Con!
Wow!
If you thought last year’s Laika Experience at Comic-Con was great, you’ll be absolutely stunned by LAIKA LIVE San Diego in 2018!
Not only are there lots of detailed puppets, models and scale movie sets, but during the tour visitors can meet and talk to an actual working armaturist and an animator! Anyone interested in how Laika produces their films can ask any sort of question, and the friendly guys explain everything–from how puppets, their armatures and costumes are created and manipulated, to how scenes are conceived and filmed.
Visitors to LAIKA LIVE San Diego also get a preview of the upcoming funny and heartwarming movie Missing Link.
If you can, visit this Comic-Con offsite before Comic-Con actually begins and the lines get really, really long.
Here are some photos. Read the captions for more info. I’m no expert, so I hope I’ve described things correctly.
There’s a lot more to see than what I cover here. Many detailed displays that visitors can view during the tour explain the complicated process of making a Laika movie!
Before beginning the tour, visitors can pose with various Laika characters, like Other Mother, for a photo.While we wait to begin the tour, we watch a video explaining various aspects of Laika’s animation and how their fantastic movies are produced.Visitors are encouraged to vote for this LEGO model of Coraline’s house by photographing a QR code. Given enough votes, LEGO will produce the kit!A board contains Laika fan art and letters.Examples of one letter and some fan art.Visitors to LAIKA LIVE San Diego get character fans as free swag.The tour has begun. Here we see a large model of Coraline’s Other World House Exterior, or Pink Palace. The 1/16 scale miniature was used to film several exterior scenes.A closer look, with models of Coraline characters on the porch.A friendly LAIKA armaturist describes how puppets are made, manipulated and repaired at his workstation, dubbed the Puppet Hospital. He answered every sort of question!Two of the puppets, I believe from ParaNorman.A look at the Puppet Hospital and some of the tools used to make, modify and repair Laika’s many puppets.Once a puppet’s physical posture is slightly altered, the turn of a key tightens up the armature for another camera shot.Next we see how this Laika animator captures images of Kubo on a small set of his village using a camera on a running rig.One camera shot is analyzed.Software allows many frames to be merged and edited into a completed film.Some puppets have many faces that can be attached, each with a slightly different expression.The tour continues to a large set that is being used to film Laika’s upcoming funny movie Missing Link. The detail of the Pacific Northwest forest is extraordinary.The friendly LAIKA tour guide poses for a fun photo!Near the end of the tour, there is a life-size replica of Coraline’s Other World Living Room.A fantastic set and puppets used in the filming of The Boxtrolls.More cool sights during an amazing tour of LAIKA LIVE San Diego at 2018 Comic-Con!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
A large bunker-like structure has been built in one corner of Amazon’s huge Jack Ryan Experience offsite for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.
A week to go and more stuff is showing up outside 2018 San Diego Comic-Con!
I walked around the Gaslamp Quarter and East Village after work and got some photos! Nothing has appeared yet behind the San Diego Convention Center, or outside Petco Park. Once the ESRI conference ends and the Padres finish their home stand, I’ll bet that changes rapidly!
Read the captions!
Another photo of the Jack Ryan Experience taken one week before Comic-Con. You can see the zip line.The huge helicopter now stands near a mock building whose doors have Moorish-looking arches.Guys work on the helicopter which seems to have a fresh coat of glossy paint.The entrance to LAIKA LIVE San Diego appears ready to go. It opens tomorrow–Friday afternoon–six days before 2018 Comic-Con!If you read the final update near the end of my last blog post, you’ll recognize this mystery object!The cool DC Universe wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp appears to be halfway applied.A building wrap on the Omni Hotel is just getting started. Looks to me like it promotes The Gifted.Walking through the Gaslamp yesterday, I saw this scary clown head on the Fifth Avenue sidewalk, but today it’s gone!Amazon is erecting an offsite that promotes their Fire TV and popular channels that it features. You can find it at the corner of Market Street and Seventh Avenue.Graphic on the Fire TV tent. Watch Disenchantment on Netflix starting August 17.
UPDATE!
Here are photos taken late Friday. Lots of new offsites and wraps are beginning to appear!
With less than a week to go, Comic-Con International logos have appeared all over the San Diego Convention Center!A guy driving a lift around the convention center is getting stuff ready for 2018 Comic-Con!A big building wrap on the Omni Hotel will promote Amazon’s upcoming show Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.Hulu’s offsite promoting Castle Rock is rising near the New Children’s Museum in San Diego.Workers get the Castle Rock activation ready for 2018 Comic-Con.More work has been done on the Jack Ryan Experience. The Jack Ryan Training Field allows fans to immerse themselves in a hyper-reality virtual reality spy experience.The huge bunker-like escape room in one corner of the Jack Ryan Experience has a cool seal. JACK RYAN DARK OPS.The cool DC Universe wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp is almost completed.A wrap on the Omni Hotel promoting The Gifted, above initial construction of an NBC offsite near the Tin Fish. Fans will experience The Good Place.Guys in charge of erecting The Good Place offsite for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con confer in the summer sunshine.A big Conan O’Brien wrap is being placed on the Marriott Marquis. The design appears similar to this year’s Conan trolley wrap.A building wrap is being applied to the Hilton Bayfront, and the Adult Swim offsite has barely begun to appear. No FXhibition as of yet.I don’t recognize what this wrap promotes–not yet! The motorcycle suggests it might by the new FX series Mayans MC–the spin-off from Sons of Anarchy. Feel free to leave a comment if you know!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I plan to take tons of photos during 2018 Comic-Con!
LAIKA LIVE San Diego is coming to 2018 Comic-Con . . . bigger and better than last year!
In my previous blog post, I discovered Laika is returning to San Diego Comic-Con. This morning I walked down to check things out again and learned that Laika’s presence in the Gaslamp this year will be substantially larger and more interesting!
The Laika Experience in 2017 was so amazingly successful, with lines that were so long, they’ve decided to enlarge the space and include even more stuff. I learned that for LAIKA LIVE San Diego this year, there will be life-size movie sets that the public can enter, including Coraline’s bedroom! (I went on the tour since I wrote this. Turns out I misinterpreted what I heard. It’s a life-size replica of Coraline’s Other World Living Room. Still very cool!)
UPDATE!
Here’s some great info I received from Laika!
Oscar®-winning animation studio LAIKA, creators of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings, returns to the heart of San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter with an all new, bigger-than-ever LAIKA LIVE exhibit from Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 22, 2018 coinciding with the city’s PRIDE and Comic-Con festivities. With a new location (350 Fifth Avenue) providing three times the space as last year’s fantastically successful LAIKA installation, the free and all new exhibit will feature a huge cache of props, puppets, and sets from LAIKA’s critically acclaimed and award-winning films. Highlights include fan art, technology demonstrations, drawings for a pair of coveted Coraline Dunks from Nike, social media activations, LAIKA merchandise offered for sale (including brand new items and limited edition Coraline items), multiple giveaways, and more. LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight will lead a Facebook Live tour of the exhibit and do an autograph signing with a soon-to-be-announced special guest on Saturday, July 21.
Curators will explain the magical process of LAIKA’s filmmaking as guests peek behind the curtain at one of the most imaginative film studios in the world. LAIKA’s roster of costume characters (appearing both at the exhibit and throughout the Gaslamp Quarter) will pose for photos and for the first time ever will include Coraline and Other Mother, in a nod to the iconic film’s 10th anniversary (release date was February 9, 2009). In addition, fans will meet the costume character Mr. Link and see a set and Mr. Link puppet from LAIKA’s latest film Missing Link (set for release April 19, 2019).
Saturday, July 21 (with soon-to-be announced special guest)
11am: LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight (director of Kubo and the Two Strings) will take Facebook Live guests on a tour of the exhibit. (Details tba)
12:30 to 2:00pm: Autograph signing session with Travis Knight. Autographs of merchandise (available at the store at LAIKA LIVE) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, time permitting.
WHAT TO SEE at LAIKA LIVE:
● Sets, puppets, props and technology demonstrations from all four LAIKA films as well as our hero puppet and a set from the studio’s upcoming Missing Link.
● LAIKA merchandise available for purchase.
● Daily drawing for one pair of collectible Coraline Dunks from Nike.
● Photo ops with LAIKA costume characters, including:
◦ Coraline and Other Mother from Coraline
◦ Norman and Zombie Judge from ParaNorman
◦ Boxtrolls Fish and Sparky from The Boxtrolls
◦ Kubo, Monkey and Beetle from Kubo and the Two Strings
◦ Mister Link from Missing Link
Coraline graphic at entrance to the LAIKA LIVE San Diego offsite at 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.
Laika is returning to Comic-Con! As I walked through the Gaslamp Quarter this evening, I noticed their offsite venue for 2018 is under construction, in the old Dick’s Last Resort patio, where the Syfy Geek Love Chapel was located last year.
I loved the Laika Experience last year. Lots of cool stop-motion puppets, models and sets from their great animated movies were on display, open free to the general public. If you want to see what they had on display during Comic-Con last year, check out the related links at the bottom of this blog post.
I’m not sure right now exactly what LAIKA LIVE San Diego will be, but when I did some searching I noticed that Kubo and the Two Strings will be showing at the UltraStar Theater in Hazard Center during Comic-Con. I also know they are working on a new movie Missing Link which will debut in 2019.
LAIKA LIVE San Diego is coming to the Gaslamp Quarter for 2018 Comic-Con!The Boxtrolls.ParaNorman.Kubo and the Two Strings.
UPDATE!
Here’s some great info I received from Laika!
Oscar®-winning animation studio LAIKA, creators of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings, returns to the heart of San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter with an all new, bigger-than-ever LAIKA LIVE exhibit from Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 22, 2018 coinciding with the city’s PRIDE and Comic-Con festivities. With a new location (350 Fifth Avenue) providing three times the space as last year’s fantastically successful LAIKA installation, the free and all new exhibit will feature a huge cache of props, puppets, and sets from LAIKA’s critically acclaimed and award-winning films. Highlights include fan art, technology demonstrations, drawings for a pair of coveted Coraline Dunks from Nike, social media activations, LAIKA merchandise offered for sale (including brand new items and limited edition Coraline items), multiple giveaways, and more. LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight will lead a Facebook Live tour of the exhibit and do an autograph signing with a soon-to-be-announced special guest on Saturday, July 21.
Curators will explain the magical process of LAIKA’s filmmaking as guests peek behind the curtain at one of the most imaginative film studios in the world. LAIKA’s roster of costume characters (appearing both at the exhibit and throughout the Gaslamp Quarter) will pose for photos and for the first time ever will include Coraline and Other Mother, in a nod to the iconic film’s 10th anniversary (release date was February 9, 2009). In addition, fans will meet the costume character Mr. Link and see a set and Mr. Link puppet from LAIKA’s latest film Missing Link (set for release April 19, 2019).
Saturday, July 21 (with soon-to-be announced special guest)
11am: LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight (director of Kubo and the Two Strings) will take Facebook Live guests on a tour of the exhibit. (Details tba)
12:30 to 2:00pm: Autograph signing session with Travis Knight. Autographs of merchandise (available at the store at LAIKA LIVE) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, time permitting.
WHAT TO SEE at LAIKA LIVE:
● Sets, puppets, props and technology demonstrations from all four LAIKA films as well as our hero puppet and a set from the studio’s upcoming Missing Link.
● LAIKA merchandise available for purchase.
● Daily drawing for one pair of collectible Coraline Dunks from Nike.
● Photo ops with LAIKA costume characters, including:
◦ Coraline and Other Mother from Coraline
◦ Norman and Zombie Judge from ParaNorman
◦ Boxtrolls Fish and Sparky from The Boxtrolls
◦ Kubo, Monkey and Beetle from Kubo and the Two Strings
◦ Mister Link from Missing Link
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Cool banners that celebrate Marvel’s Infinity War films and Marvel Studio’s first ten years have been hung in the Gaslamp Quarter for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con! There are several different colorful designs featuring lots of popular characters, including members of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Check them out!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
With the appearance of this year’s Comic-Con trolley wraps, many people I speak to are starting to get excited.
Now that I’m thinking about Comic-Con, too, it has occurred to me that over the years my blog has featured lots of photos concerning one of the absolute biggest franchises in pop culture: Star Wars!
I’ve rounded up a bunch of links that would be fun to check out. You’ll find unique photos of Star Wars artwork, models, cosplay, and even some humorous Star Wars street art!
The stern of HMS Surprise, the beautiful ship used in the filming of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe.
If you’ve watched the memorable movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, you might recall the fictional British warship HMS Surprise was center stage for most of the film, which was set during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is now home to the working ship that was used in the filming of Master and Commander. Originally built in 1970 as a replica of the HMS Rose, a British 24-gun frigate from 1757, the ship was purchased by 20th Century Fox in 2001 and modified to appear in scenes in the 2003 film. Because of its starring role in Master and Commander, the ship was subsequently re-registered as HMS Surprise.
The critically acclaimed movie, starring Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, was based on a series of popular novels written by Patrick O’Brien. Russell Crowe has been lobbying for a sequel for over a decade now. According to what I’ve heard, there’s a possibility the sequel might finally be made.
The museum recently debuted a new exhibit aboard HMS Surprise called Man-of-War, and along with many new signs on the main deck and gun deck, the captain’s great cabin is now open to the public. (You can see other aspects of the new Man-of-War exhibit here. Clicking the link will take you to a past blog post concerning HMS Surprise, where I’ve added updated photographs.)
Several memorable scenes in the movie take place inside the great cabin. Among others, you might recall scenes of officers dining and strategizing as they pursue the French privateer Acheron around Cape Horn to the Galapagos Islands, and of Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin playing the violin and cello.
While I’ve been told much of the filming of Master and Commander was done on movie sets, the great cabin visitors see on the working ship HMS Surprise is much like the one portrayed in the movie.
The great cabin of HMS Surprise is now open to the public. Several displays provide interesting information.Sign reads the Great Cabin in the stern of the Surprise was reserved for the captain’s use. Here he slept, held council with his officers, and entertained his invited guests.Photo inside the great cabin of HMS Surprise. In real life the space feels cramped and the table is small. The large stern windows are a familiar sight in the movie.Unlike most of the crew, the captain enjoyed wine and ate in style.Historically, guns were deployed in the great cabin during battles at sea. To make room for the gunners, the furniture was removed and placed in a longboat which was then towed behind the ship!Another photo inside the great cabin of HMS Surprise.Photo on wall recalls a scene in Master and Commander. Captain Jack Aubrey shares a toast with ship’s doctor and officers.A display in the great cabin concerns prize money and medals. After a victorious battle, captains and crews were rewarded by the British government.Gun on the starboard side of the great cabin, next to a chest and swords hung at the ready in case the ship was boarded by the enemy, or sailors mutiny.A violin on a stand. The favorite musical instrument of the fictional Captain Jack Aubrey.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Motion Pictures, Photography by Gjon Mili, is a free to the public exhibition inside the San Diego Museum of Art’s Gallery 15.
There is currently a free exhibition of Gjon Mili photography at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Gjon Mili was a photographer for Life magazine during the Golden Age of Photojournalism.
Born in Albania, Gjon Mili came to America to study electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he experimented with photography. As a photographer for Life, he captured a wide variety of action with his camera, including motion in sports and dance.
He was a pioneer in the use of stroboscopic light, stop-motion techniques, and other novel methods of photography. One famous innovation is his iconic light drawings. He also focused on jazz performance, and the work of contemporary artists, such as Picasso. In 1944 he filmed his first true motion picture, Jammin’ the Blues, after his passion for jazz was ignited by hosting a party that included Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie.
This very cool (and free) exhibition can be found in Gallery 15, through a door beside Panama 66 at the San Diego Museum of Art’s outdoor May S. Marcy Sculpture Court.
Here are a few photos to provide a hint of what you’ll see…
Long Island University basketball team demonstrates best scoring plays. Gelatin silver print, 1940.Gjon Mili (1904-1984), an immigrant from Albania, was a photographer for Life magazine. He could capture on one negative more grace and beauty than Hollywood cameramen could get on many feet of motion-picture film.Woman playing badminton. Gelatin silver print, 1945.Starting line for the sixty-yard hurdles of the Millrose Games. Gelatin silver print, 1948.Gjon Mili on the set of Jammin’ the Blues. Photographic reproduction, 1944.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
The positively huge Blade Runner 2049 Experience is under construction on First Avenue for 2017 San Diego Comic-Con!
I was wrong! In a previous post, I thought the huge structure being built on First Avenue just north of Harbor Drive was for a private party. Wrong! It’s going to house the Blade Runner 2049 Experience. And it’s positively enormous! I also learned it will be free to the public–no Comic-Con badge required. You can bet I’ll be checking that out!
Today I also saw that progress has been made at Amazon’s The Tick Takeover site at the corner of First Avenue and Harbor Drive, and at the Midnight, Texas site near the Tin Fish. Here are some photos. Six days to go until Comic-Con!
A cool 4D experience being built near the Tin Fish promotes the upcoming NBC show Midnight, Texas.It appears to me this old motorhome will be part of a spooky Midnight, Texas attraction at Comic-Con.A building with broken windows and a big gaping hole has appeared along MLK Promenade for Amazon’s The Tick Takeover.And attached to the building is this. Every hero must face their destiny. Are you ready to face yours? The Tick.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Models of characters in the stop motion animated film ParaNorman displayed inside the Laika Experience San Diego for 2017 Comic-Con.
The Laika Experience San Diego opened this afternoon! This very cool exhibit created in the Gaslamp by Laika Entertainment runs through the end of Comic-Con. It’s free to the public and well worth checking out! You can find it at 520 Fifth Avenue.
Here are a few photos I took of the many highly detailed models, props, sets and puppets used by Laika in making their four films: Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings.
Laika still uses the stop motion method to create their awesome animation. I learned they only use CGI sparingly, for things that are difficult to animate, like fire and water. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and the kids in our small group had a blast. There are lots of amazing models from each of their four movies, and a video and informative displays that explain the stop motion animation process.
Kubo greets passersby in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. A free exhibit by Laika Entertainment demonstrates their stop motion animation and includes puppets, sets and props.This cool artwork, made of LED lights, is from Laika’s acclaimed first movie Coraline.Detailed model of Beldam from the movie Coraline.Awesome model of the crooked house from ParaNorman!Cool models of characters from ParaNorman.From that hallway locker scene in ParaNorman!Archibald Snatcher in his giant robot in the movie The Boxtrolls. Amazing detail!A miniature set from Kubo and the Two Strings.This model of the Moon Beast from Kubo and the Two Strings was made using 3-D printing then pieced together.Norman is out on a San Diego sidewalk! You can meet him during Comic-Con and see a very cool free exhibit created by the stop motion animation wizards at Laika!Shoe and Fish of the Boxtrolls wave hello!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 