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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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!
This morning I observed that DC Comics is beginning to set up an offsite for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.
A big crane had begun lifting stuff up onto the terrace of the Hilton Gaslamp. Crates on a truck were marked Chaos Room, Swamp Thing and Chief’s Lab.
I was told by one guy working on the project that the offsite would include a Batmobile! Perhaps that explains the heavy duty crane. It appears this DC Universe project is being built by Giant Spoon.
I’ve also included a quick photo of the WB superheroes Rabbitville sculpture which is just inside the lobby of the Hilton Gaslamp.
As I see more, I’ll post updates here!
UPDATE!
Late today–Tuesday–I walked around the DC Comics offsite again. Looking high and low, I didn’t locate the Batmobile, but I did see a big DC Comics building wrap being placed on the exterior of the Hilton Gaslamp. The graphic includes lots of cool comic book covers, featuring a variety of different DC Universe characters!
The beginnings of a DC Comics building wrap on the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, site of their 2018 Comic-Con offsite!
UPDATE! SPOILERS!
I saw it early Wednesday morning! The Batmobile has arrived for the DC Universe offsite at the Hilton Gaslamp! It’s the one from Batman Returns!
I’ve also learned Penguin’s big duck vehicle from that same movie will also be present!
Batmobile from Batman Returns arrives in San Diego for the DC Universe offsite during 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 huge helicopter now stands high above the street on a steel structure for the Jack Ryan Experience at 2018 San Diego Comic-Con!
Check it out! More cool stuff is appearing around downtown for 2018 Comic-Con!
The Jack Ryan Experience has been under construction for a few days now, and that helicopter I spied in the parking lot is now way up in the air on a huge steel structure. It appears the zip line will descend from the helicopter across a backdrop depicting a rugged Middle Eastern landscape!
I also spotted three gigantic banners hung from the parking structure of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. They advertise two upcoming video games: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Kingdom Hearts III.
Ten days to go until Comic-Con officially opens!
The Jack Ryan Experience graphic backdrop appears complete. Lots of crates in the parking lot indicate there’s much more set to up before this Comic-Con offsite is ready.A look at the gigantic Jack Ryan helicopter from across the street. A zip line will run from it along a Middle Eastern aerial landscape.The Hilton Bayfront parking structure has three huge banners hung as of today for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.A prominent banner facing Petco Park and downtown promotes the upcoming video game Shadow of the Tomb Raider.Another banner on the Harbor Drive side of the parking structure also advertises the new Tomb Raider game.A huge banner facing the San Diego Convention Center features Disney characters and promotes Kingdom Hearts III which debuts early next year.
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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!
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!
Amazon will be promoting their new Jack Ryan web television series in a big way during 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, and their cool offsite The Jack Ryan Experience is now under construction.
You’ll find it in that big parking lot off First Avenue, north of Harbor Drive, where Blade Runner 2049 was located last year.
UPDATE!
I took those first two photos this morning–Friday. This evening after work I swung on by again and noticed that red steps are now in place that climb up to a zip line.
UPDATE!
I took more photos on Sunday afternoon. Some graphics are going up, plus what appears to be a large United States military helicopter in the middle of the parking lot. I’m told visitors to The Jack Ryan Experience will find themselves immersed in a Middle Eastern setting. It will be interesting to see what develops!
UPDATE!
I’ve taken a bunch more photos! You can see how the construction has progressed by checking out one of my later San Diego Comic-Con blog posts, by clicking here.
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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!
According to a sign in a window, the retail space at 635 Fifth Avenue is available as a temporary space for San Diego Comic-Con.
Two weeks to go and counting!
I’ve spotted a few more signs that San Diego Comic-Con is on the way!
I suspect most of the building wraps, banners, and offsite venue construction will begin materializing sometime next week.
I’ll keep watching for new stuff!
Pacific San Diego Magazine’s latest issue has hit the streets. It includes an article about Aquaman appearing at 2018 Comic-ConOmnia nightclub has its lineup ready for Comic-Con weekend.An advertisement for the upcoming movie Skyscraper has been conveniently slapped on a construction site near the center of the Gaslamp Quarter.Chef Santiago of the Donut Bar has his cool Deadpool Ferrari parked on B Street.A couple of posters promoting Castle Rock have appeared in the Gaslamp, including a coveted spot near the Tin Fish.The City of San Diego has placed signage out indicating street closures for a very special event: 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!
Spreckels Theatre marquee welcomes Conan O’Brien for Comic-Con. His funny TBS talk show will be in San Diego on July 18-21.
Just three weeks to go until 2018 Comic-Con!
In addition to Marvel banners now hung up and down streets throughout downtown, and numerous trolley wraps that I’ve been tracking down to photograph lately, a few other signs that 2018 Comic-Con is approaching have slowly begun to appear…
A trolley wrap during Comic-Con advertises SDCCU, Your Credit Union Superhero!Cool artwork in the window of Sparks Gallery in the Gaslamp Quarter includes Marvel, DC, and other pop culture characters.Sign in window of the San Diego Law Library concerns the Lindley Lecture on Law and Comics. There’s a new location and time. Crowdfunding to Hollywood: Comics in 2018 will be held in the Neil Morgan Auditorium of the Central Library a couple days before Comic-Con.Homer Simpson and Rick and Morty socks are now in the window of the Find Your Feet store in the Gaslamp!
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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!
A trolley wrap for 2018 Comic-Con promotes ABC’s upcoming show Whiskey Cavalier. Lauren Cohan costars with Scott Foley. She’s a CIA operative; he’s with the FBI.
I was completely wrong! In a recent Comic-Con trolley post, I surmised that ABC wouldn’t have a trolley wrap this year. Look what I spied this morning! Whiskey Cavalier, a show that’s coming to the ABC television network, is being promoted in San Diego.
A quick check of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog shows there are two additional Bob’s Burgers wraps debuting, as well. There are so many trolley wraps now I can hardly keep track of them!
Now I have to keep my eyes peeled for those new Bob’s Burgers trolleys! And who knows what else?
What fun!
Another cool trolley wrap for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con spotted at the Fifth Avenue station downtown.Whiskey Cavalier is coming soon to ABC television. An FBI and a CIA agent deal with relationships and office politics while occasionally saving the world.The face of FBI agent Will Chase played by Scott Foley. Opposite him, Lauren Cohan plays CIA operative Francesca “Frankie” Trowbridge.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 