WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.400 Oh Wimmo, Kelly Monk. 2 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:12.400 Six, We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Let me 3 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.839 tell you about Thon Davis. He's been on the show 4 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.079 a few times before, but I got to remind people 5 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:20.839 how big a deal he is. He's the founder of 6 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:25.280 FONC and creative director. He was a celebrity judge on 7 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:29.160 ABC's Battle Bots, an instructor at the Stan Winston School 8 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.840 on shows including Superfan Bills, Nerd Alert, Cake Masters, Starter Kit, 9 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:36.479 Painters Guild, and Adam Savage Is Tested. 10 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:37.960 But Wait, there's more. 11 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:41.039 In his three decade career, Fon Davis has worked on 12 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:45.520 over forty feature films countless music videos. I'm talking about 13 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:51.039 Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, Pearl Harbor, as well as the 14 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:56.759 Star Wars, Terminator, Mission Impossible, and Jurassic Park franchises. That 15 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:00.719 doesn't include his work in visual effects, working in the 16 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:04.400 art departments on Disney's The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and 17 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:09.159 the Giant Peach, Christmas, Carol, Mars Needs Moms, and The 18 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:14.200 Matrix series. More recently, Fawn worked on Just in case 19 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.840 You've never heard of these movies, Interstellar, Guardians of the 20 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:21.560 Galaxy and Elysium, and they're probably another twenty that he 21 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:25.159 can't tell us about because he's very secretive about his life. 22 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.920 But it's always good to have Fawn Davison Studio, Fawn 23 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:28.439 my friend. 24 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.000 Hey doing man, I'm doing a good. 25 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:35.359 I say that nervously because the entertainment industry is like 26 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:36.959 a roller coaster as always. 27 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:38.159 Well, I know this. 28 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:41.200 The entertainment industry is always a reflection of how we 29 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:45.480 feel about the economy, not how it is, but how 30 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.920 we feel. If we're nervous about the economy, then a 31 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:51.040 lot of companies will start to contract, They may lay 32 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:53.840 people off, having nothing to do with the actual economic climate. 33 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.920 But we know that entertainment usually is where we spend 34 00:01:57.959 --> 00:01:59.159 our disposable income. 35 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:01.840 Yes, and if we're worried about the economy, we're going 36 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:03.879 to spend less. Yeah. Yeah. 37 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:06.959 Well and it's also right now, it's been you know, 38 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:10.240 it's been all over the news, but the union negotiations 39 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:11.520 that have been happening for like a year and a 40 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:14.400 half now has affected a lot of what we do. 41 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:17.840 We're doing okay though, I mean uh fon Co studios. 42 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.439 Fortunately we don't just work in movies and television, so 43 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:25.520 a lot of that has been really slow. That's starting 44 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.039 to pick up just now because the unions have all 45 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:32.240 ratified their deals. But we also work in theme parks 46 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:34.960 and museums and education, all kinds of stuff. 47 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:38.680 So if I were to best describe what you did 48 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.400 and have done in your career, I can list the 49 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:47.439 titles and I can say it's special effects, practical and CGI. 50 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:50.680 But what is it the best way to describe, I 51 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:52.599 will say the breath and depth of your career. 52 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:57.000 I think it's the thread that kind of ties it 53 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:01.080 all together as visual storytelling. You know, I specialize in 54 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:05.319 unusual visual storytelling, but I specialize in visual storytelling. And 55 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:07.960 I feel like that's like at the core of my being, 56 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.240 you know. Even just walking through my studio, I feel 57 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:14.840 like the space itself tells a story and it's designed 58 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:19.080 that way, you know. So whether it's miniatures or creatures, 59 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:23.000 or visual effects or even classes that I do, it's 60 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:24.479 it's always visual storytelling. 61 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:26.360 Now there are classes. 62 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:29.000 You can go to the Stan Winston School and learn 63 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:32.199 certain things you can you can learn about this in college. 64 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:34.840 You can go to special trade schools and technical schools. 65 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:37.080 I suspect when you started out there was none of that. 66 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:41.120 Oh yeah, absolutely none of that you would comb through, 67 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:46.719 you know, all the different trade like books and things 68 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.439 that teach you about carpentry or teach you about model making. 69 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:53.439 But it was very rudimentary, hobbykind hobby grade stuff, you know, 70 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:55.800 so nothing, nothing to the level that you can get. 71 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:56.039 Now. 72 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.599 What was the first big movie that you were able 73 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.960 to work on? Remember before Christmas was the first feature 74 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.680 film I ever worked on. I was the youngest person 75 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:09.439 on the crew, and it was the best foundation for 76 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:11.960 the rest of my career that I could possibly imagine. 77 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:16.240 Because Henry Seleck, the director, wanted to do everything in 78 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:20.000 camera and not use any computer graphics or compositing or 79 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.759 anything like that. Practical effects, yeah, all practical and all 80 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:28.399 in camera, just optical. Like you know, if we wanted 81 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:32.000 to add two different elements together back then there was 82 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:34.120 blue screen, you could just composite those things together with 83 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:39.040 optical printers. But we would actually rewind the film and 84 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.720 shoot on it twice or three times, it depends on 85 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.199 how many elements. So you would shoot a candle and 86 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:46.839 then you would shoot a flame against black velvet. 87 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.759 So video layering, is that a way to describe it? 88 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.000 It's film, Yes, it's burning onto the same piece of 89 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:55.120 film multiple times, once for each element. 90 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:57.240 I didn't think you could do that. I thought when 91 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:59.040 you did it on film, it's done. There's nothing you 92 00:04:59.040 --> 00:04:59.839 can do to add to it. 93 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.079 Well, yeah, I mean, as long as you don't develop it, 94 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:05.480 you can keep exposing the film. That's and that's but 95 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:06.959 that's what I mean. That's so many things that we 96 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.800 you know, that I learned from working on that movie 97 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:13.079 that I probably would have never had an opportunity to 98 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:18.040 do outside of that that mandate that Henry Sellig gave us. 99 00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:19.680 We're going to be jumping around. But there's so many 100 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.360 things I'd love to ask you. What is it about film? 101 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:25.160 It's staying power? 102 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.839 Why directors want to use it, you know, a different 103 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:30.759 size of thirty millimeters or whatever. 104 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.920 Why film? Why is it so special even today? 105 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:39.040 Well, when you think about movies, it's, you know, it's 106 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:43.079 a combination of every art form imaginable. It's it's the 107 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:47.120 ultimate and collaboration, and it moves you at so many 108 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:49.480 different levels. When you think about the music, and when 109 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:51.920 you think about the visuals, and you think about the 110 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.680 actor's performance, and just there's so many different ways to 111 00:05:55.800 --> 00:06:01.879 express yourselves creatively in a in a movie that you know, 112 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.600 it's even even the stuff that has happens behind the scenes. 113 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:06.199 There's a lot of concept art, there's a lot of 114 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.279 costume design. There's just so many departments. I think that 115 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:14.240 you can't help to feel the touch of every artist 116 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:14.959 that worked on it. 117 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:19.079 When you're given a script or direction or an idea, 118 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:22.079 how does it go from that idea to inception? 119 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:24.319 You do you have a director sit down with you 120 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:26.800 and say, Okay, I need to have this starscape, I 121 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:29.360 need to have these ships and this is what is happening. 122 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:31.920 And do you take that idea and then realize it 123 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:36.120 or you give it more information? It's it really, I mean, 124 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:39.199 the answer to all these questions are usually it depends. 125 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.240 But I would say frequently we we get a script. 126 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.560 Sometimes we were brought in while they're still developing the script, 127 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.160 but they have certain story points they want us to 128 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:52.279 help them with, and we have multiple departments at my studios. 129 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:55.240 So sometimes it's the costume, sometimes it's creatures. Sometimes it's 130 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:59.959 it is the visual effects. So you know, we start 131 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:04.639 with just trying to get the director's vision. What does 132 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.160 the director want to achieve? What is the visual storytelling? 133 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:10.480 We're trying to get a prop across, you know, what 134 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:12.800 is the emotion we're trying to evoke from the audience. 135 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:15.680 There's a lot of that kind of conversation that happens, 136 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:17.800 and then we have to find a way to balance 137 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:22.519 the schedule and the budget and physics to make that happens. 138 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:24.480 Has there ever been a movie where you said, you 139 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.079 came across the idea what they're asking the script? What 140 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:29.600 have you? And you said, I cannot wait to bring 141 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.720 this to life? Oh, all the time, All the time. 142 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:35.759 I feel very fortunate to have the job that I have. 143 00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:39.639 I would stop short of saying I'm lucky, because I 144 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:41.680 really work my butt off to get where I am 145 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.800 and I continue to. But I do feel very, very 146 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:50.000 fortunate to look forward to going to work every single 147 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:53.800 Day's I feel like not everyone gets to experience that. 148 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:55.600 So it's a really great place to be. But you're 149 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:58.600 a nerd too. You were wearing an Ultraman Rising T shirt. 150 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:03.000 You have a Rebel Alliance necklace. You know, where does 151 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:06.079 it come from you? Personally? What is it you like 152 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:11.639 to see? I like to be you know, when it 153 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.639 comes to seeing movies, I like to be immersed in 154 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:14.000 a movie. 155 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.480 I like to forget I'm watching a movie. That's how 156 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:20.680 I know I'm watching a really good movie. If it's 157 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.319 if I'm not thinking about the costumes and the sets 158 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:26.079 and all the things that I deal with behind the 159 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:29.720 scenes and my colleagues deal with behind the scenes, then 160 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:31.160 I know it's a good story. 161 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.679 I know for me, when I'm listening to the radio, 162 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:36.279 it's hard for me to not listen to it. As 163 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:41.279 a radio professional, do you struggle with watching movies and 164 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:46.279 not noticing the subtleties around the edges? 165 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:48.759 Yes, absolutely, you know. 166 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.080 It takes a lot of attention to detail to do 167 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.679 the kind of work that we do, and I've delved 168 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:57.919 into directing in more recent years, which is really overseeing 169 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:02.720 every department. So when i'm I look for all the 170 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:05.120 things that could be wrong, because that's what I do 171 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:07.480 day in and day out. I'm looking for what is wrong, 172 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:09.279 what is wrong so I could fix it and make 173 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:11.279 sure that that doesn't end up in the final result. 174 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:12.000 You know. 175 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:14.960 So if there's something wrong in a movie, I'm gonna 176 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.000 spot it. 177 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:17.320 It'll take me out of the movie. 178 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.600 And that's a bummer because I do go see things 179 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:21.879 that I really want to enjoy. 180 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.759 Special effects Legend. Fon Davis joins us in studio. He's 181 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:28.799 Fon co creator and create excuse me, Fon co founder 182 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:29.759 and creative director. 183 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.360 He's joining us for two reasons. 184 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:34.519 He has a new educational series on technology and fabrication 185 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.519 with the Stan Winston School, and also a new program 186 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:41.159 called Lego Bot Battles, And I can't wait to ask 187 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:44.000 him about that as well, because I know when you 188 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:46.600 are a judge on BattleBots, I just know all the 189 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:48.960 fun that you had with that, so I assume this 190 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:50.919 is going to be more of that fun. More with 191 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:53.120 Fon Davis in just a moment, Later with Moe Kelly 192 00:09:53.159 --> 00:09:56.919 caff I AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 193 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:00.480 You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from 194 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:02.159 KFI AM six forty. 195 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.799 Fon Davis joins me in studio special Effects, Wizard and Legend. 196 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:08.039 He's very humble. He probably wouldn't want me saying that, 197 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.600 but I'm going to say it anyway. He has more 198 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:15.320 than three decades in the business special effects in various 199 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:19.360 positions and art departments on all of the top movies 200 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.120 across genres, and he's probably working on movies city. He 201 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.240 always teases me that he's working on movies city he 202 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:28.159 can't tell me about right now? Are you working on 203 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:29.759 movies right now that you can't tell me about? 204 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.039 Yes? See, but but I do. 205 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:36.039 There's I can talk about fly Me to the Moon 206 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.639 that's coming out now that now that's out now. Yeah, 207 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.200 we did the astronaut suits for that movie. 208 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:46.840 How involved was that? Trying to be as accurate as possible? 209 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:47.120 Oh? 210 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:51.639 It was. It was so many layers. The Ryan Nagatta 211 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:54.240 came to us with the project. He needed help with 212 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:58.039 it because he is an expert in making replica space suits, 213 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:02.440 multiple different types. I've done all the research about NASA's 214 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:06.279 history and the hardware and everything. He's gone to visit NASA, 215 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:10.440 so he was He's probably the foremost expert in NASA 216 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:13.080 space suits outside of the Space program. 217 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:16.559 And he was the worst pretty legit. Yeah. So we 218 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:18.440 worked very very closely with him. 219 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:21.039 He would make sure that everything was accurate and everything 220 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:23.399 was perfect for the movie. 221 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:25.360 Do you ever slip up every now and then? 222 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:27.519 Because I know you have to sign an NDA every 223 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.440 single day, do you ever just slip up and say, oh, yeah, 224 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:31.480 this happened today on the set. 225 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:33.159 Oh my goodness, I forgot I was supposed to say that. 226 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:38.840 No, no, that would never happen. No, yeah, I've never 227 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:42.840 slipped because it is so ingrained in our culture to 228 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:47.480 keep h you know, it's it's you know, even like 229 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:50.519 when like the most extreme example I could think of 230 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:54.639 when we work with Apple and you're working on commercial. 231 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:56.240 So we said that because the music we played at 232 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:58.559 the beginning of the segment was used in the Apple commercial. 233 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:02.159 Oh right on, yeah, yeah, yeah, So so working for Apple, 234 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:05.039 they're they're the most extreme. Like when if you're doing 235 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:08.639 a commercial for say a new iPad, you would call 236 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.919 it the device on set. You would never refer to 237 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.639 it by its name, so that when you go out 238 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:18.000 to lunch, if someone is eavedropping on your conversation, you 239 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.240 don't slip and say anything about the device. You would 240 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.440 just other than the device device, so you just talk 241 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.159 about the device all the time. And and you know, 242 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:31.480 so that's the extreme that will go to. You know, 243 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:34.559 we have code names for movies, you know, so, and 244 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:35.879 I'm sure you've heard about that. 245 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:36.200 I know that. 246 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.039 I though usually the script will have a faux name, 247 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:43.200 faux a fake name. Yeah, is that something that you 248 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.080 just adopt then as on the crew. Uh. 249 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:49.960 Usually the production company will assign one and then and 250 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.240 then that's the way you refer to it from there forward. 251 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:55.279 Do you remember any of them? Like the Matrix, you 252 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:58.120 remember what that was called? I don't remember the I 253 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:05.000 think it was burly Man. And then uh, oh man, 254 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:07.720 I think one of the star treks was called the Corporation. 255 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:10.200 You know, there there are names that would you would 256 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:12.720 never connect, and a lot of times there were there 257 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:15.679 names or words that could mean a great many things, 258 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:18.840 so you just would never you'd never be able to 259 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:20.200 guess it. It's very smart. 260 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:20.480 Really. 261 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.720 One thing I love about what I do is I 262 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:24.759 get the opportunity to talk to people like you, and 263 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:28.399 they have this this uh, this treasure trove of stories 264 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:31.000 and moments in their career which you may think nothing of, 265 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:34.360 but it may fascinate me or anyone listening. Is there 266 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:37.279 a particular moment which sticks out in your mind where 267 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:39.600 something went very right or very wrong, or you had 268 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:44.240 an interaction with an actor and special effects are something 269 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:45.519 that would. 270 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:46.639 Probably blow people's minds. 271 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.320 Oh man, there are so many unfair Yeah, no, no, no, 272 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:53.000 it's fine, it's fine. The one that I've been thinking 273 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.720 about recently. I don't know how remarkable this is, but 274 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.759 it's just kind of fun trivia. Uh is the is 275 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:03.799 because core Line just hit its fifteenth anniversary and Henry 276 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.440 Sealet got the band back together. We made core Line 277 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:10.039 up at like US Studios in Portland, Oregon, and I 278 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.159 was in the art department. My job was to design 279 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:14.840 a great number of the miniature sets for that movie. 280 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:18.799 And one of the tasks I had was designing the portal, 281 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.039 which was a very important element of the movie. And 282 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:25.759 I just had one drawing of the portal that was 283 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:31.320 a bunch of colored swirls to create this tube. And 284 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:33.360 I was trying to figure out how I can manifest 285 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.320 that into something physical, and I built a phone core 286 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:38.320 box in my office with a hole in it, and 287 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:42.080 I would test different materials to kind of mock up 288 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:45.440 what that portal could look like and everything, you know, Henry, 289 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.000 and then I would show it to Henry the director, 290 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:53.320 and everything either looked gross or too organic, or too 291 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:57.000 mechanical or too fabric like. It was just everything didn't 292 00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:01.279 have the right kind of ambiguous magic ice field. And 293 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:05.679 so what I ended up doing was I wound some 294 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:12.240 wire kind of in two transposing directions spiralink and attached 295 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:15.240 it together and then sprayed it with a spiderweb gun, 296 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:19.519 which is just hot glue. Because I was looking at 297 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:23.120 the drawing and it was all swirly, so I just 298 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:26.279 tried to achieve that in three D with sprayed. 299 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:27.200 Practical effects though. 300 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.840 Yeah, so the portal in the movie is is actually 301 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:33.200 just hot glue, wow. 302 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:33.960 Sprayed on the wire. 303 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:38.480 It was the simplest solution in the end, but it 304 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:41.159 took about nine months, I think, to arrive at that. 305 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.200 Luckily we had the time, but it took me about 306 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:46.519 nine months to land on something that looked good. 307 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:48.080 And it was it was hot glue. 308 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:50.519 Well, that is a perfect lead in when we come back, 309 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.919 let's get into this new educational series on technology and 310 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:57.320 fabrication with the Stan Winston School, and then also talk 311 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.600 about this new program called Lego Bot Battles. 312 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:03.360 Sounds great. It's Later with mo Kelly. 313 00:16:03.399 --> 00:16:06.320 My guest in studio is special effects wizard Fawn Davis, 314 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:07.600 KFI AM six forty. 315 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:09.519 We're live everywhere the iHeartRadio app. 316 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:13.480 You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from 317 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.200 KFI AM six forty. 318 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:19.759 My guest in studio is Fawn Davis, special effects wizard 319 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:23.559 and legend. I'm talking about movies like Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quests, 320 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:29.000 Pearl Harbor, worked on Star Wars series, Terminator, Mission Impossible, Jet, 321 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:34.240 Jurassic Park, so many movies, so much history, so much expertise, 322 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:36.879 and he's putting it all together. Faughn, you have a 323 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:40.559 new educational series on technology, Yes, and fabrication with the 324 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:43.080 stan Winston School. First tell me about the stan Winston 325 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:45.159 School and then tell me about this series. 326 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:47.759 So the stan Winston School is dedicated to the memory 327 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:52.360 of Stan Winston, who's got a very very rich history 328 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:57.039 of doing special effects for movies. His family, his children 329 00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:59.559 have put it together. And what they've done is they've 330 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:06.720 the like the greatest minds in motion picture special effects 331 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:13.440 and design and created this school where these professionals that 332 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:17.000 have been in the industry for decades are sharing their knowledge. 333 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.079 In these lessons. 334 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:23.319 So it's it's pretty mind blowing when you see the 335 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:25.720 If you go to the website stan Winston School dot 336 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.359 com and you see the instructors, they all have these 337 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:31.119 resumes very similar to mine, just lots and lots of 338 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:34.839 big feature films, very successful careers and all willing to 339 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:38.440 share the magic, the secret things that we do. 340 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:40.640 That wasn't the case probably back in the day. 341 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:44.200 Not only was there not the educational resource, I get 342 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:47.759 the sense that people probably weren't as free with the information. Yeah, 343 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:52.839 there was what we called trade secrets, right right, right, yeah, Yeah. 344 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.079 I feel like things have shifted. 345 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:58.920 You know, the Internet has changed a lot in the world, 346 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.599 and I think one of the really positive things is 347 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.240 the Internet is connected people in a way that it's 348 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:08.359 more of a community of artists and you know, uh, 349 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:13.680 I think that you know, it's it's considered shameful to 350 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:16.960 hang on to trade secrets. Now it's really our duty 351 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:19.599 to pass these things on and to share this information, 352 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:23.920 so for one, so it can continue past our generation, 353 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:27.759 but also just to inspire people in different ways to 354 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:28.519 get creative. 355 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:32.759 You said Stan Winston's School dot com. Correct, Yes, who 356 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:34.880 can be part of it? How can they get it? 357 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:36.279 Give us some more information. 358 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:38.359 Anyone can subscribe. 359 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:42.079 They have deals all the time, discounts and things like 360 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.400 that if you look for them and you just basically 361 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:49.000 you subscribe to it and you have access to all 362 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:50.319 the lessons on the website. 363 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:54.440 It's all that rich history, tradition, knowledge, wisdom. 364 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:59.160 Yeah, and it's it's animatronics, it's stop motion, it's sculpting, 365 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:02.759 it's to make an eyeball, it's you know, it's like wow, 366 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:03.519 it's that in depth. 367 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:04.880 Oh, it's very very in depth. 368 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.680 And it's and it's all professionals, you know, in front 369 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.799 of the camera talking to you as if they're across 370 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:13.599 the table from you. So it's a very personal way 371 00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:15.160 to get the information as well. 372 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:17.960 How do you think you mentioned iPhone, let's call it 373 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:22.079 the device. How do you think these devices have changed, 374 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.279 impacted or influenced what you do? We can, well, people 375 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:29.319 can film a movie, not film, but record a movie 376 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:33.880 on an iPhone tomorrow and with a sophisticated editing software 377 00:19:34.039 --> 00:19:35.000 it could be passable. 378 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:36.160 Yeah, in a large degree. 379 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:39.599 How is that the technology advancement impacted what you do? 380 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:41.960 Oh man? At every single level. 381 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:45.279 Technology has to improved the quality of our work, sped 382 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:49.359 up the you know, the efficiency at which we can 383 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.759 do the work, and made it more accessible to indie 384 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:54.200 filmmakers and younger people. 385 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:55.880 You know, it used to. 386 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:01.119 Be that just just to get film and develop it 387 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.480 was the bar to entry for making a movie, and 388 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.160 it was so prohibitively expensive for most people that you 389 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:11.920 did not have people making content, and now there's a 390 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:15.480 multitude of ways you can create content and express yourself. Uh, 391 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:20.359 and there are multiple uh, you know, mediums for distributing that. 392 00:20:20.680 --> 00:20:24.079 So it's it's it's really blown the lid right off 393 00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:25.960 the industry in that way. 394 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:27.759 You and I have known each other for a number 395 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:29.960 of years, but I was more tickled than anything to 396 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.440 see you be a part of the television show BattleBots, 397 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:36.880 which I had watched since its very first show. It's bumped, 398 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:38.880 it's jumped around on networks over the years, but I've 399 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:40.079 always loved BattleBots. 400 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.880 I look forward to it like the fall football season. 401 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:46.160