AB taking another stab (swipe?) at Freeborn!

[Uniform Two Six]

So apparently AB got some renewed interest in the Freeborn project from investors and they're funding a full transformation proof of concept scene. He's a little close-hold on the details, but says "there's money now". I know we've been down this road before, but personally I'm stoked. AB posted new videos of the practical effects they're working on.

https://youtu.be/4Znz_WLZfoE
https://youtu.be/Qbo_wwEs_0E
https://youtu.be/9a9cJjjnJ2k
https://youtu.be/KB1LeKRnPdk
https://youtu.be/t-b9oF6wCRE

[Meeper]

"This?... Is a butt." For a moment there I thought it was an exceptionally shapely forequarter! . Cue the never moon a werewolf puns.

Is it me, or did that butt look a bit girly? Tasha maybe? The extremities are looking pretty good too. Not going as far as to say I'm stoked, but I like it.

Also, practical effects!


The Meeper.

[Uniform Two Six]

Remember! All they need is a full moon!

Also, definitely girly. But... I'm thinking it's probably not Tasha, but rather what's-her-name... Zane's main squeeze. (Jeez, I can't believe I forgot the character's name. I think it's been, like, a really long time since I read the script).

And I agree. Practical effects are awesome.

[Meeper]

Also, definitely girly. But... I'm thinking it's probably not Tasha, but rather what's-her-name... Zane's main squeeze. (Jeez, I can't believe I forgot the character's name. I think it's been, like, a really long time since I read the script).

Sherri Frost (I remembered the name, just not how it was spelled, had to look it up. ). I don't know, I just figured it'd be Tasha because of the blood 'n' guts trailer which was going to feature Tasha wolfing out. Now THAT would be a treat for a "simple" proof of concept piece.

The Meeper.

[Thylo]

It's actually going to be a prequel short, and the lovely lady going to transform is Jack's Wife. From what has been described, it's going to be her first change and she has no idea that she's a wolf. So i'm curious to see how it plays out.

[Uniform Two Six]

Sherri Frost...

SHERRI! Argh! That was figuratively killing me. Thanks.

...and the lovely lady going to transform is Jack's Wife.

Woah, woah, woah... Jack had a wife?
Oh my god, I can't wait to see this thing.

[Meeper]

SHERRI! Argh! That was figuratively killing me. Thanks.

Welcome.

...and the lovely lady going to transform is Jack's Wife.

Woah, woah, woah... Jack had a wife?
Oh my god, I can't wait to see this thing.

I dunno about "wife", but Jack was going steady a proverbial mate mate till about 3 or so years before Sherri showed up, that is, until said mate mate lost here head in a traffic accident (literally).

On a side note, I think I may be becoming a Freeborn nerd.


The Meeper.

[Uniform Two Six]

I dunno about "wife", but Jack was going steady a proverbial mate till about 3 or so years before Sherri showed up, that is, until said mate lost here head in a traffic accident (literally).

I don't remember any of this! This was in the script AB posted?

[Meeper]

I dunno about "wife", but Jack was going steady a proverbial mate till about 3 or so years before Sherri showed up, that is, until said mate lost here head in a traffic accident (literally).

I don't remember any of this! This was in the script AB posted?

No, not the '05 script (I did a quick check but found no mention at the time of writing this). I can't say too much because AB told me to shush, but Jack had a lady friend who came up in a conversation with another character at some point. If this is a prequel short then I'd hazard a guess this is her.

The Meeper.

[Uniform Two Six]

So... car accident, huh? I guess even werewolves need to wear a seatbelt?

[Meeper]

I guess something projected through one of the car windows maybe, either her head poked out and got pranged a bit too hard by something on the way past, or something entered the vehicle and did her a mischief that way. Who knows, maybe it wasn't that well thought through, and just added as a plausible sounding way to make the point that werewolves have mundane worldly vulnerabilities other than doing each other a mischief with silver bullets.

More on topic, I'm kinda tempted to drop AB a line about these prosthetics and such. I've some ideas, probably overkill for a film/TV show, but may be worth the investment if werewolves hang around and/or do active sequences in gestalt form often enough. He'd probably say thanks but not appropriate, but I still wanna do it. In case you're curious, I've been working on turning a full body werewolf costume into basically a one-man vehicle: Soft exoskeleton for load bearing and dynamic muscle contraction simulation, with some power assist built in for stunt models. It's totally crazy but if it works they'll rip the Underworld werewolf suits a new one in the speed & agility department .

The Meeper.

[Uniform Two Six]

That sounds -- expensive. I'm sort of getting this mental image of the cargo-walker from Aliens -- but with a tail scotch-taped on.

[Meeper]

Hah! No, don't let the word "exoskeleton" fool you, or shadow the word that preceded it, "soft". The human body already has a hard skeleton, which the "soft" exoskeleton will use to maintain its shape in the majority of axes, molding itself to the body's contours like a harness, all except for the axis of rotation appropriate to each joint (ankle, knee, hip, etc). In theory the exoskeleton will form a distributed layer of load bearing structure about 5-10mm thick, thin enough to integrate into prosthetics and makeup appliances to form a complete suit, and able to be worn in much the same way as a wetsuit.

As for cost, Kevlar is pretty cheap on Amazon (50 foot of Kevlar rope for about $10 I think), and they get roughly 5 years of R&D for the princely sum of reading an email because that's how I roll. You'll need Kevlar for its flexibility and tensile strength in load bearing structures. All AB & Co will need to do is buy enough to make whatever performance suits they need. Considering they already have a workshop for rubber and glass fiber, I'll go out on a limb and say they can probably handle Kevlar just fine, without having to hire new talent.

Edit: I forgot to mention, all of this works without batteries or electric motors, everything is done with passive mechanical parts.

The Meeper.

[Uniform Two Six]

Well, if pitching it as a theatrical thing doesn't work -- Halloween is coming up.

[Meeper]

Welllll... I've been considering building a prototype for halloween in the next year or two (too late for this year). I'd probably do a minotaur though, something blatantly bulky to try out the muscle simulation on so it's easier to work with (yeah yeah, a huge built werewolf would be fun too; decisions decisions).

Joking aside, this sort of thing could be sold to other customers, you and me, for recreational purposes. The way I think of it is as sort of like a bicycle, something that can be worn, or in more conventional sense "sat on" and you walk and run around. Something like this could be sold to LARPers who want to play more elaborate critters. I'm not really in a position to do that, but someone like AB potentially could be, he could sell 'em as a specialist line right next to the werewolf slippers!


The Meeper.

[Meeper]

Well, if pitching it as a theatrical thing doesn't work -- Halloween is coming up.

Update: Welp, I did it. A couple of emails later, here's what I know: I told AB about the suspension system, mobility enhancements, and a couple of other bits and pieces, and he told me of the two 3D printers in the workshop and CNC machine in the mail. Long story short, if I've got it, then he's interested, but right now he's doing this transformation. Patience padawan.

That said, I've not sugar coated it, what we'd be doing is not a trivial task, making a full-blown digitigrade "vehicle". I mean for making a movie/TV series there may be far simpler ways of accomplishing things with wire-work, green screen... Hire a small mobile crane to drive with the actor in the werewolf suite... I think the only thing in favor of a vehicular suit is cutting all the cords and let the actor let rip.

This could get pretty wild.

Also, I feel like a virgin on prom night, oof.


The Meeper.

[Uniform Two Six]

Y'know, a little off topic, but I've seen some neat practical (as in NOT CGI) creature effects done by (of all things) fursuiters. One guy did this sort-of digitigrade leg thing... the paw was simply made big enough that it could hide his foot inside it, and the hock and everything was simply an empty extension that was behind his calf, suspended from his knee. The "werewolf knee" was another extension that protruded a bit further from his thigh. Like, it was so simple in design, and he's just walking around normally (well, stalking around with this hunched, predatory werewolf pose...) but the whole thing looks really natural and totally looks like he's got a digitigrade stance -- unless you really look.

That thing's on youtube somewhere. I need to go find that again.

[Meeper]

Ahh yeah, I know the ones. I seem to remember seeing an equine suit that made me do a double take .

This one is pretty cool. Movies can "green screen" cheat though .

As for me, it's a bit of a funny story. I began work after thinking the Underworld suit's mobility sucked. Later I saw some interesting potential for medical applications, people with say muscular distrophy, or recovering from injury, you could wear an advanced leg strength enhancement exoskeleton to improve quality of life; this drove design innovation toward making things super sleek, to fit under clothing. Then about a year ago I came full circle back to werewolf suits, and am having a bit a field day. I guess it depends what the goals and trade-offs are.

The Meeper.

[Meeper]

Well now, seems there's more to this endeavor than Freeborn.

I'll just leave this here...

The Meeper.