‘Jurassic Parks’ is considered as one of the classic sci-fi flicks of all time. And raptors in the movie – some people believe to be computer-generated – were an amazing sight, but little did people know about how the prehistoric monsters were designed.
To surprise of most of the viewers, rather than being computer generated, the raptors were played by puppeteers in suits in the 1993 flick.
Although Stan Winston Studio created multiple raptors for Jurassic Park, including full-size cable-controlled puppets, half-puppets and insert legs, some raptor shots were most efficiently captured with a man in a suit.
SWS supervisor John Rosengrant was pegged as the main Raptor suit performer, with SWS concept designer Mark “Crash” McCreery also pitching in when the shot required two raptors.
Creation of the ‘monster’
Pictures taken via Stan Winston
Working with special FX legend Stan Winston (whose work can also be seen in films like “Predator,” the first two “Terminator” movies, “Aliens,” “Edward Scissorhands,” and more), the production team created a raptor suit that allowed puppeteers to crawl into the bodies of these giant creatures.
Stan Winston team describes it this way: “This Raptor performance was Rosengrant’s first major ‘acting’ role as a suit performer. “I had always wanted to perform in suits. I think to do it well, you have to be a bit of an actor — although, the characters we play usually have a singular mission, which is to kill something. ‘Must eat. Must destroy.’ There isn’t a lot of deep psychological acting going on there! But I do think it requires some very good physical acting to do this work, especially at the level Stan Winston demands. Stan pays a lot of attention to the detail, to making a character move dynamically and accurately. He has always raised the bar very high for us in terms of performance.”
The movie had won three Oscars, besides bagging 28 other awards.
WATCH: How this monster suit was designed
WATCH: Funny raptor scenes on the set
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