"special" effects

Many projects call for "special effects" whether as lighting, audio, electrical/electronic or mechanical, or a combination of all of these.

Sometimes a special effect has traditional ancestors - for example a "thunder sheet" for the live theatre - but often it requires a bit of imagination. A lot of interactive designs require a combination of special effects.

An important part of any special effect, particularly a new idea or re-working of an old idea, is research and development, and time must always be budgetted for it. Another important aspect is reliability. Special effects tend to be expensive.

I have applied my imagination to all sorts of requests:

live effects:

• fire - at left are pictures of an installation using fans, lights and silk flames. Also the Skipper's home.
• rain - audible and/or visual
• wind
• opening Birthday cake
• lightning & thunder
• 'musical' sets
• flying flamingos
• smoke & flash pots
• collapsing knife
• 'splurge' guns
• interactive & informative installations: Donation box, Storytelling, entertainment robots, photosynthesis factory
• video production and projection
• kinetic designs like the Rocket car

for TV & film:

• drive a car through a wall (the car & cast were unscathed)
• twin trails of fire following a car
• a brick wall which a character punched his way through
  CLICK HERE if you have a strong stomach

for radio, recording and soundscape:

• on-site effects recording - eg: a "sickening thud", or seagull cries reverberating under a bridge, etc...
• performance sound-tracks, including "actor-cued" effects, multi-channel soundscapes
• live & studio recording for acoustic and electric bands, voice-overs, etc...