Hello again, as promised in Part One of the Foster Farms Chickens story, I’ll share some photos to show you how the magic works in creating these whimsical commercials.

Before we get started on the chickens, I’d like to share a special little guy with you.  As many of you may know, you can commission me to create one-of-a-kind piece of art for you or a loved one.  Imagine your favorite character created for you and you alone and there’s only one….EVER.

The title of this piece is called “I’ll Distract Him While You Run.”  I know you all love the film Frozen so I thought you’d like to see him.

BACK TO THE FOSTER FARMS CHICKENS.

Lets start out with one of the earlier commercials so you can see how the chickens came to be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4fGAFrYCZE

Now take a look at the latest commercial that just came out June 8^th.

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7ctb/foster-farms-simply-raised-breast-fillets-herbalist

In the first example you see that they are driving slowly in the car.  In order for the chickens to come alive we start by removing the front seat inside the car.  We leave the backrest part of the seat in tact so the chickens look like they are truly sitting in the front seat. We operate them from below.

Next we place our assistant puppeteers (called wingman because they work the wings) in the back seat area and cut holes so that they can reach thru the backrest the chickens are leaning against and slip into the wings to work them.

Now watch the commercial again with this in mind.  See?  Cool huh!

In the second example commercial, the latest one we’ve done to date you can see that the car is nowhere to be seen.

Rick Lazzarini of The Character Shop has helped the chickens come a long way.  As you watch this commercial you can see that the chickens are now free-standing.

The Driver chicken, puppeteered and voiced by Drew Massey stands next to the Herbalist and makes small talk while the little chicken, puppeteered by yours truly walks out of the frame.  Our wingmen are Frank Langley on Drew’s chicken and Rick Lazzarini on mine thus becoming our chickens as the puppets are always worked by teams.

Next you see my chicken chowing down on a bunch of herbs.  Rick makes this magic happen.  He works both arms while I work the head and make gulping sounds.  It takes precise teamwork and coordination to make them look like one character.  This is the true magical ability of the professional puppeteer.

One thing to note here is that I am underneath the chicken and those herbs have to land somewhere.  Needless to say I went home that night with a root like smoky scent.

How do they stand by themselves?  The chickens are able to stand because they are designed in the Buneraku style and to show you what that is click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV938f46Wpg

Bunraku as you can see is a Japanese style of puppetry where the puppet is a part of the puppeteers.  As you can see in the video, the puppeteers in this video are cloaked in black but can still be seen.

For commercials we’re cloaked in chroma key colors, which are green, blue or red. This is so we can shoot the commercial and be digitally removed in post. (after we’re done filming.)

Again go back to the commercial with this in mind and watch it. Drew is behind the chicken when filming and erased before the commercial airs.

Here are a few more photos.

 

 

Finally, in our last example, you can see how we set up for the Spanish language commercial Luchadores.  Basically a play on Mexican wrestling and if you ever get to see this commercial, it’s one of the funniest today.  It also starred a real Mexican Wrestling Champion.  This was a little scary for us but we all had a terrific time. In the picture below, you can see one of our assistants in the background.

So that’s basically how we create the chickens.  I will say that Foster Farms continues to think up different cool and fun thing for the chickens to get into and that’s what makes them so much fun to do.

The team is the integral part.  The success of these birds is a direct result of tremendous team work from everyone involved.  The entire success of the shoot depends on everyone from the director and cast to each and every PA and grip.

When a team of cast and crew work this well, you shoot commercials for over 22 years.

 

I hope you enjoyed this article.

See you next time.

 

UPDATE, UPDATE UPDATE – THE 6OTH CASTLE PROJECT.

The pre-sale continues.

CASTLE PROJECT IS UP FOR PRE SALE!!! TIME TO GO GET YOURS. More information about the piece HERE

PERKS FOR THOSE WHO PRE ORDER.
When you go to this link a video will explain this in detail.

• PIN SET, limited to those who pre-order, they will be of the 6 rides depicted in the castle piece. Drawings of how the pins look will be forthcoming.
• The opportunity to be a part of the castle final. The drawing is only a concept and often can shift and change once the sculpture is begun.

Many of you have asked about the 60^th banner, will the castle have one and the answer is YES.  Anyone who pre-pays for the Castle will have the chance to confer with Terri via streaming to discuss and help her decide just where it should be placed.

IMAGINE having a hand in designing this amazing piece.  Only the ones who purchase in the presale will get this opportunity.

WE NEED YOU TO HELP GET THIS MADE so please order now.
** In order for me to create and make this piece, I need to pre-sell 100 pieces minimum, otherwise it cannot be done and all pre-orders will be refunded. If you love this project, reserve your piece and get your friends and family to do the same.

Here’s a video of me explaining the piece.

Pre-order your piece TODAY – HERE

 

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In Answer to your Questions-

Thank you for all the kind words about loving the Chickens.  For those who are not fans of the company, let me assure you that I went up there and there’s no cleaner facility in the world.  The have the official Humane Seal of Approval.

cyclotis – I wanted to answer you personally. We’ve shot over 40 different commercials in over 20 years.  Thanks for asking.

To all of you, thanks so much for reading and commenting.  I always appreciate hearing from all of you.

See you next time.

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