American Cinematographer - September 1988 - 81

well enough to ensure that it could handle
all of the demands of making Short Circuit2

Bank robbers

smash the toosmart robot to

location in Toronto, Canada. "We believe
in low-tech filmmaking," Allard says, "which

on

means we

pieces. Opposite
page: Getting
Johnny 5 into an

try to satisfy the reguirements of

this two-dimensional frame in the most
cost-effective way. If it includes using a
rubber band and a paper clip, we're into it!
We definitely know high tech and can go
with it, but if it isn't called for, we're not

overcoat wasn't

easy.

going to build some white elephant Rube
Goldberg thing that's really not needed."
Allard has always been in favor
of using in-camera effects and action props
like No. 5 whenever possible simply be¬
cause he feels it gives control of the film
back to the filmmakers. "With No. 5 handled
live on-set, no one had to wonder how any
of his scenes in the movie were going to
look because he was right there in front of

live action," he says. "When I look
script, I don't break it down like an
effects company would, I look at it as a
filmmaker who'd like everything to be done
live as much as possible. If you can create
camera,

at a

the

same

effect on-set for

a

lot less money,

why do it as an optical in post-production?
Obviously, there are certain things you just
can't do in-camera
if you want to have a
huge spaceship flying in space, it's not costeffective. Although mechanical effects are
not cheap, the Short Circuit movies were a
lot less expensive than they would have
been had No. 5 been done using miniatures
-

that had to be animated and matted in."

Although from the waist down
closely resembles a tank than
anything humanoid, from the waist up he's a
lot like you and me - two arms, a chest and
a head, albeit a rather strange one! The real
No. 5

more

innovation in the robots of Short Circuit 2
those in the original film is the

versus

implementation of a telemetry suit, which
takes advantage of this similarity in robot
and human anatomy to create fluid, lifelike
movement. The telemetry suit for No. 5 is a
harness designed to fit over a puppeteer's

There's

upper

body, which allows the robot to
puppeteer's movements exactly.
were making the first film, we'd
always said it would've been nice if we'd

terms of minimal breakdowns on the

imitate the
"When we

film, they were willing to take a chance. The
first thing we did was to build a single threeaxis arm just to show them we could do it,

had time to build

and

T-suit

that would

ers

a natural tendency among filmmak¬
who don't understand the engineering

problems and logistics involved in special
something this com¬
plicated, but we had such a good record in
effects to be afraid of

first

lobbying for it. Ken Johnson, the
was really keen on the idea and
instrumental in helping to convince the Tri-

they saw that they said go ahead.
"Everything about the telemetry
suit was great," Allard enthuses. "It saved in
so many areas: it took four operators in¬
stead of nine, it made the robot's ability to
perform much better than before because it
could gesticulate with its arms and really do

Star

some

a

-

way to go,"
recalls. "When Short Circuit 2 came

really have been the
we

realized this

was

our

Allard
along,

chance and I

started

director,

execs

that this

was

the way to go.

once

nice fluid movement."

September 1988

Even more importantly, the te¬
lemetry suit allowed the actors to relate to
No. 5 just like another member of the cast.
"We told the actors, the director and the
not to look at the guy driving and the

crew

puppeteers when they were working with
the robot, but to talk to No. 5 like a real

and tell him what they wanted. We
puppeteers were always
paying attention and responded accordingly,
which helped everyone to get into the mood
person

made

sure our

that No. 5

was

alive, that he had

a

personality."
Was there

a

downside to the

telemetry suit? "Just a slight one," Allard
admits. "The T-suit virtually eliminated the
use

of the cable-controlled puppets

American

Cinematographer

from the

79
American Cinematographer - September 1988

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