What to Know
- The Academy Museum will open on Sept. 30, 2021
- A T. Rex "Dinosaur Input Device" will be part of the display
- The practical technology served as a bridge between stop-motion and digital effects
Jamming a "Jurassic Park" dinosaur into the upcoming Academy Museum, the movie institution set to open on the Miracle Mile in the fall of 2021?
It's a historic structure with capacious spaces, but a full-on fearsome beast, the sort of massive animal seen roaming our planet eons ago, just wouldn't fit.
But what will fit well when the museum debuts on Sept. 30, 2021?
A "Dinosaur Input Device," a piece of marvelous technology used to bring the super-scary T. Rex of "Jurassic Park" to wondrous life.
True, digital effects were employed in amazing and impressive fashion in the Steven Spielberg-helmed 1993 blockbuster and its famous follow-ups, but there was other movie magic at work.
The Dinosaur Input Device "... provided a physical interface that allowed traditional stop-motion animators to produce the seeds of digital graphics."
The museum says the device symbolizes "a paradigm shift in visual effects," making it a must-see for both mavens of movie tech and those who know every line of the "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic World" sagas by heart.
The full story of the team that made the big-clawed beasties of "Jurassic Park" so realistic can be found on the Academy Museum's site.
And yes: The technically minded wizards who employed the Dinosaur Input Device share a slew of Oscars between them, which is no surprise to anyone who has seen the T. Rex roar and stomp in the first film in the series.
Where to find this wonder, which successfully served as a way to unite the stop-motion arts and the digital future?
Look for the dinosaur-resurrecting device in the Invented Worlds & Characters Gallery.
Good to know?
The Academy Museum shares this: "The DID isn’t a large object: bigger than most stop-motion puppets to accommodate its electronics, yet small enough for a trained animator to get their hands around it."
"Like many such transformative objects, its import is not measured by its size but in the worlds it helped create."
More movie treasures are headed to the cinematic space, which will feature screenings, talks, and a host of iconic props and costumes.
The last shark model from "Jaws" was recently installed, while a 3D "Toy Story" zoetrope, a hit when it was displayed at Disney California Adventure, will surely prove to be stand-out sight.
