Happy New Years!

Happy New Year's Eve from the Dan Clark Company, and the whole cast and crew of Team Smithereen!

Spider Fab

In this photo from the puppet fabrication department of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, puppet builder Ana Preciado shows off the spider legs for a new specialty puppet.

Team Logo

Most of the special props and gear used by the stunt puppet stars of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark, Wildbrain, and Jetix Europe is emblazoned with the team's logo. The logo was designed by director/puppet captain/puppeteer Patrick Johnson. The logo features the cast of Team Smithereen - from left to right: Brave Little Francis, Whoop, Thrill Kat, and Stunt Pig.

Big Boots

Not everything created for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe was made to puppet scale. For one episode, full size puppet boots were required.

Caught in the Act

Team Smithereen character designer Dave Pressler is caught in the act working on a digital background for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain Jetix Europe.

Dan Clark Directing

On the Team Smithereen green stage, show director and creator Dan Clark directs a shot from Team Smithereen, his new stunt puppet show.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from The Dan Clark Company, and the whole cast and crew of Team Smithereen.

Smithereen Sound

All voices for the stunt puppet stars of Team Smithereen, the new puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe are recorded later. The voices for Team Smithereen, and the final sound mix were done at Glenwood Place Studios. in Burbank, CA.

Flying Television

On the set of Team Smitheeen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrian/Jetix Europe, puppeteers Brian Clark and Russ Walko puppeteer a television falling though the air while director/creator Dan Clark watches the action on a monitor.

Mark Villalobos

On the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, puppet builder Mark Villalobos gets Whoop ready for another punishing take.

Smithereen Prop Fab

In this photo, prop fabricator/production designer Brandon Minton uses a balloon to create a wacky new prop for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe.

Team Smithereen Storyboards

Each Episode of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark, Wildbrain, Jetix Europe is storyboarded before it is shot. In these photos episode director Patrick Johnson consults the boards before he directs the next shot.

New Dan Clark Company Logo

Dan Clark and the Team Smithereen crew just shot a new logo for the Dan Clark Company, producer of the new stunt puppet show Team Smithereen. The little puppets were made by puppeteer Russ Walko and performed by Russ Walko, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, and Brandon Minton.

Team Smithereen Model

Most of live action background plates for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, were shot on location. The game show episode called for a more fanciful environment, so the prop department designed and built a model set. Director of photography, Ivan Corona shot the model from all angles, so the CG team could place the puppets seamlessly into the new environment.

Puppet Puke

Making a puppet vomit on the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe is serous buisness. These photos show the steps required to get some good puppet puke.

Piles Both Soft and Hard

On the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, it is normal to find piles of unusual items. These photos show a pile of jelly candy and bricks - both are from the same episode of Team Smithereen.

Puppet Molds

The puppets for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, utilized foam latex, and silicone puppets. Each puppet needed to be be cast in a fiber glass, plaster, or silicone mold. This photo from the Team Smithereen puppet shop shows the molds used to make the puppets hands.

Team Smithereen Editorial

Most of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, is made under one roof. In this shot from the upstairs edit suite, show creator Dan Clark works with Team Smithereen editors Cyrus Navarro and Erik Klassen.

Puppets on Television

Puppeteers use monitors on puppet video shoots, so that they can watch their performance. In this photo from the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, director of photography, Ivan Corona checks a shot of Stunt Pig in the monitor.

Bricks

In this photo from the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, prop master/production designer Brandon Minton prepares to pummel a stunt puppet with bricks.

Monster Puppet

In this photo Dan Clark, the creator of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, and puppet captian/puppeteer/director, Sean Johnson set up a shot with the Team Smithereen specialty monster puppet.

More Puppets on the set of Smithereen

Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe depends on it's small but dedicated crew taking on many duties. Although the show has an in house puppet fabrication department, some specialty puppets were needed, so puppeteer Russ Walko, an accomplished puppet builder was tapped to build them. In this photo, one of Russ's creations observes the Team Smithereen shoot.

Puppets and Puppeteers

The puppeteers get a chance to perform all of the puppets on Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, however some of the puppeteers click with certain puppets. Team Smithereen puppeteer Felix Pire bonded quickly with stunt pig, and usually performs that character.

Lighting Team Smithereen

Many of the shots in Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, are shot against a green screen so director of photography Ivan Corona must light each set-up to match a live action background plate or a specific background image. In this photo from the set, Team Smithereen puppeteers Brian Clark and Russ Walko perform stunt pig in his special lighting.

More Smithereen Logos

These concept logos were created by Patrick Johnson for the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, Team Smithereen.

The Puppet Shelf

Because the puppet stars of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe do their own stunts, more than one of each stunt puppet is needed. This shelf in puppet fabrication shows a bunch of Brave Little Francis puppets sporting a variety of stunt puppet injuries.

Editor in da House

On the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, show editor Cyrus Navarro observes the action while puppet captains/puppeteers Sean and Patrick Johnson perform Whoop.

Puppet Fab at the Smithereen Production House

In puppet workshop for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, puppet fabricator Ana Preciado adds some final details to Whoop's glow in the dark sci-fi costume.

Smithereen Spider Puppet

Aside from the main stars of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/WildBrain/Jetix Europe, the puppet fabrication department also created a hand full of speciality puppets. The spider puppet was designed by Smithereen character designer, Dave Pressler, and built by Smithereen puppet builders Mark Villalobos, and Ana Preciado.

In this photo from the set, puppet captain/puppeteer Patrick Johnson performs the spider, while puppeteer Felix Pire watches the monitor. The spider puppet was built around a custom made glove and then shot against the green screen. In the final composite, the spider will be shrunk down and appear to be just a few centimeters tall.

Smithereen's Sweet Rides

The stunt puppet stars of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, cruise the streets of Los Angeles in style. These stunt veichles were created by Team Smithereen prop masters/production designers Brandon Minton and Lisa Coto.

From Top to Bottom: Whoop's watermellon car, Brave Little Francis's Banana Bike, and the Team Smithereen dump truck.

Smithereen: Aftermath

This photo taken on location, shows how dangerous the puppet stunts in the new Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe stunt puppet production Team Smithereen, can be to real stunt puppets.

Smithereen Puppeteers Laugh it Up

On the set of the new stunt puppet show Team Smithereen from creator Dan Clark and producing partners Wildbrain and Jetix Europe, puppet captain/puppeteer Sean Johnson, and puppeteers Russ Walko and Jonathan Kidder share a laugh between takes. Thirll Kat, dressed in his black light, glow in the dark sci-fi gear, is not having as much fun.

It's Raining Popcorn!

In this photo from the set of the new stunt puppet show, Team Smithereen from creator Dan Clark and co-producers Wildbrain and Jetix Europe, puppeteer Brian Clark sends a plume of popcorn raining down on puppet captain/puppeteer/puppeteer/director Sean Johnson.

Team Smithereen Anatomy of a Puppet Stunt

The stunts of Team Smitereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe require lots of creative thinking, pre-planning, careful rigging, nerves of steel, and a little luck. Because so much is unknown before the stunt is attempted, the final result is never certain. This post outlines the steps it takes to pull off a spectacular Team Smithereen puppet stunt.



First the stunt is dreamed up, and pitched. Many of the Team Smithereen puppet stunts came directly from the Smithereen production team. Once an idea is chosen, episode storyboards are created. This Team Smithereen storyboard was illustrated by Smithereen puppet captain/puppeteer/director Patrick Johnson.

The finished storyboards are sent to the Team Smithereen producing partners Wildbrain in San Francisco, and Jetix Europe in England. After they've made their notes, the boards are tweaked and finalized.



Most of the puppet stunts developed for Team Smithereen require the production of special props. These custom painted paintballs and official Team Smithereen paintball cannon were created by Smithereen prop masters/production designers Lisa Coto and Brandon Minton.



Stunt day at the Team Smithereen house is full of excitement and some nervous anticipation. Because of the unpredictability of doing live stunts with puppets, the crew must be ready for anything.

In the top photo, prop master/production designer Lisa Coto, director/show creator Dan Clark, and director of photography Ivan Corona make final preparations. The green screen stage has been covered from top to bottom with plastic to protect the lights, and crew from stray paintballs and over spray.

In the middle photo, Team Smithereen puppeteer Russ Walko helps puppet captain/puppeteer/director Sean Johnson suit up in plastic and a protective paintball mask.

In the bottom photo, Team Smmithereen prop master/production designer Brandon Minton prepares to blast stunt puppet Thrill Kat with paintballs.



Action! After lots of hard work and preparation it's time to shoot the puppet stunt. The stunt is shot with two hi-deff cameras so nothing is missed. Some stunts are shoot in slow motion to capture everything in full detail.

Paintball episode director Patrick Johnson observers the action on a flat panel monitor.



Another sucesfull stunt created by the Team Smithereen crew. In the top photo puppet captain/puppeteer Sean Johnson and puppeteer Russ Walko pose with a paint splattered Thrill Kat. The bottom photo shows some of the damage, wear and tear that the Team Smithereen stunt puppets endure on a daily basis.