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.

Whoop gets his Wings

This production still from the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe Team Smitheen, shows stunt puppet Whoop flying through the air with his handmade wings.

This photo shows what the stunt puppets look once the green screen compositing and puppet eye animation is complete.

Team Smithereen Logos

Each member of the puppet stunt team in Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe have their own logo. Puppet captain, puppeteer and storyboard artist, Patrick Johnson designed all of the logos for the team. Team Logos from top to bottom: Whoop, Thrill Kat, Stunt Pig, Brave Little Francis.

Smithereen Pig Vomit

In this photo from the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, Stunt Pig reacts strongly to a puppet stunt gone terribly wrong.

Team Smithereen Dance Party

In this photo from the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, puppeteer Jonathan Kidder helps Brave Little Francis strut his stuff on a very dangerous dance floor.

Clowning on the Set of Team Smithereen

Killing stunt puppets is a serious business but there is still plenty of time for fun on the set of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe.

Daredevil Whoop

On the set of the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe Team Smithereen, stunt puppet Whoop is dressed for action in his official Whoop logo Team Smthereen daredevil fire cape.

Team Smithereen: Buckets O' Goo

In Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Eruope, every stunt attempted by the puppets goes terribly wrong. Because of the viceral nature of the puppet kills, prop masters/production designers Bandon Minton and Lisa Coto had to make buckets of icky, sticky, ewey, slimy, goo.

Smithereen Takes to the Streets

The new stunt puppet show from the Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, Team Smithereen, stars a team of stunt puppets that attempt to execute outrageous and extreme stunts. Despite the shows comic premise and cartoon style, show creator Dan Clark wanted to give Team Smithereen a very visceral real world feel. To accomplish this, the Team Smithereen crew shot many of the puppet stunts on location.



In this location photo, taken in the streets of Los Angeles, Team Smithereen director of photography Ivan Corona sets up a dolly shot.



In this shot, Team Smithereen show creator and director Dan Clark discusses the stunt puppet's action with prop master/production designer Lisa Coto. Sitting in a remote control watermelon capable of traveling at freeway speeds, stunt puppet Whoop is ready for action.



Team Smithereen stunts always take a turn for the worst. In this shot Lisa Coto throws stunt puppet Whoop and his watermelon car from a two story building onto the streets of Los Anglels.

Team Smithereen: Spectacular Kills

The puppet stunt team and the stars of Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe attempt outrageous stunts on a daily basis. Every stunt has a high degree of risk, and they always goes terribly wrong in a visually spectacular fashion.



The puppet "kills" ad a degree of difficulty to Team Smithereen - director/creator Dan Clark, puppeteers/puppet captains Sean and Patrick Johnson, prop masters/production designers Brandon Minton and Lisa Cota, puppet builder Mark Villalobos, and director of photography Ivan Corona, must all work together to pull off puppet kills that are completely unexpected, visually spectacular, and outrageously funny.




Recipe for Spectacular Team Smithereen Puppet Kills:
Begin with new puppet building materials like foam latex, silicone, and wax, combine with methyl cellulose, liquid nitrogen, and shampoo, mix with a blender, paintball guns or blow torch, shoot at super slow speed with a hi-def camera, throw in some green screen compositing, and a dash of sophisticated digital animation, cook and let cool. Now you have Team Smithereen, a visually delicious hot snack.

Please note: The Team Smithereen crew is a group of highly trained professionals, do not attempt these puppet kills at home.

Props to Props

The props department for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe, was called upon to create a variety of unusual props, vehicles, and set pieces. Their daily duties ranged from driving a remote control watermelon at high speeds through a graffiti covered ally, to throwing pumpkins from a two story building, to blasting liquid nitrogen from a sealed plastic container under nine feet of water.

In this photo from the set of Team Smithereen prop master and production designer, Brandon Minton prepares to shoot a high powered paintball gun at an unsuspecting stunt puppet.

Stunt Puppet Preparation

Prepping for a puppet stunt on the new Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe stunt puppet show, Team Smithereen can be a big job. In this photo Team Smithereen prop master and production designer Lisa Coto covers the digital green screen stage in plastic, prepping for a particularly messy puppet stunt.

Swazzle Lends a Hand

Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe posed puppetry challenges unlike any other puppet show. To meet these challenges The Dan Clark Company called upon Sean and Patrick Johnson, the co-owners of Swazzle, a highly successful Los Angeles based puppet company.

Since 2004 Swazzle's team of talented professional puppeteers have presented hundreds of puppet shows at venues all over California. Swazzle works with the best in the puppetry field, so it was fitting that Sean and Patrick Johnson were asked to personally assemble the puppeteers for Team Smithereen. Sean and Patrick pulled together L.A.'s top puppeteers, and as puppet captains they collaborated with director/show creator Dan Clark to meet the unique challenges posed by Team Smithereen.

Smithereen Puppet Legs

Team Smtithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe employs a brand new style of puppetry that utilizes latex puppets, hi-deff green screen compositing, and sophisticated computer animation. In this shot from the Team Smithereen green screen stage, puppeteer Jonathan Kidder prepares to perform Whoop's feet.

Team Smithereen Behind the Scenes Video

Dan Clark Company producer Don Asher uses a hand held Flip Video to record behind the scenes footage of the new Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe stunt puppet show, Team Smithereen.

Team Smithereen Water Puppets

Although the new Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe stunt puppet show Team Smithereen employs digital green screen compositing, and sophisticated computer animation, the creative team behind Team Smithereen is dedicated to doing the puppet stunts practically.



For a swimming sequence, the crew submerged a large green screen in the pool at the Team Smithereen production house in the Hollywood hills. In this photo, director of photography, Ivan Corona shoots the puppet swimming with the Hi-Deff camera safely enclosed in an underwater camera bag. Team Smithereen puppet captian and puppeteer, Sean Johnson wears a green screen suite, and performs stunt puppet Thrill Kat diving into the pool.



In this shot, Team Smithereen director of photography Ivan Corona reviews the last take, and puppet captain and puppeteer, Sean Johnson poses with Team Smithereen stunt puppet, Thrill Kat.



Television puppetry requires the use of a monitor, so that the puppeteers can see what they are doing. The Team Smithereen underwater stunt sequence made the use of a monitor impossible so every shot needed to be checked immediately to make sure the performances were spot on. In this shot, Team Smithereen director of photography Ivan Corona, puppeteers and puppet captains, Sean and Patrick Johnson, camera assist Marleen Schlawin, and Team Smithereen show creator and director, Dan Clark review the last underwater take.

Team Smithereen Milk Blast

Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe involves many unusual stunts. In this behind the scenes photo Team Smithereen, prop masters/production designers Lisa Coto and Brandon Minton aim a high powered air cannon filled with a milky viscus cellulose fluid at the team's umbrellas.

Team Smithereen Puppeteers

Team Smithereen's unique puppetry style demands the most from L.A.'s top puppeteers. In this photo, Team Smithereen puppeteers Brian Clark, Russ Walko, and Felix Pire puppeteer Brave Little Francis.

Many Francises Lie in Wait

A bunch of Brave Little Francis puppets await their fate on the set of the new Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe stunt puppet show, Team Smithereen.

Smithereen Photo from the Set: 11/03/08

This photo from the set of the new Dan Clark Company/W!ldbrain/Jetix stunt puppet production Team Smithereen shows stunt puppet Whoop fling into action. All of the puppet's eyes will be computer animated, and in this photo Whoop's small black tracking dots are visible.

Sci-fi Team Smithereen

On the set of the new Dan Clark Company/W!ldbrain/Jetix stunt puppet production Team Smithereen, puppeteers Russ Walko and Sean Johnson perform Thrill Kat in his special sci-fi gear.

More Team Smithereen Logo Concepts

This image shows more Team Smithereen logo concepts by Patrick Johnson.