Liquid Nitrogen

Back stage at Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe prop master/production designer Lisa Coto experiments with liquid nitrogen. Please remember the Team Smithereen crew are trained professionals - do not try this at home.

Prop Fab

All of the props for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from Dan Clark/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe were made at the Team Smithereen production house in the Hollywood Hills. In this photo prop master/production designer Lisa Coto (or Brandon Minton?!) sculpts a stunt vehicle from a block of Styrofoam.

Brandon's Paint

The prop department for Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/Wildbrain/Jetix Europe is located in the top level of the Team Smithereen production house. This photo shows some of the materials used to make the props for Team Smithereen.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Smithereen Stunt Vehicle

This off road remote control car chaise capable of traveling 70 miles per hour was used to create a variety of Team Smithereen stunt vehicles, thanks to Brandon Minton and Lisa Coto in the innovative props department.