Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/713430
25 The reviews the next day read: "Daniel Radcliffe's farting corpse movie spurs 30 walkouts." Like I mentioned before, this film isn't for everyone, but it was definitely for me. Being a huge fan of their previous work, I was thrilled at the prospect of collaborating with the Daniels. I read the script on a flight to New York and as soon as I landed, I immediately contacted them with a one-sentence response. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?" … I'm in! Most of the projects I've worked on lately, big or small, seem to have LESS. Less time, less money, less heart. Swiss Army Man, for the most part, fits that pattern. It didn't have a lot of money and the schedule was tight. But the heart was there. I just didn't know it yet. I should probably state now, this is an article less about the work we did and more about the experience I was so fortunate to have so late in my career. I was awarded the job but I had no idea what I was about to embark on. Early meetings consisted of bizarre requests for a hyper realistic butt of Manny. "We want it hairy, plumbed with air and to film it with the Phantom camera (at 2000 fps) as it explodes out of the water." And "How should we do the boner compass?" At one meeting, the Daniels acted out the opening sequence where Hank rides Manny through the water to the beautiful score by Andy Hull (from Manchester Orchestra). This was the first time I ever had the oppor- tunity to listen to a director's vision for a film while the soundtrack was playing. It was then that I understood the emotional content they were trying to convey. THE BUILD We had five weeks to build and I was still try- ing to wrap my brain around the nonsensical list of needed make-up effects. My breakdown read something like this: • Motor-butt Manny (a rideable dummy pro- pelled by farts) • Mechanical four-way cable-controlled boner mech • Hyper realistic Manny butt plumbed with air • Lightweight hero Manny dummy (with interchangeable head and hands) • Heavy-duty Manny dummy • Hank's bear-mauling make-up In order to create the various Manny dummies, I needed Daniel Radcliffe's life cast. Daniel, how- ever, was finishing another film in South Africa and was only available for one day in New York. This meant I would have to source a preexisting body mold in Los Angeles. Dave Anderson saved the day with a 5' 5" body mold. A slight gender reassign- ment was in order but that's an easy fix. Having just worked for Wes Wofford on Free State of Jones, I convinced him to meet me in NY to help with the cast. For the most part, it was straightforward. The usual reference photos, hair and color samples, head and hand cast and oh yeah … "could I get a cast of your butt?" Luckily, the directors were there to back me up on the importance of the butt cast. Even luckier, Daniel's girlfriend was there to help apply the release cream. Next, I needed my crew. One for the build and one for the set. My build crew was lean, but strong! Mark Nieman, who was also on Free State of Jones, came on as my lead artist. Hiroshi Yada, Saeko Yamazaki and Mike Hill all contrib- uted in the sculpting. Mimi Palazon handled all the wigs, beards and hair punching. Kristen Willett did the body fabrication and Willy Thorton was our lab tech. We had five weeks to build everything on a very tight budget. For the last 10 years, I've supervised shows for Tinsley Studio. It's been my home base, so I'm very thankful to Christien Tinsley for graciously allowing me to rent space. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the masterly mechanical boner builder, Terry Sandin. Originally, the Daniels questioned the idea of doing a mechanical "member." They had a similar effect in "Turn Down for What," where they used a phallic-shaped piece of wood on the end of a bent rod which was puppeteered from behind the actor. Due to the shooting limitations of their old technique, I was able to talk them into a cable- controlled four-way mech. Worth every penny. 25