CGI? Pah! Watch how engineers built Jurassic Park's 40-foot, 9,000lbs T-Rex

CGI? Pah! Watch how engineers built Jurassic Park's 40-foot, 9,00lb T-Rex
Relive the terror in IMAX 3D

The special effects team that built Jurassic Park's star turn, the mammoth tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur, has revealed exactly how it was done in a series of YouTube videos posted this weekend.

The Stan Winston School built the full-size, 40-foot long, 9,000-pound, fully animatronic prehistoric creature from scratch rather than use the fledgling CGI technology, which did account for some of the movies dinos.

The team used steel and hydraulics to create the beast and the result of their endeavours is perhaps the most awe-inspiring, iconic and downright terrifying creature in cinematic history.

The full process from concept drawings, means of creating and operating the internal structure and applying the finishing touches are detailed in the three videos you can see below.

3D IMAX out now

The videos feature contributions from the project's designers and engineers and offers insight into how one of the most impressive achievements ever to hit the big screen was acheived without the aid of CGI.

If you have 12 minutes to spare this Sunday, it's essential viewing and it'll totally get you psyched to drop a few quid at your nearest IMAX cinema on enjoying the magic all over again in 3D.

Via The Verge

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.

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