Brian Jaecker-Jones has extensive experience designing and building animatronic creatures and puppets for films, TV, and live performances. Some of his past works include a chipmunk and lizard with moving jaws and eyes, robotic aliens and wolves with many axes of motion, and bats with flapping wings. He is skilled at designing complex mechanical systems that achieve realistic movement within tight production timelines.

1. BRIAN JAECKER-JONES
Animatronics Mechanic / Mechanical Effects / SAG Puppeteer

2. Failure to
Launch
Amalgamted
Dynamics, Inc.,
May 2005
Full size biting
chipmunk and
lizzard (not
shown). Co-
designed liner-
cast-in-place
head with jaw,
nose twitch, blinks
& ear moves.
Tentacle neck with
telescoping spine
for extending neck
during biting hits.

3. Failure to
Launch
Amalgamated
Dynamics, Inc.,
May 2005
Spring steel
backbone for
sitting & standing.
Machined
components for
mocking bird with
tentacle neck &
flex shaft driven
flapping wings.
(Not shown)

4. Orbitz
Thunderbirds
The Character
Shop, March
2003
Machined parts
and fabricated eye
mechanisms for
ten marrionettes.
Identical heads
with blinks, eye
side to side and
jaw.
Puppeteered
marrionettes on
set.

5. Scary Movie 3
Amalgamated
Dynamics, Inc.
June 2003
Six hero "Signs"
alien heads.
Machined parts
and assisted with
overall assembly.
Alien tongue gag.

6. Cadbury
Treefrog
The Character
Shop, March
2004
Designed and
built rod puppet
frog with jaw and
blinks. Eyes rolled
into head to
create sucked-in
eye blink effect.

7. Gus- Penn State
Lottery
Assisted with
body movement
R&D. Designed
wrist rotate and
functional tentacle
fingers.

8. Zathura Robot
Stan Winston
Studios,
November 2004
Two robot rod &
cable puppets &
legless robot suit.
Designed & built
interchangable
rod arms & legs.
Eight positionable
axes per arm.
Fiberglass over
steel armatures.

9. Zathura Robot
Stan Winston
Studios,
November 2004
Sprung shoulders
& actuated rear
doors. Steel
frames with
multiple picks.
Puppeteering saw
blade grab gag.
Calf detail
showing faux
cylinders. Legs
featured ball joint
ankles and four
pick points each.

10. Charlotte's Web
Stan Winston
Studios, April
2005
Machined parts &
completed final
assemblies for
seven pigs in
three stages of
development.
Servo & Spectra
line pull-pull facial
movements.
Built insert legs
with slaved gear
wrist axis.

11. Vampire Bats
Animal Makers,
Inc., August 2005
Designed and
built four flapping
bats with internal
DC gearmotor
and reciprocating
flapping
mechanism.
Waterjet cut and
laminated nylon
wing ribs with
dental dam
webbing for
lightweight and
flexible wings.
Wing materials
optimized to get
most realistic
motion for given
mechanism range
and sped.

12. "300"
Creature Effects,
October 2005
Oversized wolf
beast. Designed
parallelogram rig,
rod legs and
head/neck
tentacle.
Highly versatile
parallelogram rig
featured
adjustable height,
lockable 3 axis
body rod pivot,
spring centering &
minimal weight
and space
requirements.
Nine axes per leg.
Straightforward
welded shaft
collar leg
contruction for
quick turn around,
robustness and
positionable joints.

13. "300"
Creature Effects,
October 2005
Dual stage head
and neck tentacle.
CNC plates on
hydraulic hose.
Maximized head
rotate design
options to
minimize weight
and maximize
pulley size and
head mount
robustness.

14. Alice Cooper
Guillotine Head
Amalgamated
Dynamics, Inc.,
January 2006
Blood dump tank
for guillotine stage
gag.
Client required
robust and reliable
gag to improve on
existing blood gag
used daily. R&D
and buld in three
days.

15. Thrashing
Queen- AVP
ADI, 2003
Lead mech on
construction of
1/4 scale
thrashing queen,
1/4 scale rod
queen and 1/3
scale rod queen
puppet.
Co-designed
internal armature
with quick-
disconnect arms,
legs and shared
caripaces.

16. Hero Face
Hugger- AVP
ADI, 2003
Responsible for
complete
mechanical
design and
fabrication.
Featured 3 axes
per leg, with a
total of 30 servo
driven axes.
Top view of mech
during cabling.
Also built six
floppy and 3 rod
puppet face
huggers. Lead on
two 1/4 scale and
one 1/3 scale
queen puppets.

17. Hero Face
Hugger- ADI
ADI, 2003
Leg detail closeup
showing first
knuckle and slave
driven second and
third knuckles.
Rod mounted
servo pack.
Skinned hero
puppet

18. Hero Face
Hugger- AVP
Amalgamated
Dynamics Inc.,
November 2003
Mechanically
complete hero
face hugger.