The Heidi Chronicles, Chapter 31: Heidi ‘meets’ a digital dog at Jim Henson Studios

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This is Heidi. Last year, she was ‘discovered’ in the park by a pet talent agency; since then, she has embarked on a one-dog quest to break into the business. This is her Hollywood story as chronicled by Times staff writer Diane Haithman. And this is her “head shot”: That longing look was achieved by placing a biscuit just out of reach.

On Friday, Heidi was animated, to say the least, by her visit to the Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood. The wizards of motion-capture technology at the studios have created the new animated character Philbert the dog for the PBS educational series ‘Sid the Science Kid,’ which introduces preschoolers to basic scientific concepts.

Philbert, a dog Sid’s grandmother adopts, makes his debut in the series of 10 new shows that begins today. ‘Sid’ airs locally on KCET, which co-produces the program with the Jim Henson Co. The animated dog was brought to life by using a real dog, a Great Dane named Daisy, who performed on a motion capture stage at the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, where the dog’s body movements are recorded and the facial expressions and barking are puppeteered (and barked) in real time by a Henson puppeteer.

Although dogs, horses and other animals have been used in motion-capture to create animated characters before, Philbert is the first animated dog created by this method to have a recurring role in a TV series. In the photo above, Heidi sits with digital puppeteer Bruce Lanoil as he uses hand and arm equipment to manipulate the face, neck and head of Philbert on the screen. Both the animated dog and Lanoil have their tongues out because Lanoil is at the same time adding the sound effect of panting.

‘It takes the onus off the dog, since I have control of the neck and face -- the dog had to basically be on the set and be a dog, and not have to worry about motivation,’ Lanoil says. As to why the animators use the motion-capture process instead of starting from scratch, he adds, ‘It’s the physical being of the animal in the space and how it moves; it is very, very difficult to replicate the grace and beauty of the animal in motion. It gives us a lot less to do.’

Lanoil added that a dog’s movement could be used as the basis for another creature -- say, a dinosaur or alien -- but so far Henson hasn’t done that.

For ‘Sid the Science Kid,’ the motion-capture work is done on a massive sound stage on the Henson lot, where the movement is recorded by 38 cameras deployed around the space. During the process, the dog (or human, or elephant) wears reflective markers, attached either to a special suit or worn directly on the body. Because the cameras record only the reflective markers, it was possible for Daisy’s trainer to be on the set to coach the dog, rather than having to be off the set or hidden as would be necessary for a live-action film.

Bo Wright, motion-capture supervisor for ‘Sid,’ says the toughest challenge for Daisy the Great Dane was getting her used to wearing the motion-capture suit. He added that even when the costume designer has included the appropriate openings, it’s hard to talk a dog into relieving itself while dressed in the suit. Because of this difficulty, Wright says the markers are often attached directly to the animal’s fur or skin, but because Philbert is a recurring character, the markers have to be attached in exactly the same place every time -- easier to do when the markers are permanently attached to a suit.

Heidi came prepared to try on Daisy’s motion-capture suit, but the garment wasn’t at the studio that day -- plus it would have been too big for Heidi. Producers said they chose a Great Dane for Philbert because the human who plays Sid for the motion-capture work is actually a 5-foot-tall woman, so having an extra-large dog at her side makes her appear child-sized.

Could Heidi have a future as a motion-capture dog? Just as in live-action projects, the job requires a dog to focus, repeat behaviors, hold positions, hit a mark and ignore the many distractions on the set, Lanoil said.

Lanoil and Wright advised that the best preparation would be for Heidi to get used to wearing a motion-capture suit before she gets the job.

-- Diane Haithman