Thunderbirds Are Go: An interview with Justin T. Lee from Gazelle Automations

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Greg and Tom interview Justin T. Lee from Gazelle Automations. Justin is the creator of the Star Trek The Next Generation animated sequence in the style of the Star Trek the Animated Series that we discussed in our last episode. We also talk to Justin about his work on new Thunderbirds episodes in the original style using SUPERMARIONATION. Listen in on our lively discussion about Animation Puppetry and film making in general.

THUNDERBIRDS

Gazelle Automations’ Lindsay and Justin Lee wore many hats on this production (as did everyone on the crew), including leading the puppetry on these 50th anniversary episodes of the British sci-fi series Thunderbirds for ITV, created with classic Supermarionation techniques used in the 1960s.

For their job as puppetry supervisors, they painted, wigged, strung and led the performance of the marionettes, which had to look and move like those from the original 1960s series. For certain characters, work was done many times over to get the squint of an eye or hairline to match the original puppet as closely as possible.

The episodes premiered at the British Film Institute in August 2016 and are now streaming on BritBox in the UK. A nationwide Japanese cinema, streaming and Blu-ray release in January 2022 marked the original show’s 55th anniversary.

For more information about the company continuing to specialize in Supermarionation, visit www.century21films.co.uk.

About Gazelle Automations
Producer/puppeteer Lindsay Lee and VFX artist/puppeteer Justin T. Lee formed Gazelle Automations to create entertainment through the magic of puppetry, model miniatures and animation. From cramped beginnings in the tiny back room of a pizza shop (where pizza deliveries were literally passing through shots), Gazelle Automations now sees projects through from concept and fabrication to production, VFX and finishing.
The company’s clients and production partners include Anderson Entertainment, the BBC, CBC Kids, Century 21 Films, ITV, Shaftesbury, and TVOKids.
Podcast music:
Intro music Kamihamiha! - Alien Warfare Stems by Kamihamiha (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Kamihamiha/60882
Thunderbirds are Go music Barry Gray
Star Trek: The Animated Series Filmation
Thunderbirds Creators Gerry & Sylvia Anderson
Podcast ©2022 King Dyro Productions

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