Imagining the future is an activity we all engage in at times, but it’s a never-ending quest for Will Huff. His appetite for learning and being the best in an ever-changing industry propels him to the forefront of make-up effects and robotic technology.
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“Holy crap, this is insane. I can build something and stuff this AI inside of it, and suddenly it's not a puppet, it's not a prop. It's a real robot.”
Take a step behind the scenes of some of Hollywood’s most epic movies with make-up effects artist Will Huff.
Jon and Bryan are blown away by his crazy work ethic and forward-momentum into the world of artificial intelligence. Will gives anyone he meets new respect for passionately pursuing a hobby.
(2:37) From a small town in Ohio, a lifelong passion begins to take root…
(6:49) A correspondence course with Dick Smith opens up a world of opportunity…
(8:58) Babylon Five, the union, and an avalanche of films…
(11:47) Specialization in make-up effects…
(13:04) “I knew immediately I had this affinity for, taking rubber things and making them move and look like something that's alive. And that's called animatronics.” Will talks about how he crossed over into robotics.
(15:34) How CGI changed the landscape…
(20:20) Taking advantage of the down-time from a back injury to learn a new skillset…
(23:44) “We're going back old school. We're going to get real physical puppets.” There’s a resurgence of doing things the way it was done before CGI in some genres.
(25:10) A day in the life of a make-up effects artist, on the set of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”...
(31:42) Trying to understand the incredible work ethic…
(34:22) “... it’s like a velvet-lined coffin… we're selling our souls and we're killing ourselves with these hours, but the velvet is the paycheck and that's just a great, wonderful by-product…”
(36:51) Introduction to building a functional robot through the “Lost in Space” B9 robot.. And artificial intelligence comes on the scene…
(40:12) “Holy crap. We could have robots walking around and doing stuff for us.”
(41:13) The problem with the “uncanny valley”...
(45:39) What’s holding back consumer robots?
(50:24) “What story are we telling ourselves?” Jon talks about changing the narrative.
(55:27) “I believe so wholeheartedly in the good parts of robotics… we had so many people at CES talk about the elderly and lonely people and just having somebody to talk to…”
(59:06) The sky’s the limit… even in your backyard.
(1:01:20) What does Go Be More mean to you?
If you liked this episode, check out our interviews videographer Von Ware or our discussion of multiplier skills.
Recorded October 14, 2020.
References:
Robomodix - Homepage
Who is Will Huff? - YouTube
Bartender Droid videos - YouTube
Guest:
Will Huff - YouTube
Hosts:
Bryan Green - @sendaibry, bryan@gobemore.co
Jon Rankin - @chasejonrankin, Go Be More
Links:
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Production and Editing