Sale on Cabaret Mechanical Theatre book and three DVDs!

To celebrate 30 years of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre they are having a sale! For four days you can get 50% off their book and 3 DVDs. I ordered these on VHS years ago. It is time to upgrade to a more recent format!

Here's where you can learn more about the book and DVD sale at Cabaret Mechanical Theatre. (Valid from the 15th to 18th March 2012.)

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Hugo DVD and Blu-ray with bonus feature about automata

It's been an exciting week for me. The release of the Martin Scorsese film Hugo on DVD and Blu-ray confirmed at last that I was indeed included in one of the bonus features. I am one of the experts interviewed for a featurette titled The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo.

The DVD edition includes only one extra feature, a nice behind-the-scenes piece titled 'Shoot the Moon: The Making of Hugo'. The Blu-ray special features include:

• Shoot the Moon: The Making of Hugo
• The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
• The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo
• Big Effects, Small Scale
• Sacha Baron Cohen: The Role of a Lifetime

The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo covers the history of automata, examines the human drive to replicate life in mechanical form, and explores why we find them so compelling. Among the speakers on the featurette are:

• Martin Scorsese - Director / Producer
• Ben Kingsley - Oscar winning actor
• Graham King - Producer
• Dick George - Automaton maker for the film Hugo
• Thomas Kuntz - Artist / Automaton maker
• Dug North - Automaton maker

The featurette includes footage from the motion picture Hugo, drawings of historical automata, 3D animations, antique automata in motion -- some without their outer coverings so you can see what is going on inside, and automata by artist Thomas Kuntz.

Clips from The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo can be found here:

• The drive to replicate life in mechanical form
• The automaton the inspired the one in Hugo
• Why people are fascinated by automata

Being in the feature, I may be biased, but I believe the final product to be an interesting and informative look at mechanical automata. Clocking in at about 13 minutes, it is all to brief and cannot claim to be a comprehensive treatment of the topic. I am honored to have been a part. I hope you will enjoy it too.

Here are the various version of Hugo that are currently available:

• Hugo - One disc: DVD + Digital Copy
• Hugo - Two-disc combo: Blu-ray / DVD Combo + Digital Copy
• Hugo - Three-disc combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD + Digital Copy

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Artists speak about the mystery and motion of automata

This is the third video segment from the special feature included on the Blu-ray release of the movie Hugo. I had the pleasure of being interviewed for the feature which is titled The Mechanical Man and the Heart of Hugo. In this clip, I say a few words about the questions that automata raise in our minds. Other speakers in the clip include Martin Scorsese himself and artist Thomas Kuntz, whose incredible automaton art is also shown in various moments in the clip.

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Make a carved kicking mule action toy

Here's a short article on how to carve and assemble this kicking mule toy that we discovered back in 2008. I thought it was time to bring it to your attention once again. The project is made by noted woodcarver David Sabol. David Sabol is author of the the book Wood Carving Basics as well as a very comprehensive DVD on Wood Carving Basics.

From the article:

The mule consists of four components: head, ears, front legs joined to the main body, and hindquarters. Pieces of brass rod hold the various parts together, and lengths of string keep them articulated.

Here is the link to the article on how to make a kicking mule toy.

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