Howard Berger (KNB Effects)

(My apologies right now if I didn't get Howard's last name correct; it was only said during the introduction and wasn't written on the program. I hope I'm close!)

For all of us not familiar with KNB effects, Howard began his presentation by showing us the sample reel that is sent to the studios to sell KNB. It showed an impressive list of effects they've done on TV shows and movies ranging from Men in Black, the X Files, From Dusk Till Dawn, and just about every Sam Raimi production ever done. Hence their involvement with Xena.

Howard said that of all the shows he works on, the Hercules and Xena attitude is wonderful, and that Lucy and Renee are two of the best people he's ever worked with. They really "go the distance" with the effects crews. He showed us some really nifty on-the-set footage from a few episodes KNB has worked on:

The Way
In The Way, KNB was responsible for Hanuman, Indrajit, and Xena's 4-armed Kali transformation. We saw the actors moving through their fight scenes with the cables still attached to their additional arms. The arms were moved through the cables by puppeteers, then the cables were erased by computer later. The footage included shots of Lucy saying hi to the cameraman and waiting patiently while all the rigging and makeup was applied. Howard said Lucy never complained once in all the work being done on/to her.

Fallen Angel
KNB did all of the wings and demon outfits for Fallen Angel. The wings were manipulated by rods, which were again erased via computer later. Howard said the crew helped hold up the wings because they were so heavy, but again noted how none of the actors complained. The most hilarious clip was Lucy in full demon makeup, obliging Howard by admonishing his kids to behave ("No potty words!") or she'd come to get them. Howard says his kids took the warnings seriously. There was also a great clip of demon Lucy singing "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm out in the garden eating worms" with great gusto.

(Spoiler Section!! Skip this paragraph if you don't want to read about an upcoming episode.)

Fish Shticks
In the upcoming episode Fish Shticks, Howard said the plot line is that Gabrielle gets knocked out and thinks she's raising a squid baby. The baby, named Ro ("Roe" like fish eggs?) looks like it's half-squid, half-octopus, with big expressive eyes. Howard also reported lots of mermaids in this episode, but we didn't see any of them. We saw the puppeteers taking Ro through a series of expressions, like "There's a big black octopus coming", "OK, now Ro had a really good bowel movement," and "Now Ro just won an Emmy."

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