Great Woolly Mammoths - Ice Age Giants

Have you seen "Land of the Mammoth", the T.V. documentary for Discovery Channel?

Creating moving images of animals that are extinct was a "mammoth" task. The results are outstanding, but there was an amazing amount of work that went into recreating those prehistoric elephants with the woolly overcoats. This was the work of the London-based animation studio Skaramoosh.

Prior to filming, Skaramoosh commissioned a number of models and animatronics from Crawley Creatures, including a full-size mammoth and assorted body parts. These were combined with computer animation and special effects to create the realistic images of roaming mammoths. Even the fur was created by a digital artist.

It was also important to find the right location for filming. The director and cameraman travelled throughout England, the Midwest USA and to Russia and the Ukraine in search of the right spots.

Great Woolly Mammoth Jokes

To create the look of a prehistoric landscape, the team used some camera magic to alter the location shots. Looking at the finished product, you'd never guess that trees and buildings had been digitally removed. Then snow, rain, and even prehistoric flies were added, and, after thousands of years, the mammoths roamed in their "natural" environment once again.

LINKS:
Ice Age, More Animation Information