Syfy Announces Contestants For New Reality Competition Series Jim Hensons Creature Shop Challenge
13/01/2014
JIM HENSONS CREATURE SHOP CHALLENGE -- Season:1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Robert Bennett, Melissa Doss, Chaz Vance, Jake Corrick, Tina Roland, Gigi Edgley, Brian Henson, Ben Bayouth, Lex Rudd, Ivonne Escoto, Josh Smith, Russ Adams -- (Photo by: Justin Stephens/Syfy)
Airdate: Tuesdays on Syfy (10-11 p.m. ET) NBC Universal, Inc.
Syfy introduces ten hopeful creature designers who have come to Los Angeles with an incredible shared dream: to land a job working in Jim Henson's Creature Shop . The new reality competition series, Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge, premieres Tuesday, March 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT following an all-new episode of Syfy's acclaimed Face Off. The eight-episode series provides a fascinating window into the imaginative and wildly creative environment of world-class creature design, fabrication and mechanization.
The series features host Gigi Edgley (Farscape) and lead judge Brian Henson, Chairman of The Jim Henson Company, who also oversees the groundbreaking work of Jim Henson's Creature Shop . Henson is an award-winning writer, puppeteer, director and producer whose mentor was the iconic genius, his father Jim Henson.
The competing creature designers are allowed unprecedented access to the world-renowned Creature Shop, gaining hands-on experience to learn every aspect of what it takes to become a master creature designer. Following a series of elaborate challenges, only one will be awarded a prize worth up to $100,000, including the opportunity for the job of a lifetime - a contract working at the world-renowned Jim Henson's Creature Shop .
To find out more about the cast, see bios, photo galleries and video, visit http://www.syfy.com/creatureshop.
With backgrounds ranging from art students and teachers to professional sculptors to mask makers, the ten competing creature designers are:
Ben Bayouth, 25, from Woodland Hills, CA, Freelance SFX Artist.
Chaz Vance, 27, from Collins, NY (currently living in West Falls, NY), Owner of Technically Magic Effects and Sculpture Teacher.
Ivonne Escoto, 35, from Los Angeles, CA, Freelance SFX Artist.
Jake Corrick, 21, from Belle Vernon, PA, Student and Sculptor.
Josh Smith, 27, from Claremore, OK (currently living in Minot, ND), Creature Costumer and Prop Builder.
Lex Rudd, 34, from SE England (currently living in Guerneville, CA), Puppet and Creature Costume Maker.
Melissa Doss, 24, from Big Bear, CA (currently living in Fort Wainwright, AK), Freelance SFX Artist.
Robert Bennett, 29, from Baton Rouge, LA (currently lives in Orlando, FL), Sculptor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Russ Adams, 41, from Ogden, UT, Owner of Escape Design Effects, Creature Creator and Mask Maker.
Tina Roland, 28, from Doylestown, PA (currently living Hollywood, CA), Freelance Effects Artist
Challenges on the series explore all aspects of the creature design field, from sculpting and animatronics to full-body creature creation. Some episodes are inspired by Henson film and television classics The Dark Crystal and Farscape. Evaluating the designs are the esteemed panel of judges, led by Brian Henson and including creature fabricator Beth Hathaway (Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Batman Returns) and creature designer Kirk R. Thatcher (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Dinosaurs, Muppets Wizard of Oz). The judges will be evaluating the creatures for overall creativity and originality, technical execution and, most importantly, how convincingly the creature designers bring their creations to life. Each episode, the creatures will be featured in a screen test in which professional puppeteers showcase the creatures' ability to perform and transport an audience to another world.
Serving as mentors are world-renowned designer Peter Brooke, mechanization and animatronics master John Criswell and fabrication and artistic specialist Julie Zobel. The three are longtime Creature Shop artists who have dedicated their talents to the Henson legacy. Their tenures with The Jim Henson Company span decades and they bring a specialized knowledge gained through their direct collaborations with Jim Henson. Working alongside the creature creators inside their workplace at the Creature Shop, they will be available for consultation and hands-on assistance.
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge is a production of The Jim Henson Company. Brian Henson serves as executive producer with his sister Lisa Henson, the company's CEO. Also executive producing Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge are Joseph Freed (Little People Big World, Rachael Ray) and Rob Bagshaw (Paradise Hotel, Top Chef Masters, Project Runway All Stars).
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreatureShopChallenge
Twitter Hashtag: #JimHensonSyfy
Jim Henson's Creature Shop provides performed digital visual effects, animatronic creatures, animation and soft puppets to the international film, television and advertising industries. Based in Los Angeles and New York with satellite shop capabilities internationally, the Shop is known for designing and building some of the world's best-known characters including the Sesame Street puppets, the classic Muppets, the dinosaurs from Dinosaurs, the aliens from Farscape and the fantastical creatures from The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Other features credits include Where the Wild Things Are, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Five Children and It. The shop is also known for its live performance work with artists like Cee Lo Green, Kanye West, Lady Gaga and
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik Discusses 1Q24 On CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime"
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
Audinate Adds Major New Features to Dante Connect
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
Bell Media Launches New Portfolio of FAST Channels
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
Study: Broadcast TV Evening News Avoids Serious Economic Issues
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
Hughes Opens Manufacturing Facility and Private 5G Incubation Center in Maryland
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Broadcasting Legend Harry Pappas Dead At 78
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
Televisa Selects Synamedia For Broadcast Distribution Overhaul
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Certificate
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Reports Higher Q1 Profits Despite Broadband, Video Losses
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Environmental Groups Aim To Make Unscripted TV More Sustainable
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia Named Weekend Anchor at Telemundo 40 in Texas
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports Kicks Off FAST Channel for UEFA Champions League on Pluto TV
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Brian Roberts's Pay Rose To $35 Million at Comcast
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
John Lithgow Goes Back to School in Art Happens Here'
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
FETV Wants Upfront Buyers Seeking Cable Viewers To Join Its Family
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Catchy Comedy Features Gomer Pyle, USMC' Weekend Marathon
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks off today at Cinpolis
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
Interview: Lourdes Portillo, Director of Las madres de la Plaza de Mayo, La Ofrenda
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Career insights instead of everyday school life
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
L3Harris Technologies Reports Strong First Quarter 2024 Results, Increases 2024 Profitability Guidance
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
What Makes A Network Resilient?
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports Launches New Free Streaming Channel
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Roku Streaming Homes Hit 81.6M
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
Sarah Farrell Named General Manager Of Pinewood Toronto Studios
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and Myriad Solutions
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talent' award
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted Brie Clayton April 26, 2024 0 Comments Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024 0 Comments By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Hi Barbie! Mattel Launching First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Marty Moe Named President Of Trusted Media Brands
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard Directs Jim Henson Documentary for Disney Plus
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
Kraken Skate Away From RSN Root Sports for Deals With Tegna, Amazon
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Warner Bros. Discovery Launches Olli First-Party Data Platform
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
The Equalizer' Gets Season 5 on CBS
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW Inks New Deal for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Urging Young Viewers To Vote With Blunt Campaign
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Neil Gaiman's Sandman' Universe Expands With Dead Boy Detectives'
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective opens largest film and TV studio in the heart of London
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages By Matthew Corrigan Publi...
26/04/2024
Richard Perkett joins Amagi as chief product officer
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries ...
26/04/2024
Teradek Announces Smaller More Robust Built-in Antennas f...
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
Amagi Names Richard Perkett Chief Product Officer
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
NAB Board Election Results Announced
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
Mattel to Launch First FAST Channels on Samsung TV Plus
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
NextGen TV Launches In Portland, Maine
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...