I worked with Midnight Commercial to build 10 animatronic props as part of a window display for Cartier. They were developed on a rapid timeline, and build for continuous operation.
Cartier approached Midnight Commercial to refresh their Manhattan window display after the Christmas season. They came with an ambitious plan to install a unique animatronic prop in each of their display windows to showcase a new season of jewelry. I was brought in to direct the animatronic design and physical fabrication. Over the course of two months, I designed and built four props, and directed the construction of the remaining six. These props were built through a combination of CAD, simulation, animation, drawing, hand machining, and CNC milling. We were able to bring on Katie Treidl, who is super experienced with fast-moving projects like this, to manage the development of several props.
The installation was done in tandem with an external prop and set crew that managed the aesthetics of the window display. This necessitated a series of test installs and iterations to bring both teams together to deliver on time. I was able to funnel our designs into tracks that hinged on digital fabrication and COTS components to make certain we had as many opportunities to iterate as possible.
The installation was managed by Casey Bloomquist, and the electronics systems were installed by Nathan Lachenmyer.