The most impressive thing in Birmingham 2022 Opening Ceremony was the Raging Bull, a giant aluminum and steel puppet made by Artem.
"Raging Bull" roared into Alexander Stadium midway through the show, pulled by a chain of underpaid, overworked women in the Industrial Revolution. He was taken to the entertainment venue of the bullring - a famous attraction in the city that was once a market and is now a central meeting place and shopping mall.
An aluminium truss box structure formed the core onto which everything was attached and which itself was supported on the telehandler. The legs mounted onto the 4 corners, the head to the central axis, and a series of aluminium tubes formed the ribs. Within this core ran walkways and handrails for access to allow puppeteers and effects technicians to get at everything and animate the head, which itself moved up/down, left/right, and had an extending neck. Onto all this mechanical ingenuity was attached a dense foam outer skin, and internal Victoriana/steampunk dressing. The whole structure is 10m high x 4.5m wide x 15m long – but weighed in at only 2.5 tonnes.
Bulls have computer-controlled motors and gearboxes. The wheels are foam-filled, which virtually eliminates bouncing, and the telehandler weighs 17 tons. Movable parts include full 4 legs, full head, horns, ears, eyes, mouth, nostrils and grappling tail. There are also special effects like smoke from the body and nostrils, tears of blood, and glow from within. The team of nearly 60 people went through many sleepless nights and long hours to complete the creation of the bull.
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