About the project
special effects work for [Cass Light TV commercial]
wearable special effect / 2011
dimensions of the muscle suite : h 680 X w 500 X l 400 mm
material : blowing soft urethane
This project is for a Cass Light beer advertisement. To emphasize PSY’s entertaining image, we created exaggerated muscles. We used non-expanding soft urethane foam to allow the actors to perform exaggerated acting.
Design
I modeled with clay, planned the workflow in my mind, and ordered the necessary materials. After five hours of modeling, I constructed a soil wall to serve as a boundary between the zipper part of the muscle suit and the gypsum, as I had envisioned.
For flexible movement, I selected non-foaming soft urethane, which requires oxygen for curing, thus choosing gypsum as the mold material. Although gypsum is a basic material, it requires precise calculations of curing time, speed, pot life, and bubble formation to handle it efficiently. This task was completed within an hour.
Soft Urethane casting
After 2 hours and 30 minutes, the gypsum was opened, the soil was removed, and the parts were combined. Fortunately, the molds were well-assembled. I applied the mold release agent and added 180% foaming soft urethane foam, a material chosen for its balance of curing time, strength, weight, and colorability. Due to the nature of gypsum, there was an error margin within 1mm, but fortunately, everything turned out without any issues. The prototype of the muscle suit was then assembled. Three more hours passed.
Painting
I was initially concerned about the paint adhering to the soft material, but the 180% foaming soft urethane exhibited excellent coloring properties. I completed the painting process in 1 hour and 30 minutes and then headed to the filming site.
