We're living in a golden age of special effects, and while so much of what we see today is digitally created, there will always be a home for the physical, tangible art of special effects. I'm your host for this episode, Candice Bloch, and I'm super excited to be sitting down with an experienced special effects designer, prop maker, fabricator, and overall multi-talented creator, Ben Eadie.
Ben has worked on such projects as Star Trek Beyond, Arrow, the Predator, Ghostbusters Afterlife, More recently, the Film Prey, and the Fraggle Rock TV series. And today we're gonna chat more about building some of the magic that comes out of art departments. Welcome to the podcast, Ben.
Hey, how's it going?
Good. Uh, so first of all, I'm an artist in a sculpture myself, and I've always considered working in a creature shop or creating special effects as a dream job.
So I'm a specially eager to learn how it is. You got into this field. Did you come from an art or an engineering background, or what is your unique story?
I was raised in an artist like family. Um, the fact that I ended up in engineering. Almost black sheep. But I, I've managed to combine the two skills, how I got into it was, is I was at a makerspace and, uh, a girl I know at the makerspace had, you know, we chatted once in a while. She was making a vacuum. Former Janet, she's amazing and she's in the film industry. And I had worked as a freelance engineer for, at that point it was like, well, 15 years.
And she said that, uh, her boss was looking for a crazy engineering type person that would help him design up some special effects. And she goes, Do you mind if I give him your number? And I said, Sure. And didn't think much of it. Um, and I got a call from a guy and he's like, You know, first thing he said, This is like the best interview I've ever had.
He said, Can you send me your resume? And I'm like, Sure. And 15 minutes later, um, he didn't say, don't forget about the resume, but it was kind of just, you know, it was said in the, in his tone cuz he is like, Okay, I'm flying you out to Vancouver on Saturday. He's like, Clear your bill, I'm gonna buy you up for about eight months.
And I'm like, Oh, okay. And I had no idea what I was getting into. Um, when I landed, uh, the person who picked me up, I'm like, Okay, so what show is this? And they were like, I'm not sure if I should say, but you know, it's better, you know? And like, this is for Star Trek beyond. Now, I, I wouldn't say I'm a hardcore Treky fan, but I'm definitely a fan.
I was just like,
It's certainly a name you've heard of, you know, everyone everyone's heard of, of Star Trek. Um, That's awesome that you were just like thrown right in the deep end it sounds like.
Yeah, and apparently I did a good job because I'm still in the industry, so
Yeah. I find, uh, you know, as we do more and more interviews for this podcast, it's, it's very a common thread that, you know, you, you get into a project and as, as long as you prove yourself, you just keep getting work that way. And it's all, it's all who you know and connections and there's, everyone has a unique story, but there's sort of that common thread of just kind of a, kind of a random introduction is, is a common thing that.
It is, but also, there's a certain mindset in there. Everybody seems like you fit in. Either you fit in or you don't. And it's, it's nearly an instant thing. And that's one thing where I found like the, the personalities I, I understood and got along with.
And because of that, you know, because you're in the team essentially then, then you kind of stay there.
But you have an engineering background and is it that you've always kind of enjoyed tinkering and solving problems? Is that kind of what, what led you to making cool things that gives you this skillset?
Yeah. You know, my guy were growing up was like the ultimate hero for me, right? I remember when I was like 12, I got a ghetto blaster for my Christmas gift, and, you know, the first thing most people would do is listen to it, which I did for, you know, good 10 or 15 minutes. But I had to figure out what made it work as far as the tape deck goes in the eject system.
So I pulled it apart. Mom walks into the room and I've literally got this thing in pieces on my, on my desk, and she freaks out and she's like, You have this back together in an hour. You're grounded for like, you know, the rest of your life. And I, I managed to do it.
Oh, that's such a classic story though. You, you are one of those people that takes stuff apart and then figures out how to put it back together. That's awesome.
And one of the proudest moments I had as a kid was, you know, just, it was like a few months later, there was something wrong with our washing machine and my mom called me down to said, Hey, do you wanna see if you can figure this out? And my dad came down cuz he was doing something into the basement.
And um, he's like, Well, why are you getting bent to do it? And my mom looked at him and said, Well, he'll fix it right the first time. And you could see dad was confused because he was like, you know, he was proud that his kids done this. But he was also like, But what about me,
you started your reputation of being able to do this quite early. That's awesome.
that's just what I, it's just, it's in my dna. It's what I do.
It's, it's what you're meant to do. It sounds like
yeah.
so fixing things and making things work and executing like moves or process. But often, especially in the movie industry, these things also need to look a certain way. So do you have a favorite side of the partnership between function and form,
Ghostbusters is a perfect example of where I sit in the movie industry because I'm not necessarily special effects and I'm not necessarily in the art department. I'm, I kind of bridge the gap between the two. So most shows I get into, they, they have a problem figuring out where I fit.
Like, you know, what department am I in? Because like, With Ghostbusters, the proton packs and the traps and the radio controlled trap, those were a definite hybrid between special effects and art department because you know, you gotta make it look pretty, but it's gotta be fully functional at the same time, and no one wants to be that person in between because.
You know, in the film industry, like in any industry, it's always good to have be able to point the finger at who did this right? Or at least be able to know responsibly. And that sounds really harsh, but the reasoning behind it is, is that if you're on set, cameras are rolling. It's super expensive. So you need to know exactly who to go to is something goes wrong, So you can fix it as fast as you possibly can.
So it's less about pointing fingers and more about just making sure things run smooth. because I grew up in an artistic type family, I can make things look good. Now, I'm not, I'm just good enough to make things camera ready, right? I'm not, I'm okay to make things look good, but not, I'm not that guy.
I'm not the one who makes those props that, you know, take your breath away. Um, but I'm also the guy that can make things run and understand the inner workings and be able to fix things. So being able to bridge those two things and be able to like, you know, I come to set with like my rig is like, Tools and paint and, you know, glues and everything.
So I do everything on specific props, and that's kind of where, again, it's, I'm one of those ambiguous people that you can't really describe necessarily what I do, but I prefer the mechanical side of things. That's something I really understand. I, I generally am screaming at the art department for help because I'm making things worse while trying to make it better.
Right. So you, you like the mechanical side, but you have the aesthetic foundation to
Yeah, yeah,
to understand that as well. Which is, Which is great. I mean, I think that's, it's sort of, I guess that makes you balanced brained as well, or whatever they describe with all the different types of ways
suppose, yeah. It can also be dangerous too, cuz sometimes you think you can do something when you really can't and you end up, you know, having to, I, I eat a lot of humble pie,
Well, that's part of the process of just growing and getting better in
Yeah. I suppose.
field, uh, is, is learning from, from everything. you're creating tangible, real life elements. Um, but there's. Sometimes a union between the physical and the digital before, during, and after.
Um, how often are you on a computer compared to getting your hands dirty? Like, I know you, you do like a lot of design work and maybe eSigning things or,
You know, that's a, that's a very good question. I'd say it's, it's almost a 50 50 split because pre-production is, is a large portion of it. And, you know, sitting down and even if I'm receiving props from our prop house, major modifications or me sorting it out and documenting it, or, um, making 3D printed pieces, repair pieces that I can see going wrong.
Like, you can always reach out to prop houses to. To make these pieces for you, but they're gonna be expensive. That's, you know, that's, it's their time is super valuable and if I'm already on production and I have access to this stuff, then, then I can save a couple of bucks by, like, say, 3D printing or manufacturing repair parts or making something right from scratch.
there's also the added bonus of in house if something breaks. You're not calling up a prop house, asking for an emergency thing and having to wait until the next day or a couple days to get the pieces I can go to the shop and make it. Uh, so in the end, yeah, it's, it's totally both sides.
Um, It. Yeah, really it all depends on, on the circumstances too, because there's, there's somewhere it'll be VFX heavy, which means that I'm fully in engineering mode and I just have to, you know, paint it green and, and give them some markers versus making something that's gotta look good on camera that they are going to, you know, get it all done straight in, in lens.
That's true. I mean, yeah, it sounds like you've got your hands on quite a lot of the process. You are definitely, uh, a, like a multi tool on set.
I've, I've been told that. Yeah.
Yeah. Which I think is, is a great person to have cuz you know, you cover a lot of of areas and
True and depending on what show you're on. There was a moment in, in one show, I'm not gonna say which one, but I remember the director saying, Hey, can you send Ben over? And they're like, But this is a setback issue. And he's like, I don't give up. Bleep who belongs to, I know Ben can fix it. So give me Ben,
Man. Well, maybe, maybe a new, a new category is being created by you, sort of, uh,
I'm MacGyver set. MacGyver, I dunno.
Yes. So something specific. But that's, I mean, I, I think a lot of people, especially when in filmmaking, have experience in other avenues than what they're focused on, on that particular project anyway.
So it's, it's kind of cool that you get to actually use all of those or multiple sets of skills
this is where, yeah, I don't like, you know, I'm ADHD and a little on the hyperactive side, right? So this, this feeds in for, for me, this is where what some see as a disability becomes a superpower. And, and because of that, um, yeah, I, it, it's, I get so excited going to work and stuff. Uh, doing engineering was great and fine.
Um, to be completely honest, I made more money, but I'm truly happy doing film because it's where I get to do a little bit of everything, and that totally excites me.
Yeah. And satisfy kind of an artistic element too,
Yes, absolutely.
Oh, sounds like, uh, you really did find, uh, a lovely path in life. It sounds like. I'm, I'm jealous, but, uh, um, but I'm
don't know what I did to deserve this, but I, I've just kind of go with it, you know,
it sounds like you're proving yourself and people, I mean, the fact that they know that they can count on you is, is, uh, a really awesome stamp of, you know, approval that you're doing, you're doing what you're meant to be doing.
a lot of these projects, uh, they obviously range in the types of projects. There's a lot in action and horror genres, but also comedies and fun creatures like in Fraggle Rock and whatnot. Do you. Gravitate towards one project more than another? or does the creation process change at all, uh, the tone of it, or, or is it just the same vibe working on it?
Whether it's
You know, that's a, that.
quirky thing.
That is a great question because I, I've been kind of questioning that recently. Is that like, I, I definitely am, I, I'd say, I'm not gonna say pigeonholed, but that's where, you know, you start on something like Star Trek, so you're sci-fi and then, you know, I've done some, some horror stuff, but it was very mechanically inclined as far as the special effects.
And yeah, there, there's not a whole lot of dramas or anything like that, that I work on. I think a lot of it is, is that, , what I end up doing is, is definitely fiction and outside of, of reality, and because of . That, you know, you need a certain mindset for it. You know, I, I guess I've been sort of pigeonholed
do you have a preference for a genre type?
I don't have a preference. I want to make things that move around, like I, I love robotics aspects for people asking me to do the impossible. with my engineering firm, there was one of, one of my testimonials I had from one of my clients, it was one of the proudest moments is he said that when everybody else says, No, you need to call. and, and part of that is I've got this bravado that I don't say no and I desperately wish I did sometimes, but people go, Can you do this? And I invariably will say yes. And I like to think my track record's pretty good and I will make it happen. But the bridge between the actual saying, Yes, I can do this, and.
Actually doing it can be loaded with a mountain of stress. Um, don't get me wrong, I, I love my job, but there are times where like, I'm, I'm like, you know, my head's in my hands. I'm slumped over my desk just about in tears going, What the heck did I just do? , you know,
so in that, uh, sense also, can you maybe talk to us about some of either the largest and most complex builds and also some of maybe the smallest or small, smallest, not necessarily in simplest, but smallest in like physical size too, types of
Yeah, you know, I've, I've done things where, um, we needed to stuff an l e d light into something just for a little blank, and there was no room and, and be able to control it. You know, we're talking things the size of your pinky fingernail. Um, And you know, that that's, that's just as complex, if not harder than some of the giant stuff.
But most complex, most dangerous things I've done would be, uh, the two rotating sets for Star Trek. Beyond these things were, you know, 35 feet in diameter for 1 45 feet in diameter for the other. Um, one was a hundred feet long, the other was 80 feet long. Um, we needed 1600 horsepower to rotate these things at the velocities they needed.
So, you know, that alone was, was like terrifyingly huge and, if you look at it, an engineering point of view, if somebody came to me as a project like that, I'd be looking at a two year, uh, design, um, r and d and approval process. And you're given like literally three months. and you're just like, Pardon,
At the same time, you gotta make it safe. And that's where, you know, um, it comes into the, to the next more complex thing. It was less complex engineering wise, but danger wise is insane, is they have these car cannons are car flippers. So you've got a car cannon, you've got a, a guy driving a vehicle with effectively, you know, a bomb on the back.
And it's gonna flip the car and you gotta make sure that it's not gonna hurt him. It's gonna make the car flip. It's gonna do exactly what you want it to because you can't have a car. Flip the wrong way. And the next thing you know is that, you know, like the, the stunt people that I know of, um, I, maybe it's.
Me, but I, I seek out, I wanna meet the people that are gonna do this. Because if you befriend these people, then suddenly the stakes are higher because the stakes are higher, you're gonna be safer. And I think it's it, but emotionally, it, it can wreck you. Um, with, with Predator that. Not the last predator, the second last predator, we did a car, cannon and leaf.
The driver, you know, I met him, really enjoyed his company. He was amazing guy. And then he's doing something with this, this Humvee and a car can, I was terrified until we had an all clear, after the stunt was done. I honestly don't think I took a breath for like five minutes.
Working closely with stunt performers and safety crews. Seems like there's a really great sort of symbiotic relationship that you guys have.
Yeah. And, and if there's anybody in engineering and stuff, if you wanna make friends with the stunt people, here is something I did and I didn't realize that a lot of people didn't do, and stunts always had to go out and ask is I made a, a robotic, uh, skating rig. So Annana Kendra could look like she could skate like a professional in, in Noel.
And, but we have this robot she's standing on that weighs about a hundred pounds, can go 30 kilometers an hour, and it's around a bunch of people that are skating. Um, this can be very dangerous. Anybody slips or something like that. And they, they have like a hundred pound robots slamming into their head.
It's not cool. So, um, what I, I managed to make everything, and then I made, literally made a giant red button on a. and I come up to the stunt coordinator. I handed to him this, and he's like, What's that? And I'm like, If I screw up, you hit that. Everything stops. And he literally is just like, Wow. Thank you.
stop
Right. Like just literally make a giant emergency stop button you can handle hand his stunts or to whoever's coordinating and go, Look, you know, I'm not, I'm flogged, so if I'm driving somebody else who's driving, here's, here's the second thing, and, and you're the best person to look at. You know, think of these things.
Always look at, like, even if it's a, um, the remote trap vehicle, the little RTV radio controlled vehicle, and Ghostbusters. It's fun. It's this little tiny trap thing. Like what the little bigger than a shoebox with wheels on it. And everybody's like, Oh, it's cute and it's awesome. This thing weighs about 15 pounds.
It can do 50 miles an hour. If you look at the impulse of that thing hitting something, it would kill someone. So this cute little toy is no longer.
at least.
Yeah. So you gotta, you gotta really pay attention to, Yeah, it looks awesome, but it's not, you know.
Yeah. Oh, wow. So, I mean, it sounds, it sounds like you've also made some great friendships and relationships with stunt people and o obviously the crews and stuff that you work on are, uh, is your network and community of, of people that do this, do you have people you work with time and time again?
so the relationships is interesting. Um, , you know, for first few years and stuff. You know how I said you get along and you kind of fit in. Um, like any group, you're, there's gonna be friction. There's always gonna be friction. So, one thing, Janet, the, the person who got me into the, the movie industry, one of the first pieces of advice she took.
She, we went out for coffee and she goes, You're gonna have to be aware of a few things. She's gonna, she said that people are gonna do stupid stuff and you're just gonna have to sit there and, and shake your head. And then later they're gonna come up to you and they're gonna say, I'm sorry, but like in the heat of the moment.
And she goes, You need to pay attention to that. And you also, when you screw up or you lash out at somebody because it will. Is always go back as soon as you po. Soon as you're out of that, that feeling and in that scenario, and go and apologize. Don't ever hesitate to think I'm right, they're wrong. Best piece of advice I was ever given because you're in the heat of the moment.
It's almost like. I, I'm ex infantry. So it's, it's almost like you're in the heat of a battle, right? You don't have time to deal with emotions while you're doing it, but afterwards you definitely have to address them because you're gonna damage relationships. So that all being said is that, um, you know, at first I thought, Hey, I fit in.
Things are good. But you always make those folies and people are upset and you can, you can step back and. Make amends for a lot of this. At the same time, there's gonna be amends that you can't make. There's some people that aren't gonna like it. And you know, um, like any industry, I've got a lot of people that, that don't like me, and that's okay.
Um, I'm, I try to be a, a people pleaser. I try to have everybody like me. , um, maybe more so than, than most, and, and it, it can be a bit of a flaw at, at the same time, you know, I've got people in industry that, that really do not like me and vice versa. There's people I'll never work for again. But, you know, again, that's okay.
There's, there's room in an industry that you can breathe, so, and you're gonna have the one person that comes to you and says, You're never gonna work in this industry again. I thought, When somebody told me that, I laughed and I thought, You gotta be kidding me. Like, that's suck. Your petty stupid thing. It literally minus one word was quote unquote told to me.
And left on a phone message once, and I'm like, You've gotta be kidding me. Like, really? And, and, but they're, you know, they're, they're good people that are, I won't, you know what, I'm not necessarily gonna say they're good people. They're, they're people that are trying very hard to make a living and, and, you know, maybe they're desperate or they're cornered or something like that.
And you gotta have sympathy. Even, even if they're, they're mean. They're trying, and it's still what I'm trying to get to is, is that the emotional side of things can be a barrier, and I've seen a lot of exceptionally talented people leave the industry because of petty stupid things other people have said.
I don't wanna say grow a thick skin, because I don't think the world needs any more thick skin. I think it's a matter of be, be sympathetic, be understanding, be compassionate. At the same time, you're never gonna please everybody. So sometimes you're gonna get hit and it's gonna hurt, but remember, it's probably worth it.
And that next time it's not gonna be that way.
Yeah, I mean ultimately this is people, It's a whole bunch of people, people, we're all human. Uh, everyone has the emotions and especially in doing the type of stuff that you do, there's a lot of. Pressure and high stakes moments, and that elevates emotion. And so that's a good reminder to, to understand that everyone's human and things happen.
There's stresses, but still be a good person because you're working with that. And then also projects are just different little families too. So not everybody gets along with everybody in the world, and that's okay.
What, you know, given this podcast and the women in film, this is one thing that some of, maybe it's just come to me, is that I, when push comes to the shove, the people I lean on are almost always the women in my department are around because I think men are taught to hide and bottle everything up and they don't learn how to cope with emotions well, and they don't know how to cope with them in the moment.
but women seem to be the ones who are in our society, at least this, this is the society I
Are are taught to deal with that. And they're constantly under pressure. And because of that, when you know, push comes to shove and you know, the stuff hits the fan, women are the ones who can keep level and, and be able to, to get things done.
Uh,
actually kind of reminds me of the premise of, of she Hulk a little bit. I don't know if you've seen it, but, but when, when Bruce is all, how, how are you able to quickly go back and forth between, She's like, I'm a woman. I'm used to dealing with, with keeping
so true though. Yeah. Like, you know, there's, um, this, this Ashley in, in props here in, in Calgary, and. Um, there's times where she would come up and it, it was funny. She'd be asking you like, What's this for? What's that for? I'm like, Why does this, this matter? She's like, Just, just help me out in figuring all this out.
And then I realized later in production, I'd be in the middle of set. I can't run to the trailer. And I'd be like, Wait a minute. Ashley knows everything. I'm like, Can you grab, you know, this widget and that widget and bring it here? And every time she would do it perfectly and grab the right things to know what was going on.
I'd ask somebody. Allison in the department to come and get stuff and they, they, I'd be on the radio talking back and forth thinking this would've taken less time for me to run out into the trailer. Like, it's, it's one of those where, yeah, you, you want help, Ask the girl
to try to, Yeah. To, to, um, for anyone, I guess, Uh, it's a good piece of advice to get to know every, like understand more so you can be, it could be a more well oiled machine when, when stuff gets going.
Yeah. And that I, I guess that could be in, in some ways sexist against men because you know, there are guys out there that are queued in like that. Um, but the vast majority aren't. How about that?
Right. So come on guys. Get better at that. Um, Cause you know, we've all, everyone's listening and it's just a good thing to be a, a, uh, a conscious and aware human being, that takes into account all of this kind of
And that's very difficult.
Yeah. Um, so, yeah. Um, I guess we could switch to getting into some of the specifics of some of the, uh, projects you've made too, cuz I know, uh, people would be really interested to hear, uh, about that.
Um, I know when people think of stuff like you already talked about like the, the big rotating sets in Star Trek and some of the things in, um, in Ghostbusters and all of that, but, uh, what were some of the props you made for Fraggle Rock, for example, Like, can you get into that?
so yeah, Fraggle Rock and stuff. Uh, the dos are vehicles, uh, the, the tracked vehicles and stuff, you know. Um,
I love the dozers. I'm so, I'm such a dozer fan. Yeah.
I, everybody says, you know, why aren't there more dozers and stuff? It, it's something that you knows, definitely been heard by production.
Um, So, yeah, the doer vehicles, that was a, the, a lot of the work I did or that the monorail that you saw. Um, You don't like anything? Anything I do as a team effort, You know, I, I can talk about how, you know, I designed up the, the rotating sets in Star Trek and stuff. The reality is, is that I did the vast majority of the, the design.
But you know, you have double checkers. You have other people come in. I didn't have time to figure out the engine mounts. We brought in another, to help out with that. So with the doer vehicles, you know, um, we've got, uh, a whole team of people working on that. I, I made sure that they could roll properly and I was in charge of like, handling a lot of the 3D printing and stuff that needed to be done for them.
Um, yeah, so in the end it was like sort of the remote control stuff that I, I'd manage. Uh, so much fun. I just, you know, and there, there were a lot of interesting challenges. That's, that's one thing is that you get asked to build something that you know doesn't exist and you know that it can, but like, how do you affect that?
Like how does, how does that, the, the giant dome that goes over top of them in on that tractor is probably the hardest thing to get done. If you want to blow it in glass, it's, it's several thousand dollars just to make the mold and in each glass piece, and then whether that breaks or not. And then the. We ended up 3D printing it, um, and through a system or through, through a group that came outta China because they could do optically clear prints and it was much less expensive.
But knowing where to go and look for that stuff is, is kind of, you know, where you, I fit in, you know, it's, nobody's made this before, and it's like, okay. I've done 40 different things in eight different industries that might apply. So let's just start, you know, hitting the check boxes and seeing which one works.
You have a lot you can draw from at this point. Um, yeah, cuz it sounds like obviously everyone learns something new with each project and you take your knowledge, move forward improving and streamlining and building your skills. Um, so do you, do you like, uh, I'm sure there are times maybe when you know exactly what to do when you execute it and it gets done.
but Are there are, there are great times that you're still learning really, really
Uh, yeah, that's, I I absolutely love learning something new, right? And there's, there, there is literally an adrenaline kick when you get something to do what you want it to. Um, especially after a struggle. Um, you know, in some ways you, when I was in my air for two days and stuff, I did a lot of rock climbing and Scott e hang gliding.
I was always in for the adrenaline. And, um, yeah, now the, because of a family and stuff, I slowed down a little less, uh, death defying stuff that I do. Um,
still get your adrenaline
at the adrenaline rush from these little design things and every show, there's always something that will confuse you. I love, love puzzles. I, you know, people still buy me puzzles for Christmas and, you know, everybody, I still to this day have people trying to stump me.
Um, there's only one puzzle that ever got me down, but it took me six months to solve it. But like, literally, I will spend six months until I solve it.
That's a personality trait I can kind of relate to. So I, I, I get you there. Um, yeah, so solving things, there's a, there's a great kind of like high and satisfaction from finally getting it. That's, that's great. And it's, it's cool that you get to make a living doing that
And, and the sad thing is you have to accept this, but like you'll, you'll spend like, say, six months solving a puzzle. And then somebody's gonna come off the street and go, Hey, did you know there's this one little trick? And you go and you're just like, Where were you six months ago?
But it's okay. You are that to other people as well, so that's good. You know, at least, at least I'm sure you're, you're taking enlightening, some frustrated person who was trying to figure it out and you're like, No, no, no. You just, you just do this, Um,
it's the person where you're, you're struggling on, on some software. The guy reaches over your shoulder and goes, Have you tried hitting the S button? And
I'm sure a lot of people, especially, um, when this is gonna come out are, curious. Do you love Halloween?
And do you like, uh, do you do cosplay or make special displays or haunted houses or anything? Is that a holiday you love or is it just Yeah,
Well, okay, Halloween. I, I've always loved Halloween and stuff. Um, you know, this is where, this is where Ben's a little different than most is, is that my joy in Halloween is the build my, my joy isn't necessarily wearing the costume and stuff. I, I would, but I. The, the look on a kid's face or somebody else's face when you build something, I'm going for that, that reaction to whatever I've built.
I'm, I don't have to be the person wearing it. I don't need,
four others more
Yeah. Or like, even I'll, I'll still do stuff for myself, but it's, I'm going for the reaction. I'm not going for. Uh, you know, look at me and trying to boost my ego. I've already got an inflated ego thinking like, you know, I can build everything. So there's something coming up that I'm super, super excited about that I've been working on this, this robot.
Um, we're gonna do some live, uh, event stuff here coming in middle October. It turned out to be something that everybody thought would be complex, but the best solution was something that was so simple that every, like, even myself as just sitting there going, I can't believe this is how you solve this.
But yeah, it'll be fun things. Anyway, that's where this job is awesome, because for me, a lot of the times my, you know, Halloween's all year round,
it sounds like you have your personal projects and you're paid stuff, um, and that you help your friends and you do coplay or helping them with cosplay things as well.
Cause that is a year round sort of. Creation,
it totally is and, and like when I'm not working, going to cosplay conventions and stuff and getting ideas and oh my God. That's one thing I, Okay, so at movies you've got people that are getting paid to be there because they're good actors or something like that, but they don't necessarily want to be there like a vast majority do, but occasionally they don't.
But you go to a con, everybody wants to be there. And that energy, oh my God, it's so.
Are there any cons that are your favorite?
Yeah, I just came from Adam Savage's Silicon. Um, so in my, in my travels, Adam and I, uh, well Adam did a prop for, for, uh, Ghostbusters and because of that I got to work directly with him and, you know, it went from this, this person I admired and fanboyed out over on TV to, he's a friend of mine and we talk regularly.
I still can't believe I'm saying that. I just, but, but he's, you know, it was one of those where this was, this was a moment in my life that I truly, I will forever remember is that, um, we did an interview in my trailer about some of the props. . And then, um, you know, later he was back in my, my trailer at lunch.
Now I, I have lunch and take a nap because that's just, you know, I'm, I'm middle aged. I'm, I'm getting old. I like to have an nap. So I go to have an app in my trailer and Adam's there and I'm like, Oh, did you miss something? Do you need something? And he's like, No man, do you mind if I just hang out? Cuz like, I really enjoy your company.
And I was just like, What?
That's awesome. That's, that's someone who, who does get along with you
Yeah. Yeah.
everyone you said, not everyone does, but it's great when you find people that get, that, get your vibe and, and stuff as well.
Yeah.
That's so cool. Um, so obviously as anyone listening can tell, we could talk about a ton of awesome projects and get into all the things.
Uh, can do. Um, I would just say really quickly before we tell people where they can learn more, is there any, um, sort of advice you might give to someone wanting to get into this? Like any maybe materials or skills that they should get as a foundation?
If you've got a skill set that is close to being able to do something, but you're not sure, say yes, there was something, a, a coach of mine, a business coach of mine had told me, and there there was two phrases and there's yes, but, and yes.
And so any question you answer with a yes. The, the caveats are is that if you, if you know it's something you can do and you can knock outta the park and it's an easy job, you say Yes, and here's some other things that we can add to it, and it makes people feel good, right? Because you're, you're gonna outperform and they're always gonna remember that.
Um, yes. But is that, Yes, I can do this, but it's gonna take me a lot of time. Or, uh, we'll need more equipment or we're gonna need more money. So the but is the, the negative. And it, it sort of covers your, your butt in the sense that your butt, that wasn't intended, but , it, it covers you in the sense that, um, you, you will get some of those yes butts.
They will say, Yeah, go ahead. Do it. Because, you know, the, the risk reward for the director, the producer will be, you know, good enough that they're willing to try it. And they'll also know that there's an inherent risk. The reason I'm saying all of this is, every question they ask you is met with an immediate yes.
And because it's always met with an immediate yes, people remember that and they'll come to you because you will have the solutions. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're gonna affect the solution, but it does mean that you always say yes instead of having the person go, Ah, no we can't because don't be that person.
Go, Yes, but or yes. And if you can ingrain those two things into your head, you're gonna find that people really like to work with you because you've got, you've got the the yes mindset. At the same time, you're gonna say yes to stuff that's gonna stress you out beyond your wildest dreams.
And you think that you know the next show, I'm not gonna do it, and you're gonna do it on the next show. Just accept that it's gonna happen.
Yeah, . Well, that's, that's some really excellent advice. I know, uh, you have, a YouTube channel where you offer tips and tricks and things like that and tutorials. Um, so I guess if people wanna learn more about you and your work or connect or collaborate or anything, um, tell, tell us where they can find you, Uh, online.
So online first is like my YouTube channel, and you can find that at, uh, YouTube and then, uh, forward slash back slash you know, the slash And then, uh, Ben Edy, My last name's kind of spelled word, but you can see it in the text, I'm sure in the description
it in the show notes as well.
Yeah. And, um, you know, Instagram, um, is a tongue and cheek thing that I really like.
Is it popped into my head? Is I'm known as like, you know, a maker. So I, I became the dread maker Roberts instead of their dread Pirate Roberts, because it's like one of my favorite movies ever. And so, uh, yeah, you can find me there. And you know, that's one thing is my name is not that hard to spell, and it's unique enough that if you Google my name, I, I kinda own the first pages , so you can find me there.
But yeah, YouTube's kind of where I'm, I'm trying to branch out. I'd like to spend a little more. Movies are great, but this is another little piece of advice. Movies are great, but you're gonna spend an off the long hours, long, long hours. And at the end of a show last couple of months, you're gonna easily be doing 12 hour days.
Six to seven days a week. And if you're trying to raise a family doing that, it can be tough.
right.
So I'm trying to spend some more time with my family and my YouTube channel is at the point where it makes just enough money that I can, you know, take little extended breaks between movies. And I'm hoping that maybe I can do it more on a regular basis.
So yeah, go to my YouTube
definitely check that out. That is, uh, it's, it's got some awesome stuff on there. I subscribe now as well. Thank you so much for chatting with us and we'll definitely, I, I am gonna keep my eyes peeled for some of these great new projects. That you've got, uh, coming down the pipeline and uh, yeah, everyone check it out.
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Published: Oct. 16, 2022 @ 2AM Edit
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