I had a great time discussing Talking Dogs and other VFX tricks with Seth & Hashi on VFX & Chill!

VFX and Chill welcomes guest Jason Murphy Director of Space Pups and Monsters at Large. From talking dogs to practical puppets to CGI aliens, we'll chat about how Jason found himself directing movies full of so many visual effects shots. How did After Effects fit into a production pipeline?

Our latest movie "Space Pups" is now streaming on Amazon, Vudu, Tubi and more!

Space Pups Trailer

Space Pups (2023)

• Directed by Jason M. Murphy
  A friendly group of space aliens crash-land on Earth and disguise themselves as dogs to evade detection. Two kids uncover their secret and promise to help fix their ship. As they embark on fun adventures, they form an unforgettable bond, but their mission is jeopardized by an alien chaser who's determined to expose them. To avoid being revealed, the Space Pups and the kids must race against time to repair the ship and return home.
  Watch now on Amazon:
  
  

The Secret Life of Puppets

Back when I was in film school, I got a job as a puppeteer at Walt Disney World, and later became a Puppet Specialist for the parks. While I loved the Muppets and pretty much everything "Henson" as a child, I never imagined that I would be involved in the world of puppetry. I actually ended up spending over 5 years at Disney, and that job/skillset led to performing in several tours and shows. I traveled the US puppeteering "Blue" from Blue's Clues, played "Bert" in a Sesame Street Mall Tour, and several other fun gigs from "Barney" to "Thomas the Tank Engine". I even had the chance to work with the real live Sesame Street gang when I worked on a Sesame Street 3D film which still shows today at Universal Studios in Japan.

Eventually, I took a step back from the puppets in order to get back to pursuing film production, but somehow the puppets always found a way back in. In my last feature "Monsters At Large", I was able to use puppets (and lean on my super talent puppeteer friends) in order to bring the monster to life. Something I would not have been able to do on such a tight budget strictly relying on visual effects.

Besides films, I have also directed a few live shows, and last year my worlds collided once again when I got to direct a Sesame Street Mall Tour called "F is for Friends"!

I look back fondly on my puppet days, and all the amazing/lifelong friends I made from that world...and I welcome my worlds colliding now and again!

I even discovered that there is a whole Muppet Wiki site and they know all about my secret puppet life!
Check it out!
https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Jason_Murphy