Massive Attack
Director Walter Stern wanted the fetus to look like it was floating in the womb, but submerging a complex robot in water would have destroyed it. Instead, the team used a technique called "Dry-For-Wet." The Frame Rate: They filmed the puppet at 37.5 frames per second. When played back at normal speed, the movement looks slightly slow and heavy, perfectly simulating water resistance. The Skin: The team had only two weeks to build the puppet. They used silicone, which was experimental for animatronics at the time, because it was the only material that allowed light to pass through it like real skin. The result is a practical effect that lands right in the "Uncanny Valley"—too real to be a cartoon, but too mechanical to be human. The animatronic was built by the special effects company Artem, who had to invent new techniques to cast the silicone skin without air bubbles. The song features vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, who wrote the lyrics while mourning the death of her former partner, Jeff Buckley. The "heartbeat" sound in the track is meant to mimic the sound a baby hears from inside the womb, which directly inspired Stern's visual concept.