Making of

Dive into the world of filmmaking!

  • How did we build the robot costume?
  • What is Special FX Make up?
  • How did we build the film set?
  • Which Program allows beginners to do animations?
  • How did we do the fire effects?

On this site, we will share our “behind the scenes”and the exciting process of making this film project reality.

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[caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="525"]Metamorefire - Copyright by Miigaa Productions Picture by Zamal Metamorefire – Copyright by Miigaa Productions Picture by Zamal[/caption]
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Becoming a Cyborg​

Explore how Udo Schurr and Transformaker Shop helped create the cyborg costume for MetaMoreFire. Discover the process, challenges, and final result of this stunning visual transformation.

Becoming a Cyborg

How bodypaint & latex created the look

One exciting and challenging part of creating MetaMoreFire was the creation of the cyborg costume. The task? To show both the mechanical and human sides of the character while maintaining a fluid, artistic transition between the two.

Besides the red fire dress and some party from the full robot costume, we were also lucky to have the latex parts sponsored by Transformaker Shop, which played a crucial role in bringing this vision to life.

Becoming a Cyborg through bodypaint and latex parts. Picture by Heiko Herrmann

The Vision

The cyborg in MetaMoreFire symbolizes transformation between machine and human. This balance needed to be clearly reflected in the costume design, especially on the head, where robotic elements had to blend seamlessly with more human features.

To achieve the look, we invited Udo Schurr, a talented bodypaint artist from Baden Württemberg (Germany).

Robotic bodypaint by Udo Schurr

The Challenge

Blending Human and Robot:  The latex parts provided by Transformaker Shop were essential in combining metallic elements and the skin seamlessly.

Together with his assistant, Udo glued the parts onto the cleaned skin and cut the edges. He then used his body paint spray pistol to blend these parts together, painting over the parts and the transitions to the skin. He also helped to create transisitions with paint between the “real” robot parts and the visible human skin.

The look reminded us strongly of „the Borg“ alien group from Star Trek fiction…Was I really turning into a friendly character? … 😉

The Process:

Time and Weather were NOT our best friends.

Creating the cyborg costume wasn’t just a matter of artistic skill—it was a race against time. This process took several hours, with the crew anxiously waiting and trying to make the most of the time by shooting other scenes.We had Udo for only one day and had to complete all of the cyborg’s scenes that night. To make things more intense, it was a windy night, and we had to continuously adjust the fire decorations used in the scenes. The entire crew had to be flexible, recreating setups to deal with the elements. Despite the wind and the late hours, there was no turning back; we had to push forward and finish the cyborg fire scenes in one night.

Though the latex parts from Transformaker can be reused, the effort involved in assembling and painting them makes it too complicated for a simple performance. This costume was built for the shortfilm MetaMoreFire, and it really came alive for that moment.


Watch the process as video

Here is a little video about the process for you, captured by Eduardo Saraiva, cut by Christiane Meyer.

 
Massive thanks to the artists and team that made this project possible!
  • Enrico Lein for sponsoring the latex parts
  • Udo Schurr and his assistant for bringing our vision alive
  • Eduardo Saraiva for filming some behind the scenes- https://eduardosaraiva.com/
  • Michaela & Wolf Müglich for the fantastic catering
  • Diego for his allround presence
  • Eugeniusfilm & its crew for accepting long hours of filming the set

…and many more!

Transformaker

Enrico Lein, Latexteile

Shop & Galerie

Udo Schurr

Bodypaint & Airbrush

Projekte & Galerie
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About MetaMoreFire”

Cyborg Christiane Meyer Foto: Heiko Herrmann

About "MetaMoreFire"

Introduction

“Metamorefire” is a short film that explores themes of time, presence, and transformation using the powerful art of dancing with fire. It invites viewers to embrace mindfulness, find personal flow, and live authentically.

What "Metamorefire" is About

“Metamorefire” follows the journey of a robot breaking free from its mechanical existence. The film explores the limitations of time and how to unwind from its struggles through meeting the hearts flame.

Inspiration Behind "Metamorefire"

The inspiration for “MetaMoreFire” came from the desire to be centered and free. Personal experience and philosophical insights have shaped the story around this goal.

Firedance has been experienced as the biggest source of healing for the producer Christiane Meyer and is therefore the elemental transformational power in this movie. The dance represents the burning away of old patterns and the emergence of a new, more authentic self.

(See blog article “How firedance has saved my life”)

We believe, that every human has the ability to find flow and can therefore gain control over their lives to heal, and grow. “MetaMoreFire” wants to encourage individuals to embrace their passions and stay present for a deeper sense of fulfillment.

The Role of Time in the Film​

In “MetaMoreFire,” time is portrayed not as a linear construct, but as a fluid experience that must be lived in the now.

Our modern society is putting big value on effectiveness, productivity and routine, which leads to stress, burnouts and depressen. We believe, that human beings also need to live spontaneity and mindfulness for a balanced life.

(See blog article “Kronos vs Chairos”)

By introducing the struggles of time and how to deal with them, “MetaMoreFire” emphasizes mindfulness and joy of living. By being fully present, the artists can engage more deeply with their work and express their genuine selves.

Conclusion

“Metamorefire” is a compelling exploration of time, presence, and the transformative power of art. It invites viewers to break free from the constraints of time, find their personal flow, and embrace the art of living in the now. 

To stay updated on the release of “MetaMoreFire” and dive deeper into its themes, subscribe to our newsletter:

 

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The Making of the Robot Costume

Making of the robot costume - Shoulder

The Making of the Robot

PHASE 1 : The Concept

It was very clear for me, that I won’t be able to create a perfect, shiny robot shell with my resources.

1. Because I wouldn’t even know where to start building.

2. Because I didn’t have the resources($$) to buy an existing one.

3. Because plan to film a transformation and will therefore need a Cyborg costume that uses of parts of the robot costume.

Therefore, it was more logic to me, to start building single parts that will together add up to both a Cyborg and a full robot costume.

So I would start by looking for different parts that I can slowly unite to a robot armor. I got protection gear for rollerskating, a knee orthosis for alignment from my friend who used to injure herself alot, a leather harness for the chest that can hold some weight attached, and big sheets of worbla.

 

Making of the robot costume - Leg part

What is Worbla?

This material has changed my life of crafting! You can turn it into literally anything! Worbla is a non-toxic thermoplastic sheet material made partially from wood pulp. Worbla softens at 150 degrees fahrenheit (65 degrees) which means you can usually mold it with your bare hands. You can cut the material with scissors and heat it up to adjust it to your body (careful to not burn yourself). You can roll it, twist it and glue parts together just by giving them the needed temperature. You can staple it, nail it, and sew it. You can buy it in different colors and thickness, depending on your needs. It’s fantastic material for crafting Cosplay costumes, model figures

The Downsides are:

  • It is pretty expensive (73cmx48cm are almost 70 $)
  • It is heat sensitive (don’t leave it under the sun, stored under blankets, inside a tent or too close to fire) 

Buy Worbla

When you use one of our links to buy Worbla on Amazon, we will get a little percentage from Amazon. You won’t have any extra costs. This is a very easy way to directly support our project. Thank you so much for your consideration, and enjoy the limitless crafting possibilites!

Buy Worbla in Australia

Buy Worbla in the US

Compra Worbla in italia

Worbla in Deutschland kaufen

Buy Worbla in the UK

…a melting robot?

The heat sensitivity surely was a big problem. We are about to film a fire dance movie. But I was too excited about that material to drop it. Therefore we needed some trickery to overcome this.

The Cyborg costume could only involve pieces, that aren’t melting on my body. And The scenes in which the robot carries fire can’t have much movement in them. This realization was also the impulse to create a transformation scene that involves animation, layers, and long time exposure.

The beautiful thing about film is, that we start from the idea “everything is possible”. After this, it is a question of

  1. How well you can prepare the shoot and its tricks to have an easy postproduction and

  2. Money.

There is this common saying of “we’ll fix this in post production”.

DO NOT FALL INTO THIS TRAP!

Unless you have a beautiful big budget in hand and animators that aren’t busy, it is definitely better to prepare well beforehand and avoid the black holes of figuring out how to fix things in post production.

 

Stay tuned for Phase 2: Creating the robot helmet.