How VFX Supervisor Blair Clark Makes You See Ted as Real

      Visual effects supervisor Blair Clark has teamed up with Ted creator-director-star Seth MacFarlane to bring the foul-mouthed, cannabis-consuming teddy bear to life in two films and two seasons of the Ted television series. His role has consistently been the same: to ensure audiences forget they are watching a computer-generated animated teddy bear.

      “We never want the audience to lose focus on what they're viewing,” Clark states. “We want them to engage with the comedy inherent in the scene.”

      For Season 2 of the comedy, Clark and his team of VFX artists dedicated nearly a year in post-production to ensure that the teddy bear's facial expressions, actions, and outfits—ranging from overalls to a firefighter suit—never overshadowed MacFarlane’s performance.

      “Ted wears the clothes,” Clark explains. “It’s not the clothes wearing him.”

      The two Ted films were released in 2012 and 2015, collectively earning over $750 million. Before the series, a prequel set in Framingham, Massachusetts in the '90s, Clark had never worked in television. He was advised that TV production moves much faster than film, allowing less time for details. However, colleagues informed him that the series felt “more like a feature than a television show,” which he remembers fondly.

      “For me, that was ideal,” he says. “It was reassuring because I understood what we needed to accomplish.”

      Blair Clark on Bringing Ted to Life

      Ted and Max Burkholder as John. Peacock

      Seasons 1 and 2 required more than 3,000 VFX shots to animate the titular character. Additionally, MacFarlane conducted motion capture for about two hours each week over roughly 22 weeks.

      “It requires extensive time because all shots need to be matched so Ted can be properly placed in any given shot,” Clark explains. “During the mocap sessions, we also have cameras on him to review the footage and refine any nuances in his performance.”

      Despite advancements in VFX technology, Clark has worked diligently to preserve the bear’s quirks over the past 14 years.

      “Ted differs slightly from Seth in terms of mannerisms,” Clark notes. “This was fine-tuned and established during the first feature film. We’ve worked to keep it consistent to maintain the character throughout the entire story arc, across the films and seasons.”

      One of Season 2’s most discussed scenes featured AI technology to create a realistic depiction of Bill Clinton from 1995. Initially, Clark and VFX supervisor Hoyt Yeatman considered using prosthetics and a wig to transform MacFarlane into the former president, but it didn't achieve the desired effect.

      Although Clark’s team found numerous high-resolution images of Bill Clinton from the mid-1990s, video footage of him was “really low quality.” Unable to utilize standard CGI to make MacFarlane resemble a realistic version of Clinton, Clark and his VFX team turned to AI.

      “When AI is mentioned, people often dismiss it and roll their eyes,” he remarks. “Yes, we utilized AI, but it was merely a tool that required significant hard work from many individuals. We didn’t just type in a prompt and get Bill Clinton.”

      Another challenging scene in Season 2 involved the teddy bear kissing a married woman. On set, they used a stuffed animal with removable parts controlled by a puppeteer.

      “For a few shots, we had the actor hold the stuffed bear's head and kiss it,” Clark states. “At other times, we used just the bear's torso so she could interact with that.”

      The challenge arose during post-production.

      “When she reaches to grab Ted’s shoulders, the actor's hand briefly goes through his head for a few frames, so we had to compensate for that,” Clark explains. “It required extensive fine-tuning of those subtle moments.”

      Ted is currently streaming on Peacock. You can find more of our Emmy contender interviews here.