World's Largest Animatronic Figures Standing Take Flight

The designer Jeremy Railton and his partners at Entertainment Design Corporation (EDC) debuted their latest creation, "Crane Dance," starring the world's largest animatronic figures in a dazzling spectacle at the $4.9 billion Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

The attraction features two steel 10-story Eiffel Tower-like structures, weighing hundreds of tons, lifting themselves out of their concrete embedded foundations and beginning a swirling dance. They then proceed to spread their wings and mimic each other's movements in a ballet for which their real-life namesakes are renowned.

"The sheer enormity of this installation is truly amazing, even to me," says Railton, who has staged Olympic opening ceremonies, live extravaganzas for the likes of Cher, and created the two largest digital screens in the world. "To see these fabulous birds transform with digital imaging, music, lighting and water effects is really thrilling, and, combined with our story of how the power of love can infuse life into inanimate objects, we'll be sharing something really special with the world."

Years in development, the Cranes weigh 500 tons. A sophisticated motion control system, similar to ones used for Japanese bullet trains or the most high-tech automotive assembly plants, enables the Cranes to dance with each other. Utilizing specially designed digital technology for eyes; the birds blink, squint, and react to each other's movement with character and personality.

The cranes reside on a man-made island and are powered by four giant diesel engines, generating nearly 5,000 horsepower-the equivalent of four speeding locomotives.

Railton says their wings are particularly dramatic. Two giant water systems attached to the back of the cranes, spray thousands of liters of sea water 394' in either direction in a theatrical wing simulation, creating the impression that the cranes are flapping their giant wings.

Instead of being fed worms, the stomachs of the giant birds are filled with literally miles of electrical cables to integrate all the special effects.