"WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC'S JURASSIC PARK

ABOUT THE MUSIC VIDEO

When it came time for a video for "Jurassic Park", Yankovic opted to use stop-motion and claymation; he joked during a Q&A that this was because "it's just too hard to find real live dinosaurs these days."

"Jurassic Park" was Yankovic's first video that was entirely animated. The video was directed by Mark Osborne and Scott Nordlund. Yankovic initially heard of the duo from Bill Manspeaker, the lead singer of the comedy rock band Green Jellÿ. After being hired for the project, the two "basically turned a private residence in Los Angeles into a clay animation studio." The two worked between July and August 1993, and slept in shifts, so that the final project would be ready for its release in October 1993. The video parodies scenes from, as well as the general plot of the 1993 movie, and contains a myriad of sight-gags—as is usual for Yankovic's videos—such as a claymation version of Steven Spielberg running from dinosaurs, Barney having his head ripped off, and a Velociraptor attempting to break down a door, only to realize it has a key.

The music video went on to be nominated for a Grammy in 1994 for Best Music Video of the Year. They did not win, the honor went instead to David Fincher for The Rolling Stones "Love is Strong."

REVIEWS

"Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the song’s accompanying video, in which animators Mark Osborne and Scott Nordlund aped Claymation pioneer Will Vinton’s style to humorously gory effect. While the pair probably worked with a bigger budget than most videos would have nowadays, they were still able to do more with less by using clay, thus creating a clip that is not only repeatedly watchable, but also pretty ingenious."

BEHIND THE SCENES

This is a unedited behind the scenes view of the making of the animated music video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's spoof of Jurassic Park. This video features directors Scott Nordlund and Mark Osborne along with animator Jerold Howard, fabricator Thom France, sculptor Tim Ellis and all around production support and project documentarian Kent Osborne. During the very hot summer of 1993, a suburban Los Angeles home was transformed into an animation studio, with the backyard pool as the only relief from the relentless heat of the un-air-conditioned sets and workshops. This is basically raw footage of the team suffering through the madness to make this epic production in only two months on an extremely tiny budget. Amazingly, the video got turned in on time and on budget and went on to get nominated for a Grammy for Best Music Video, with both Scott and Mark sharing the honour. If you know Scott at all, this unedited and very raw view of working with him is a treasure trove of moments, both big and small, that will remind you of him as he lived and worked. He was always full of passion, quick wit and boundless creativity. This video documents pre-production, production, and the promotion of the film including the donation of the sets and puppets to the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles and the world premiere of the video in San Diego at the Spike and Mike's Twisted Animation Festival in 1994. Also included is a road trip to Portland after the production to return the equipment loaned to us for the project, and some footage from a road trip to see Peal Jam in Indio, CA.

This video is dedicated to the memory of Scott. You are missed by all of us that knew you.

STORYBOARD GALLERY

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT SEGMENT

After the production was finished, Al came to visit with an Entertainment Tonight camera crew--and hilarity ensued! (*No sets or puppets were harmed in the making of this promotional segment)

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS