page: 74
 title: Puppet Master
author: Tank Menzies

Adam Jones is no stranger to the art of music-video making. 
The guitarist and creative cog of Tool has been transforming 
the prog-metal band's songs into dark animated clips since 
1993's "Sober." For Tool's latest video, "Parabola,"Jones 
made a technical leap. Forgoing his usual techniques - in-
camera effects and sculpture - he enlisted the computer to 
bring to life his geometric vision. Why?The video's lanky 3-D 
puppet demanded such perfect symmetry that it was 
impossible to create it with human hands. Jones and Chet 
Zar (cofounder of f/x house Screaming Lobster) designed the 
puppet onscreen, then output the data to a ThermoJet solid-
object printer, which sprayed layers upon layers of hot wax 
until the puppet was born. In the video, the creature is a 
visual mindmeld - its face pulsates as it skulks behind its 
live-action master (played by trip-hopper Tricky). Tool fans 
got a pirated preview of the video online; look for the legit 
version on TV - minus the three-hour download.
Posted to t.d.n: 06/16/02 23:33:02