The Workshop That Built Master Chief – Artem

Remember the Fat Boy Slim-carrying octopus that emerged from a VW minivan at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony in 2012? It was crafted by the same physical SFX workshop that made the Master Chief costume which toured the world for the Halo 4 launch.

Nestled on an industrial estate in Shepard’s Bush, Artem have created plenty of things you’d recognise from British television. Brian, the Confused.com robot? Yup. O2’s Be More Dog? Yup. Basically, all the cool bits from the Olympics opening ceremony? Yup.

We had a poke about their workshop and talked to Laura Sindall about what it’s like to be a special effects artist.