Chuck Ernst is a CGI/Video Art Director at Stern Pinball who leads the animation and visual content teams. With a background in the Mortal Kombat video game series, he has overseen animated content and visual effects for major Stern pinball titles including Stranger Things, Metallica Remastered, Foo Fighters, and The Walking Dead Remastered. His role encompasses both screen-based animation/video effects and 3D/mechanical playfield design elements.
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Jody Dankberg's job as licensing coordinator is a nightmare requiring coordination of multiple actor sign-offs
Bill Murray refused to sign off on his likeness for Ghostbusters pinball, forcing Stern to delete him
Animated displays introduced significantly more licensing complexity than static artwork
Animation contributor for Stranger Things pinball machine
Lead animator for Stern Pinball; worked on Foo Fighters animations; randomly selected for Fifth Element animation
CG Art Director at Stern Pinball; background in video game development (Atari, Midway); worked on Mortal Kombat for 17 years; joined Stern to build motion graphics and animation team
Head of computer animation and graphics at Stern Pinball; recent guest on Special When Lit podcast; leads graphics team
Recently featured guest on Special When Lit; worked 17 years on Mortal Kombat; known for personality and storytelling; stock rising in podcast world
Lead animator/graphics designer for Stranger Things; created original 80s-themed graphics
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Chuck Ernst modeled the 3D train for AC/DC pinball on his home CNC machine
Each actor in a multi-actor licensed game must individually sign off on their likeness
The AC/DC pinball prototype train model is still missing
Chuck Ernst was head of animation for Deadpool and previously worked on Mortal Kombat fatalities
Chuck Ernst is the lead animator for Stern Pinball
Keith Elwin requested '1,000 callouts' with complex 'zillion' vocalizations for Godzilla game
Deadpool uses a real fighting engine where player shots control joystick movements in the on-screen fight sequences, not pre-canned animations
Godzilla license was considered impossible to acquire before Jody secured it
Stern's animation team custom-modeled all monsters and created physics simulations for building/bridge collapses in Godzilla
Deadpool's pixel art visual style was chosen due to licensing restrictions preventing traditional fighting game aesthetics
Motion capture with facial tracking dots and bicycle helmets was used to create lip-synced character animations for Godzilla
Chess would make a great pinball game with castles and pieces
Stern has really good licenses and team members have personal preferences for which IPs they work on
Custom 3D scene recreation in Blender is more efficient than editing pre-recorded source footage for pinball-specific timing and camera angles
The animation team prioritizes creative impact over strictly accurate representation of source material
The couch in Elvira animations is computer-generated because the original prop was cut into pieces
Stern is developing standardized HUD visual language with four-part score display
Floating deadheads on Elvira may be adjusted or toned down based on community feedback about distraction
Lyman Sheets had the entire Elvira game vision conceptualized before animation team involvement
Batman 66 had approximately 800 video clips compared to Elvira's 4,200
Stern previously over-complicated HUD displays with too much data, reducing comprehension
Cassandra Peterson recorded all her scenes in eight hours
Elvira's House of Horrors contains 4,200 total video clips
This is the best overall animation package Chuck has seen on Stern
Chuck Ernst's stock is rising in the podcast world and other podcasters will reach out to him
Chuck Ernst worked on Mortal Kombat for 17 years, primarily on blood, guts, and physics simulation effects
Ernst quit Mortal Kombat in February, forgoing significant spring bonus payouts
Chuck Ernst is the CG Art Director at Stern Pinball responsible for leading a team in motion graphics and animation
Chuck Ernst started at Stern with WWE pinball mini display coding
Chuck Ernst has been in the game industry for 27 years.
Chuck Ernst has worked on more than 45 video game titles.
Provided Elvira House of Horrors technical and design updates on Flippin' Out Pinball stream
Pinball industry figure mentioned in context of creative direction roles
Animations designer on James Bond 007
Member of Stern's animation/content team responsible for new Mandalorian topper animations
Lead animator on the KISS project with 27 years in the game industry; noted for passion about both pinball and the KISS license.
Computer graphics art director for Stern Avengers
Head of animation at Stern Pinball; previously worked on Mortal Kombat fatalities; collaborator on Deadpool animation with his daughter
Animation team member on TMNT
Sound/audio team member credited on Avengers: Infinity Quest
Animation director/contributor for Godzilla
Art director for CG art team on Rush (Premium)
Stern Pinball staff member involved in Jurassic Park production; not present for stream but contributed
Listed in credits; appears to be part of Stern Pinball design/engineering team
Stern Pinball art director; led art team for Stranger Things
Computer graphics art director for Godzilla
Credited with screen visuals on Godzilla; Cary praises the campy and good visual design
Computer graphics art director for Rush pinball
Head of computer graphics team at Stern working on Deadpool Pinball
Involved in Rush Pinball production
Stern Pinball employee; made specialty eggnog for company
Animation designer for Stern Jurassic Park; met by host (story mentioned but not detailed)
Custom animation director for Uncanny X-Men
Motion graphics designer for TMNT Pinball
Led LCD animation and display work for Metallica Remastered
Computer Graphics Art Director hired by Stern Pinball; former Technical Character Design Lead on Mortal Kombat X; 28 years video game industry experience across 45+ titles at major publishers (Atari, Sega, Midway, Konami, THQ, WB Games).
Computer Animation Graphics Director at Stern Pinball; leads team responsible for in-game animations; appeared as guest on prior stream
Graphics/animation director at Stern Pinball; oversees animation team and all LCD/DMD visual content; started with WWE pinball; guest on Flippin' Out Pinball stream
Worked with Gomez on James Bond pinball; created original video content (dragon tank, extra ball effects) versus licensed film footage.
Graphical art director for animations at Stern Pinballs; scheduled to appear on podcast within two weeks to discuss sandworm animation inspiration
Art department at Stern; collaborates with Dwight on game design; has appeared on previous streams
Computer graphics art department manager at Stern Pinball; appeared on previous week's stream with insider information
Computer animation art director at Stern Pinball; led animation team for Jurassic Park; discusses design process and animation philosophy
Computer Arts Director at Stern Pinball; responsible for animation and visual direction on Elvira's House of Horrors
Stern Pinball team lead overseeing LCD screen content and graphics team
Displays designer on King Kong: Myth of Terror Island
Stern animation/visual effects team member; involved in Mandalorian topper animation work
Video/animation specialist group at Stern responsible for blending footage with video work on Elvira's House of Horrors
Director/head of animation team; created all original animations and video content for The Uncanny X-Men
Animation designer on James Bond 007
Animation team lead for Uncanny X-Men custom animations
Animation lead for Metallica Remastered and team
Animation director on Avengers Infinity Quest working alongside Joshua Clay
Stern employee interviewed by Triple Drain for 30 minutes during factory visit
Industry figure quoted providing insight into Sullivan's collaborative design process and communication style
Animation team member who contributed to Foo Fighters animation work
Display Lead; handled new HD display with animated visuals for Remastered
Stern team member mentioned in character comparison segment
CGI Art Director at Stern Pinball; previously worked on Mortal Kombat video game series; leads animation and visual content team
Stern Pinball animation/art lead, oversaw Foo Fighters animation work
Stern Pinball 3D/mechanical design lead; first project was AC/DC train sculpture; handles playfield toys and 3D assets
Stern Pinball Video Art Director; oversees animated content and visual effects on game screens
Video effects designer for Metallica Remastered
CGT Art Director at Stern Pinball, overseeing final steps and animation direction for Stranger Things