Frédette Lampre

And he started his delightful promenade around the historic streets of Calais.

spitting fire, smoke coming out of his body.

The sea dragon is now the new image of the city.

I could say that he belongs to the city, and he's loved by everyone.

Thank you.

La Machine is based in Nantes, a French city on the Atlantic coast of France, and our workshop is in a former shipyard, where we now build the great elephant, the giant spider, the dragon horse, the minotaur, the sea dragon and others.

It's a permanent beehive with over 100 different trades and crafts involved.

In our staff, we have welders, musicians, mechanics, comedians, sculptors, engineers, roboticists and so on.

Perhaps you would like to know how we make it.

First, a drawing, then a model.

The model is scanned to generate a digital wireframe.

Then, we made woodland shells for the skin of the animal,

a metal structure for the skeleton, including hydraulic and electrical systems to bring the machine to life.

Then the construction can begin.

The carpenters lead the way, and other trades follow on.

It takes around two years from the design to the completion.

And then we are ready to operate a machine.

An average of 18 operators drive the machine with joystick and exoskeletons.

one person per arm and per leg, one operator for the head, another one for the neck, one person for the wings, one person for special effects, one person for the tail, one pilot for the truck, one guide and a director of operations.

He is the soul of the machine.