How Did Ted Appear on Stage at the 2013 Oscars?

Ted and Mark Wahlberg present at the Oscars
Ted and Mark Wahlberg present at the Oscars(R) (PRNewsFoto/Tippett Studio, Universal Pictures/Tippett Studio)

The trash-talking raunchy teddy bear star of Ted joined his co-star Mark Wahlberg on stage to present Oscars to the winners of the 85th Annual Academy Awards’ Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories. The computer-generated Ted and Wahlberg interacted on stage with Oscar host and Ted creator Seth MacFarlane returning to voice the teddy bear as part of the Oscar bit.

So, how’d it work? How did Ted show up on stage during the live broadcast of the Academy Awards? Tippett Studio was responsible for making it appear Ted was actually on stage at the Academy Awards, along with help from Wahlberg, Oscar director Don Mischer and MacFarlane.

Here’s the scoop on how it was accomplished, courtesy of Tippett Studio:

“For the filming of the segment, a duplicate of the Academy Awards stage was constructed at CBS Studios, with lighting and cameras situated to match the Dolby Theatre(TM) set up. The feat involved planning exact camera positions so that the animation, rendered using Dell Precision workstations, would integrate seamlessly on Oscar Night® with Wahlberg and the show audience. With five nominees in each category, Tippett artists created 10 different outcomes in just a four-week production schedule. As the winners were unknown before the envelope was opened, Mischer and his team sat at the ready to push the button for the correct winner during the live broadcast.”

Blair Clark of Tippett Studio said, “It’s always enjoyable working with Ted, and having him present at the Oscars was an exciting challenge. As well, working with Seth and Don was great. Their trust and support made a technically ambitious presentation with a tight deadline run smoothly.”

IGN put together this video showing how it was accomplished.