| Squirt | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Ryan Inglis, Jo Holley, Spike T. Penguin |
| Country of origin | New Zealand |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single |
| Running time | 30 minutes (plus commercials) |
| Original release | |
| Network | TV3 (1996–1997) TV2 (1997–2006) |
| Release | 1 March 1996 – 26 November 2006 |
Squirt is a New Zealand children's television show, produced in Dunedin. It began airing in 1996 on TV3 and moved to TV 2 in 1997, before coming to a close on 21 November 2006. Squirt was aired every Saturday morning, originally from 7am to 9am, then from 8:30am to 10am, eventually running from 8:30am to 9am for only 30 minutes. In the original time, cartoons were aired, such as Cow & Chicken, Batman of the Future and Earthworm Jim. There were also weekly competitions, and many informational segments such as "Out There!" and "Astounding Squirt Facts".
It was notable for Dunedin-based production company TaylorMade, and Animation Research Limited's (ARL) pioneering use of "live" motion capture, used in the 3D animation of the digital co-host Spike The Penguin. A performer was off camera in a special costume, making all the moves and vocal responses to the main host's comments, which played back in real time on a monitor for the crew, while all the motion was digitally recorded, which could then be applied to a fully rendered Spike, and composited into shot in post-production, ready for broadcast.
