PuppetVision Blog

Puppet Rampage DVD Now on Sale

2008-07-04T17:58:00.005-04:00

Last year I had the privilege of attending Puppet Rampage 2007, the most recent Puppeteers of America National Festival in St. Paul, MN. Over 500 puppeteers - including many of the very best in the world - gathered on the campus of Concordia University for an amazing week of puppetry performances, workshops and networking. I hadn't attended a puppet festival in over a decade and had never been to a PofA Festival before and it was an absolutely incredible experience.

The entire festival was recorded by a tireless team of videographers and now almost exactly a year later their footage has been edited in to a special Puppet Rampage 2 disc DVD set that's available to purchase from Puppeteers of America for just $20. Whether you couldn't be there last year or you just want to relive the memories help support Puppeteers of America and order a copy today!

Happy Canada Day

2008-07-01T08:00:00.007-04:00

Happy Birthday Canada!

Today is one of my favourite holidays...the day Canadians celebrate a bunch of British colonies being brought together as "one Dominion under the name of Canada" by going to BBQs, rock concerts, festivals, fairs and watching stuff blow up in the sky at night. Like all nations our history is imperfect, but I'm very proud to be part of a country that for past 141 years has striven to build a society based on the principles of freedom justice and tolerance for all.

It's somehow fitting that our national pride was once best summed up in a beer commercial:

Happy 141st Canada! You don't look a day over 30.

PuppetGreetings.com is Free!

2008-06-30T10:47:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to report for a little while now that PuppetGreetings.com - the puppet video ecard service - is now totally free! Their site also got a makeover recently, so go have a look and send a puppet greeting to someone you love.

Julie Taymor TED Talk

2008-06-30T10:27:00.004-04:00

Acclaimed director Julie Taymor gives a talk at TED.

This is a great video of Julie Taymor - the creative puppetry genius responsible for The Lion King - doing a talk at the TED Conference about her career creating puppet and mask theatre.

Via Puppetry News.

Monday Morning Inspiration: Retro Gaming on Real Backgrounds

2008-06-30T08:11:00.004-04:00

What would classic video games look like against realistic backgrounds?

I love this set of photoshopped images of retro video games against real backgrounds. Very cool to see what you can create just by changing the context that something is presented in.

Thanks to C.B. for the link!

Muppet Stars and Stripes Forever

2008-06-28T00:59:00.002-04:00

Sam The Eagle and the Muppets have a musical salute to America on YouTube.

Check out Sam The Eagle, The Swedish Chef, Beaker and more in a Muppet rendition of The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Special thanks to B.J. for the link!

Weekly Puppet Web Series Round-Up

2008-06-27T23:56:00.002-04:00

Apollo's Pad
Pouring beer isn’t just part of the routine at the Pad it can be such a turn on, especially if you’re a little old lady that likes younger men.

Bubble Boy Films
Chet experiences Andy Warhol's 'Factory' for the first time.

Jigsaw
Jigsaw presents a quick interlude, brought to you by bad cheese and limber tongue.

P-Dash News
P-Dash reports that the New York Mets have really been cleaning house. Not only are they firing employees, they've fired their most dedicated fan!

Queen Miss Left Titter
QMLT is joined buy the Queen's Aunt, Aunt Ethal and Jock presents his weird and wonderful worldly news.

The Sesame Street Podcast
This week happy, healthy monsters eat dinner.

The Wippets
Monkalope discovers the joy of PEZ dispensers.

*Note: Some of the shows listed above are intended for mature or adult audiences and may contain material that some audiences will find inappropriate or offensive. Please remember that I don't make `em, I just list `em.

Ed The Sock Gets The Boot

2008-06-25T14:41:00.007-04:00

Ed the Sock - puppet star of Canada's longest running comedy series - is about to go off the air.

Ed The Sock - arguably the most popular puppet in Canada and the star of our longest-running comedy series here in the Great White North - airs his last episode at the end of August. His cancellation is just one of many changes initiated since Rogers Communications (sort of the Canadian equivalent of AOL/Time Warner) bought out City-TV, which airs Ed's late night comedy show Ed & Red's Night Party.

Ed started out sixteen years ago hosting Ed's Night Party (Red would be added to the act years later) on public access TV in Toronto. He quickly developed a cult following and his show was picked up by City-TV locally and syndicated internationally two years later. The show is legendary in Toronto and regularly beats American talk shows like Letterman and Leno in the ratings here. Ed has also been a VJ and personality on MuchMusic (sort of the the Canadian equivalent of MTV) and frequently hosts a worst-of-the-year music video show on Much called Fromage (see previous post).

While Ed might be gone from City-TV, his creator/puppeteer Stephen Kerzner still has a lot of plans for the country's most famous piece of hosiery. He's retained all the rights to the character and there is already talk of developing new shows for Ed and Liana K (Kerzner's wife and Ed's co-host "Red"). An Ed the Sock movie is also rumoured to be in the works.

I think someone said it best in a comment on the Globe and Mail web site, "only in Canada could a sock carry a show for 16 years."

Rest in Peace Kermit Love

2008-06-24T15:01:00.012-04:00

Big Bird, director Helmut Hermann, Samson and Kermit Love on the set of On the set of Sesamstrasse (the German-language version of Sesame Street).

I just got the sad news that Kermit Love passed away last Saturday at the age of 91. Kermit was an incredible puppet builder and costume designer who was long associated with the Muppets. Kermit worked with marionettes as a child, which led to a career working on Broadway shows and eventually collaborating with Jim Henson. He was one of the key people responsible for refining the look of the classic Sesame Street Muppets; probably his most famous work was building Big Bird.

Carol Spinney (Big Bird's puppeteer) often tells a famous anecdote about how Kermit convinced him to stick with the Muppets when he was ready to leave. After his first year on Sesame Street, Carol felt he wasn't making enough money to live in New York and planned to tell Jim Henson he was quitting the show, but Kermit convinced him to give it another month. The next week Big Bird was on the cover of Time magazine and Carol never had another thought about leaving.

Kermit also worked on a number of successful non-Muppet puppetry projects, including the Great Space Coaster and Snuggles the Fabric Softener Bear. Although he was primarily a behind-the-scenes figure, he stepped in front of the camera to play Willy the hot dog vendor on Sesame Street for many years in the 1970s and `90s.

The puppetry world has lost another giant.

Cookie Monster on Colbert

2008-06-24T10:34:00.008-04:00

Stephen Colbert chatted up the world's most famous cookie connaisseur last week.

I missed this when it aired last week because as usual I fell asleep before the show came on, but Cookie Monster made an appearance on The Colbert Report. In the segment Cookie Monster defends himself against charges from Colbert that he's abandoned his love of cookies for fruit. It's pretty funny stuff.

Americans can watch the video on the Colbert Report web site; everyone else should check it out quickly here before Comedy Central orders it taken down because they apparently hate viewers in the rest of the world.

Soccer Marionettes

2008-06-22T09:55:00.004-04:00

Kick `08 recreates the German national soccer team in puppet form.

Kick 08 is a neat film that features a marionette version of the German national football team. My German is ~~bad~~ non-existent so I don't really understand much of it, but along with the main video there's also a neat behind-the-scenes one that shows how the film was made using a variety of green screen techniques. I also don't know who the key people behind this are, except for the gentleman with the dark bushy beard and shaggy hair seen working on puppets in the behind-the-scenes video; he's Juergen Maassen, one of Germany's most respected puppetry artists.

Special thanks to Mike Horner for sending this in!

Weekly Puppet Web Series Round-Up

2008-06-19T23:08:00.001-04:00

Ask Palpatine
Witness the full power of the Emperor's fully armed and operational new set. Also, he answers a question about metal detectors.

Bubble Boy Films
Chet gives pre-recorded opera a try.

Jigsaw
This week, Dr. Kranium is... chewing.

P-Dash News
R Kelly offers some prom night advice.

Sesame Street Podcast
This week's podcast is about happy, healthy monsters exercising.

The Wippets
Patrick and Spafford have a candid talk about what advertising is all about.

*Note: Some of the shows listed above are intended for mature or adult audiences and may contain material that some audiences will find inappropriate or offensive. Please remember that I don't make `em, I just list `em.

Japanese Sesame Street Parody

2008-06-18T11:43:00.005-04:00

Two Japanese comedians spoof Bert and Ernie.

This a Sesame Street parody from a popular Japanese comedy show called Lincoln. In it the two hosts dress up as Bert and Ernie and teach some poor unsuspecting guy inappropriate phrases in English (I don't know what else he was expecting when two guys dressed like this showed up to to teach his English lesson).

Funny if you understand Japanese; surreal and a little disturbing if you don't.

Via Japan Probe.

Rest in Peace Stan Winston

2008-06-17T17:16:00.006-04:00

Special effects master Stan Winston died Sunday night after a long battle with cancer.

Wow, I just heard the awful news that Stan Winston passed away Sunday night at his home in Malibu after a long battle with cancer. He was 62 years old.

Even if you don't know Stan's name, chances are you know his work. His talented team of artists and puppeteers have created some of the most iconic movie creatures of all time; Transformers, the robots in Terminator, the Alien Queen in Aliens, the giant T-Rex in Jurassic Park and so much more. Stan won several Oscars for his work in visual effects (Aliens, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park) and make-up (Batman Returns). One of his very last jobs was devising the suits for this summer's blockbuster Iron Man and you'll see more of his work in upcoming movies like Avatar, Jurassic Park IV, and Terminator 4.

In time when CGI is used for almost everything on screen, people are often surprised to learn that many of the effects in movies like Jurassic Park and Transformers that they assume are computer generated are in fact done live on the set by puppeteers from the Winston studio. Iron Man director Jon Favreau called him "the king of integrating practical effects with CGI," and Stan once summed up his work philosophy as "I don't do special effects. I create characters and I use the tools of special effects necessary to do it."

There is a great video tribute to Stan and his work over at JoBlo.com.

Rest in peace Stan Winston. You'll be missed.

Monday Morning Inspiration: Vintage View-Master

2008-06-16T11:28:00.007-04:00

Artist Bob Logan scans classic Hanna-Barbera View-Master reels and features them on his blog.

Growing up I loved collecting reels for my View-Master. Some of my favourites were the recreations of classic Hanna Barberra cartoons as 3D models. Like a lot of people, artist Bob Logan must love them too because he's been running an ongoing series of scanned View-Master reels on his blog.

Along with creating my own theme park, designing a set of View-Master reels is one of my as-yet-unfilled childhood dreams.

Via Cartoon Brew.

Writing For Puppets and Animation

2008-06-15T22:19:00.008-04:00

Muppet writer/director Kirk Thatcher discusses writing for puppets on the latest On The Page screen writing podcast.

Kirk Thatcher was a guest on this week's On The Page screen writing podcast along with David Skelly (a Writer/Director and Pixar story artist who's also worked with the Muppets) and together they discussed writing for puppets and animation. Kirk talked a lot about the unique technical aspects of writing for puppets and together with David emphasized several key points, including:

It's all about telling a good story and creating characters the audience cares about and can relate to.
Physicality is very important; sometimes things that aren't funny on the page are funny when they are performed and vice-versa.
Also on the subject of physicality, it's important to make sure that animation and puppetry works with the sound off.
If you can do it with live action, you probably shouldn't do it with puppets or animation (Kirk says this was a big part of Jim Henson's philosophy).

At one point Kirk also quickly name checks Duck Walks In To A Bar, which I thought was kind of cool.

Via The Bubble Boy Blog.

"Puppet Business" Week on PuppetVision

2008-06-15T11:50:00.003-04:00

I haven't been able to post much this week due to being busy with other things, but I want to make up for it this week with a series of posts devoted to "Puppet Business", specifically looking at tips and techniques from myself and (especially) others on how to upgrade, expand and make your web site more professional if you are a puppeteer, puppet builder or podcaster.

If you've got tips of your own, send them in and include them this week. And if you've got questions send those too and I'll pass them along to a few friends I know in web development and online marketing and try to get some answers. Tips and questions can be emailed to andrew {at} gmail dot com.

Weekly Puppet Web Series Round-Up

2008-06-11T16:35:00.005-04:00

99 Acre Woods
Bud is inspired to go to extremes when a female beaver says she would date him only if they were the only two beavers on the moon.

Ask Palpatine
The Emperor plays with his lightsabre.

Bubble Boy Films
Wozly thinks he can dance.

The Itche Kadoozy Show
Rabbi Kadoozy feels that he is too busy to keep helping new people, but Jono tries to make him reconsider.

Jigsaw
Dr. Kranium is missing and Milton is forced to invade the local media.

P-Dash News
Rahiem covers New York City's Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Puppet Kaos
Mac and Cheese and Bottle Monster talk about the strange nightmares they have after watching a disturbing scene from The Godfather.

Queen Miss Left Titter
Has anybody else noticed the puppet cast of QMLT is growing?

The Sesame Street Podcast
This week happy, healthy monsters want you to jump!

*Note: Some of the shows listed above are intended for mature or adult audiences and may contain material that some audiences will find inappropriate or offensive. Please remember that I don't make `em, I just list `em.

New Henson TV Shows

2008-06-09T17:20:00.000-04:00

Sid The Science Kid is just one of several new shows coming to TV from the Jim Henson Company.

The Jim Henson Company must be a busy place to be these days; they've got a bunch of new projects in the works, including the previously-blogged Fraggle Rock movie and three new TV shows for kids! Jim Henson's Pajanimals is a live-action musical series that will debut on the Sprout cable channel in U.S. in November. The show features four soft, cuddly puppets that entertain and comfort viewers with bedtime-themed songs and stories.

Henson's long-in-development digital puppetry series Frances is based on a popular series of books from Russell Hoban, debuts on Sprout this summer as part of a new "Summer Fun Fridays" programming block that runs from June 20 until the end of August. Look for the first episode June 20, 2008 at 12:00pm (noon) in most markets (via The Muppet Newsflash).

Finally, Sid The Science Kid - another animated series made using the Henson Digital Performance System - debuts on PBS on Monday, September 1, 2008 as part of the PBS Kids programing block. "Sid" is a curriculum-based show designed to teach basic science basics to 3-6 year-olds using comedy.

Monday Morning Inspiration: Pork and Beans

2008-06-09T11:08:00.001-04:00

The video for Weezer's hit single Pork and Beans is a viral sensation on the web.

Have you seen Weezer's latest video, Pork and Beans?

If you haven't - even if you don't like Weezer - it's worth checking out because, if nothing else, it's a brilliant example of how to tap in to different audiences using YouTube. In a single music video they make reference to 24 of the web's most famous viral videos from the past 10 years. The video was an instant sensation on YouTube, amassing millions of views in its first few days of release (as of this writing it had been seen well over six million times) and no doubt helped Pork and Beans become Weezer's most popular number one single ever.

On the Subject of Getting What You're Worth

2008-06-05T12:56:00.003-04:00

For the puppeteers and puppet builders out there, here's a great line to use the next time you get asked to do something for low/no money because "it'll be great exposure":

"You know, you can die from exposure".

Thanks to Karen Larson for sharing this great quote!

Long Overdue Puppet Web Series Round-Up

2008-06-04T23:37:00.001-04:00

99 Acre Woods
Bud is slowly making his way back to America on the cargo ship run by rats, when something unexpected happens in an episode called Raiders of the Hasselhoff.

Ask Palpatine
The Emperor talks Stormtroopers and George Lucas.

Babs and Knuckles
Aunt Flossy's new gentleman friend turns out to be a real hound.

Duck Walks in to a Bar
Duck wants you to protest against the Government of Myanmar by, uh, well just watch the video.

Jigsaw
Dr. Kranium and Milton are back for season three!

P Dash News
Rahiem helps a woman deal with a bad breath co-worker.

Queen Miss Left Titter
QMLT heads to Sydney's Stonewall Hotel to celebrate Kylie Minogue's birthday.

The Sesame Street Podcast
Happy, healthy monsters want you to know your body.

The Wippets
Monkalope tries his new pick-up techniques on the unsuspecting Betty.

*Note: Some the shows listed above are intended for mature or adult audiences and may contain material that some audiences will find inappropriate or offensive. Please remember that I don't make `em, I just list `em.

Rob Schrab's 4 Minute Film School

2008-06-04T17:56:00.008-04:00

Filmmaker Rob Schrab talks about his "drawless animation" technique on the 4 Minute Film School podcast.

Rob Schrab is the guest professor for this week's installment of 4 Minute Film School on DIY filmmaking web site Indy Mogul. On the show Rob explains the puppetry/animation technique he calls "drawless animation" and demonstrates how he's used it on a variety of different projects, including The Sarah Silverman Program and the Death Cab For Cutie video Crooked Teeth (see previous post).

I love the way Rob takes everyday stuff, wraps it cardboard, shoots it on green screen and creates something that's very original and very cool!

Via Lost in Schlock.

New Books Celebrate 40 Years of Sesame Street

2008-06-03T22:29:00.003-04:00

Two new books planned for release later this year will celebrate Sesame Street's 40th anniversary.

It's hard to believe, but next year will be the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. To help celebrate this amazing milestone Sesame Workshop is planning to release two all-new books that look back on the history of the groundbreaking children's series. Sesame Street: A Celebration of Forty Years of Life on the Street by Louise Gikow will be released November 1st and provides an inside look at every aspect of Sesame Street from the making of the pilot episode to the show's evolution over four decades. Also planned for release later this year is Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis, which aims to capture the oral history of Sesame Street and take a thorough a look at the show's development and success.

Although both books aren't scheduled to be released until later this year, you can preorder them now from Amazon by clicking on the links above and you'll save 34% off the regular cover price.

Monday Evening Inspiration: Big Buck Bunny

2008-06-02T21:50:00.002-04:00

The Blender Institute's Big Buck Bunny is a remarkable achievement for the open movie movement.

Big Buck Bunny is the latest production of the Blender Institute, a non-profit studio in Amsterdam that's part of the Blender Foundation, which runs the Blender 3D open source software project. To create the film, the Blender Institute invited a small team of the best 3D artists and developers in the Blender internet community to come together in Amsterdam from October 2007 through April 2008 and create a short animated film.

"Buck Bunny" is a fantastic showcase of Blender's capabilities and should leave little doubt that Blender is a serious (and free!) alternative to expensive 3D software like 3D Studio Max and Maya. It keeps getting better and better with each new release; tons of new features have been added since the last time I featured Blender here a little over a year ago.

One of the best things about thid film is that as an open movie it's licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license, meaning that anyone is free to watch it, copy it, screen it or remix it anyway they like. You can download the film in a variety of high def formats, along with all of the Blender files used to create it, but please also consider buying the DVD. Proceeds from all sales will be used to help fund the next Blender Open Movie Project.