Puppetvision - The Movie

If, like me, you have enjoyed reading Andrew's Puppetvision Blog then why not pop along here and help him make a film promoting the art of puppets and puppetry from around the world.

I can't remember when I first found Puppetvision but it must have been near its beginning which means I have been checking in for the last six or seven years. In that time I have found Puppetvision the be interesting, inspiring and helpful and I have been lucky enough to be mentioned a couple of times, the first time being with the Levi's puppet viral ad.

I was also able to say hello, albeit very briefly, to Andrew when he came to London last year.

So if, like me, you have enjoyed years of content (and the odd nod in your direction) FOR FREE then why not pay a little back and donate, you can donate as little as $10.

Joanna Wang - The Bug

A few months ago the lovely Joanna Wang contacted me about carving a wooden mask for a music video. I was very busy at the time so wasn't really able to fit it in, but Joanna kindly moved the shoot date so I could finish what I was doing.

It was an interesting job, I'm always a bit uneasy about carving portrait style as it can often be a tricky affair, however Joanna wanted a slight caricature quality to it so that helped. The mask of Nixon was carved from Lime wood.

You can see the video for the song here:




Also take the time to check out more of Joanna's music on her Channels:
here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/newtokyoterror?feature=watch

And here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/joannawangVEVO?feature=watch#p/u

Puppeteering at Barefoot Books - New Oxford Store

I will puppeteering at the Grand Opening of the new 'Barefoot Books' store in Summertown, Oxford from 7pm Friday 7th of October. If you are nearby come along for some fun.

Conducting Threads

A year or so ago I made a couple of marionettes for a independent short called 'Conducting Threads'. I also puppeteered on the shoot but the puppets only appear briefly at the end. 

Anyway, "Conducting Threads" will be screened this Monday the 10^th of October at "Choice Cuts" a collaboration between the East End Film Society & Cafe 1001. 

The screening is at 7:30pm, Cafe 1001, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL.

Skagboys - marionette skeleton

A few months ago I was commissioned to build a skeleton marionette for the cover shot of Irvine Welsh's forthcoming book 'Skagboys'. The novel is a prequel to 'Trainspotting', which if you remember the original cover had skull faces on it.

It took quite a while to hand carve this detailed marionette. Originally it was only for hire for the photo shoot but the publishers liked the puppet so much they decided to buy it outright.

I have been sitting on the images for a while but now I have noticed them on Amazon amongst other places so it it ok to show them now.

Puppets On Film Festival 2011 - Puppet Shorts Evening

The Tree Man by Navin Dev :
Puppets by Tony Sinnett
Puppeteers: Tony Sinnett, Sara Kirkpatrick
and Raven Kaliana

As part of the 'Puppets on Film Festival' at the Little Angle Theatre there was a puppet shorts evening. I had been looking forward to this since it was announced, not only because one of the films showing was one I worked on as puppetbuilder and puppeteer, but also because I was interested to see what other people had been creating.

The range of film styles and techniques was varied and inspiring although stop motion was probably the primary technique employed. There were some very neat ideas and inventive uses of objects/body parts as puppets. Some films had bigger budgets than others but overall the quality of the films was very high.

Noesis - Directed by Sophie Klevenow

I hadn't realised that there was to be judging of the films by a panel until I actually arrived at the screening so was a little surprised but very happy for Navin and all the crew (including puppeteers Sara Kirkpatrick and Raven Kaliana who helped me bring life to Pinocchio and Burnt Pinocchio) when 'The Tree Man' was awarded the judges vote along with joint winner -  'Noesis' by Sophie Klevenow.

I really hope that this event will run again in the future and it has really inspired me to get a move on with my other projects in development at the moment.


Here is a list of the films in order of screening:
(text taken from programme - links and award winners added by me)

THE TREE MAN - Dir: Navin Dev - JOINT WINNER OF THE JURY PRIZE
Set between chapters 15 and 16 of Carlo Collodi's 'The Adventures of Pinocchio' The Tree Man is a dark interpretation of the classic novel with the use of traditional puppetry.
Watch 'The Tree Man' here: http://exposureroom.com/thetreeman

HICKORY DICKORY - Dir: James Baker
A mouse races against an unexpected clock in this film combining live-action puppetry with detailed compositing.
Watch the Film here: http://www.ourindiecinema.com/2010/07/11/hickory-dickory-by-james-baker/

DAMAGED GOODS - Dir: Barnaby Barford - WINNER OF AUDIENCE VOTE
Damaged Goods is a tragic love story played out by porcelain figurines. It explores notions of forbidden love, material wealth and class divides using the traditions value within ceramics.
Watch the Film here: http://www.barnabybarford.co.uk/image_gallery/damaged_goods

MICROPODIUM - Dir: Brian Hibbitt
Shot during the Buxton Puppet Festival this film shows the work of virtuoso Hungarian puppeteer Andreas Lenart.

DOG TAIL SOUP - Dir: Dave Reeve and Bronia Evers
In a storybook land of music and mayhem, Elwood has to find a new place to live when he is thrown out by his grandfather Dog Tail.
Watch the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fPArxOsdDg

INTO THE BLUE - Dir: Jeremy Bidgood
Frustrated by his election prospects, Gordon Brown infiltrates the magical world of the To'ri to steal their precious Electium.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9GdMQGIz6I

NOESIS - Dir: Sophie Kelevenow - JOINT WINNER OF THE JURY PRIZE
Noesis is an animated short about growing up and the changes and losses on the way.
Watch it here: http://vimeo.com/groups/1314/videos/16116972

THE PHANTOM COACH - Dir: Richard Mansfield
A young traveller finds himself lost one cold winters night. The snow falls and he encounters a terrifying supernatural force
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPVEVunozv4

MISSING - Dir: Tariq Rimawi
A window opens on a child who lives in a war torn area where he longs for his past and peaceful life. Screened at numerous international festivals and Winner of the Best Short prize at 16th Franco Arab Film Festival.

PUNCH DRUNK - Dir: Ben Kent
Mr. Punch was a national celebrity- an icon of his time. But time moves on and when you've reached the top, the gutter is a long way down.
Watch it here: http://vimeo.com/12151860

FREDS MEAT - Dir: Robert D'Arcy
Foxes are on the menu in Fred's patch. But when change means dwindling supplies, Fred has to act..
Watch it here: http://www.behance.net/carolinestory/frame/538389

WORMS SONG 1 - Dir: Matilda Tristram
Worms singing popular ballads.
Watch it here: http://vimeo.com/6455124

ROUND - Dir: Kirk Hendry
A tale of death and rebirth in a jungle world of shadowy hands
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-J9714e76g

INTERVAL

PINOCCHIO - Dir: Lesley Butler
In this reversal of the traditional Pinocchio story, instead of a puppet becoming a boy - a woman becomes a puppet.

DOG IN THE BURNING BUILDING - Dir: Fran and Will Krause
A music video for the Miles Kurosky song 'Dog in the Burning Building'
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYjli42Rxwk

CLEMENTINE AT THE FILM FESTIVAL - Dir Mark Mander
Post Modern Plastic Pinocchio Clementine, the Living Fashion Doll, is delighted to be invited to talk about puppets at the Puppets on Film Festival. But perhaps she has more interesting things to think about - her own glittering career for example...

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Judges for the Puppet Shorts Jury Prize

Cariad Astles is a puppetry Tutor for BA Theatre Practice at the Central School of Speech and Drama and also chair at Centre for Research into Objects and Puppets in Performance.

Dr Dan North is a Senior Lecturer in Film in the Department of English at the University of Exeter. He is author of Performing Illusions: Cinema, Special Effects and the Virtual Actor, and is currently researching a book about puppetry and cinema.

Roman Paska is a writer, director and puppeteer whose original productions, under two succesive company names, Theatre for the Birds and Dead Puppet, include The End of the World, Dead Puppet Talk, Beethoven in Camera, and Schoolboy Play, which was commissioned by Linz'09 European Capital of Culture and presented in 2010 at the National Theatre of Portugal. He directed August Strindberg's Dreamplay with puppets for its centennial at the Stockholm Stadsteater, and for several years was the director of the International Institute of Puppetry in France. His 'magical-realist' documentary feature, Rehersal for a sicilian tragedy, with John Tuturro, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2009.

Commissioning a Professional Marionette

I am happy to take commissions for marionettes. I have made puppets for many professional as well as amateur puppeteers. Magicians have come to me for specialty puppets and my list of TV, Theater and Film credits is quite wide.

So what is a professional puppet?
Of course in reality there is no such thing but its often a term used by puppet makers - good and bad alike. you can be a professional puppet maker, an amateur or enthusiastic hobbyist but I'm not  sure you could class a puppet itself as professional. Anyway people do search the web for 'professional puppets', I know I can see it in my site reports, so what are those people really looking for?
Well I guess they want a puppet that is well designed and made, constructed to withstand the rigors of many live performances as well as the travelling involved in such pursuits. Or maybe they need a puppet that can have very precise or specific movements or expressions if filming is of a priority. It may have a certain aesthetic to it and I suppose it must be made by someone with plenty of experience not only as a builder but also someone who has hands on (or in) experience.

So with that in mind how do you go about getting the puppet that you need?
Well you need to be specific about what you require the puppet for as these details will help me understand what materials or construction techniques are most appropriate.
There is always a trade off between construction techniques/weight and design. I think wooden puppets make for the best all round marionettes in terms of durability and consistent weight/balance but they can suffer from the problem of being too heavy for prolonged use if they are bigger than about 24 inches. Wooden puppets are also time consuming to make, carving is a skill and something that can't be rushed.
If a marionette is needed to have special features such as moving eyes/mouths then often it is better to make a hollow head using a casting process.

Marionettes for filming or portable theater story telling
If you require a marionette for filming, lets say for an advert or music video then the puppet will more than likely need to be smaller, perhaps between 14 and 18 inches tall, especially if it is to live in its own world (set) as obviously the smaller the puppet the smaller the set needs to be. There will of course be exceptions to this, if for example, the marionette interacts with with real people then it will need to be bigger (unless of course you are using a chroma-key effect)

If you have, or are thinking of creating, a theater with sets then again the characters don't want to be too large as the larger they are the larger the theater has to be and the less you can potentially have on stage at once. Also of course you may need to operate multiple puppets at once.
For this scenario 14 inches is a great size, especially for wooden carved marionette and you should think about commissioning one of these...





Cabaret / In the Round or Street Performance Puppets
If you are wanting more of a 'Cabaret' or 'Street Performance' style puppet then a larger size of marionette is preferable as the larger the puppet the easier it will be for the audience to see. However if you go over about 30 inches then marionettes can become hard to manipulate and can be heavy unless built with lightweight materials. For any type of  'in the round' or 'Variety' style performances a marionette size of between 22 and 26 inches is a good marker between being easy to handle, not too heavy and still very visible for audiences.

These type of puppets often have special functions such as moving mouths for singing or special stringing for dancing or playing musical instruments. Special features often add a lot of time and therefore cost to the build of a marionette so please keep this in mind. However if you are (or wanting to become) a paid performer then you should consider the marionettes as your tools(or instruments) and the quality of these will dictate (along with most importantly your skills) how good a show you can put on.

Clown Marionette - Hand Made from Limewood

Clown Marionette - By Tony Sinnett

Here is the latest offering -  a happy clown. Carved from Lime and painted with oils. He has pinstripe black baggy shorts and white sleeves with a red flower.
He stands around 16 inches (40cms) tall.


You can buy this marionette here, or if you like, commission your own, as they are all hand made you can change the design or colours on both the paintwork and the clothing.

Behind the scenes video with David Walliams Puppet Shoot

David Walliams with puppets on the cover of Buzz Magazine

A couple of weeks ago I hired out most of my marionettes for a photo shoot with David Walliams. Here he is pictured on the cover of Buzz magazine which is free with 'The Sun' on Saturdays. Hopefully there will be more pictures with the article inside, we shall see tomorrow. Out Saturday - 5th March 2011