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Is there interest in a tutorial explaining how to do this? I know there is the YouTube video that Biblebetty linked to, but it's fairly old and I have to make a puppet from a plush toy for someone for Christmas (not yet sure if I'm going to convert the actual plush, or pattern a new puppet off...

I've been documenting a lot of this stuff since 2003; the PuppetVision archives aren't terribly well organized, but a lot of what you're probably looking for can be found there. Also worth checking out are the Puptcrit Archives.

As I understand it, the reason for registering trademarks and copyrights in the U.S. is that if someone violates them, if they are unregistered you are not eligible for damages, you can only try to get an injunction to stop whomever from copying your work or using your trademark. Also, you know...

Look in your local Yellow pages for an upholstery store or supplier. Some cities also have stores dedicated to selling just foam. Be sure to call around to get different prices; some places charge outrageous amounts of money for foam blocks. Carving foam is not too different than carving wood...

Plasti-dip over foam works, so does Sculpt-or-Coat (Google it). Another option would be to make the teeth out of cosmetic sponges, L200 Foam (more or less what cosmetic sponges are made from) or Model Magic.

Bob is an amazing builder and his theatre is really a piece of puppetry history. I used puppet heads that he build for years and they were really beautiful work. Maybe everybody who blogs about puppetry (or has a puppetry site, mailing list, etc.) could coordinate and jointly promote your idea...

Except, they can do that and there are many cases where copyright holders have. Although I'm not a lawyer, I do understand how the legal process works and deal with a lot of copyright issues professionally. We can argue legal hypotheticals back and forth for years, but - allowing for some kind...

I get your point about the FBI. Usually you hear about them getting involved in raiding places where they mass produce or import large amounts of bootleg stuff. This is actually a legal myth. It gets repeated on the internet all the time (and sometimes in the media) but it's just not true...

This is an excellent point, but YouTube is a unique case because it has struck deals with most content providers that compensate them for uploaded content. For example, most of the record labels allows their music to appear in user-created videos on YouTube if they are non-commercial. And if you...

The simple answer is that just building a replica puppet is, in a technical sense at least, copyright infringement. It does not matter what the intent of the buyer or seller is or whether they make money or not; you cannot legally duplicate copyright work without the express permission of the...

The video I mentioned explains how to make cable controls, which are mechanical and not electronic.

They were small Mexican weights that I picked up for my workshop when I lived down there (so they were probably made of lead and highly toxic :( ). There were four of them, each one about the size of a large cherry, but flat on the bottom. I would put one on each corner of whatever I was...

Were there supposed to be videos from the show?

I've always wondered about this too actually; I have used small weights but you have to be careful doing that because the fabric under the weights may not dye correctly.

No, you're right. The rule of thumb is generally if you're a fan and you make something for your own personal use they are not going to use (some companies like Lucasfilm have made this an officially policy). As soon as you sell it (like Vault of Puppets) or use it to promote a product or...

Each line (or set of lines) was recorded as an individual track. The sound technician had a special machine (sorry I don't remember what it was called) that he used to cue lines. That way live actors could interact with the puppets. Although the puppet's lines were canned, the actor's could...

There's clearly a demand...maybe they will do something through the FAO Schwartz store eventually?

I'm really enjoying the blog, but they lost me at "Animation Magazine is a super cool publication..." :p Seriously though, this is looking good. Should be a great series.

Sigh....I deliberately didn't post this here to avoid kicking up an old debate. The correct link to the blog post is http://www.puppetvision.info/2008/11/muppet-replica-lawsuit.html The thing is, Muppet Studios owns the characters and controls the commercial rights associated with them and...

I've actually done shows like this (where the voice is prerecorded) in situations where a celebrity or specific actor provides the voice(s) and can't be in the theatre every night. It actually works just fine if you have a good sound operator; having them hit their cues perfectly is no more or...