How to operate a muppet...

[matleo]

Re: This is fun

Originally posted by Hays

Muppets are some of the few puppets that still use live voice; most puppeteers work from a tape. Personally, I think the ability to ad lib and add life to a character is the whole REASON to use a puppet, but apparently Disney Channel doesn't agree.

I wanted otaddress ths for a second cause I disagree with parts of it. I think it's pretty 50/50 split in terms of what puppeteers are doing these days. and that's true for both television and live theater. I work for a marionette company where we do shows form a tape and very often it drives us nuts ot be on someone elses timing, but because of the complexity of some of the stuff we do, it;s great that we can talk things out...."one, two, three, turn!" you know that kind of thing. I also tour my own shows which I do live and it's nice ot have the kind of freedom I need to be bale to adjust my timing or sometimes an entire scene as I'm doing the performance to suit the audience. For the most part, the muppets do use there own voices although I know that in many of the recent muppet films Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson have ben MIA on the set, but gone in and looped characters in later. or when you have a scene with both Fozzie and Miss Piggy for example. I also know that most musical numbers are pre-recorded for obvious reasons.
When you look at something like "Book of Pooh" on Disney channel they were workign with a very special set of cirumstances. As I understand it, they DID do a test to see if they could get the puppeteers to voice the characters, but the voices of those characters are known SO strongly in the audeinces heads it didn't seem like Pooh, Piglet and Tigger w/o Jim Cumming and John Fiddler. Also since many of the each puppet was worked by a team of 3-4 people again it was helpful for them to be able to tal thorugh what they were doing. All of the voices were recorded onto a CD (with every line being it's own track) and the puppeteers would have that playign and lip synch ot it as they went. Since each line as it's own track, the puppeteers DID have the ability to adjust the timing on what they were doing...."Give us a beat there cause we're going to have Piglet fall down"
If I've learned one thing about puppetry and puppet performance it's this: there are no hard and fast rules. You have to do what works to achieve the effect you want. And there are advantages and disadvantages to each and every methos that comes up. Someone mentioned armwires and i think that's a good example. you can do it with one-person which means you're less inhibited, you can use one amr and let the second hang there or be pinned onto the chest and I've seen a second puppeteer assist on a second arm (how do you think Gonzo gets those insired moments) or work both arms while one puppeteer works the head. What's odd is that more and more recently I've seen puppeteers doing hand and rod characters with the assistance of another. It's all a matter of what works for you. anyway, that's my two cents on the matter.

--Matt

 

[Hays]

That's true - the rules of puppetry are generally set by whoever's doing it at the time; most puppeteers I know are self-taught, which means that everybody has their own way of getting the same result. It's one reason I don't think it's a good idea to take courses in puppetry; it's much better to just start doing it.

I've done shows both live voice and to tape, and I have to say that I prefer live voice. I understand the circumstances around Book of Pooh, but it does mean some very talented people aren't being used to their full potential.

And, as I said, although I did make a living at it for a while, I haven't been a puppeteer for almost ten years - the current puppet explosion on TV is after my time.

 

[matleo]

Originally posted by Hays
That's true - the rules of puppetry are generally set by whoever's doing it at the time; most puppeteers I know are self-taught, which means that everybody has their own way of getting the same result. It's one reason I don't think it's a good idea to take courses in puppetry; it's much better to just start doing it.

Again, there can be an argument made both ways. I know soem very talented puppeteers who HAVE taken course in puppetry and HAVE gone on and done greatthngs and HAVE said they couldn't get to that plateau withou the help of the classes they've taken. I also know puppeteers who ARE self-taught and have learned by just doing. I think the thing with taking classes or even earning your degree is that you don't take the classes and then suddenly your a master puppeteer because of it. It;s what yo udo with the knowledge. Do you stand firmly by it and believe this IS the way ordo you challenge it? Push yourself? Push the boundaries and continue learning?
BTW: I have taken courses in puppetry. I started out building very crude puppets in high school and teaching myself and then attended UCONN and got my BFA. I learned a LOT during tht time and it HAS helped me in my own puppet company and opened doors for me, but I have also continued to teach myself things. Am I a 'master puppeteer" because of I have a BFA? No, of course not. I haven't even come close ot the full potential of what I want to do as a puppeteer. But I certainly have 'tools in my belt" that I wouldn't have otherwise had and it has certialy opened some doors for me. So I have no qual,ms abotu people who take that route. Just as long as they work continue to push themselves outside that route and learn.

I've done shows both live voice and to tape, and I have to say that I prefer live voice. I understand the circumstances around Book of Pooh, but it does mean some very talented people aren't being used to their full potential.

yes, but at the same time, many of the puppeteers on that show were originally builders for Henson who wanted ot perform (and they were/are talented puppeteers) and kept being told "no, you're a buikder and builders don't perform" When "Book of Pooh" went into production, there were a lot of puppet-builders who were offered the chance to perform AND build. So in some ways you have puppeteers who were REALLY not being used to their full potential who now had a chance to do some stuff.

I actually elt the smae way about "Book of Pooh" and it's performers until I talked to one of the puppeeers and he said it wask ind of a mixed blessing on one hand it wasn't as free as doing say "Bear in the Big Blue House" "Sesame" or "Between the Lions" BUT on the other hand, it forced them to focus on movment (which should always be the focus of ANY puppetry) and kind of opened the team them up creatively. So I know some of the puppeteers have said they elt their puppetry has goten a lot stronger becasue of working on that show. It's a two-way street.

Hays, I hope I haven't come of sounding lik a d*** here. The truth is I'm really enjoying this conversation. I like talking shop woth people and I enjoy tlakgn arguing/discussing dramatic philosophy when it comes to the art form. I know a lot fpuppeteers woh try to pigeonhole puppetry one way or another and that's not always the case. It just goes to show what a unique artform it is. So if if at ay point I've offended you here let me say in advance I'm sorry. That ois not my intent at all. I'm more interestedin keeping the conversation going. Just for the record, and I think I said this before too, I also prefer doing live shows. I love it. I ove the freedom! I love breathing life into characters. Given the choice I always use live. But I'll still argue for the other side too.

--Matt

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Just general information, there are exceptions to every rule...

From an article I read once, or saw during an interview, it was stated that all Muppets are created for right hand use--though for (I think) Kathy Mullen there was a left-handed exception?

Basic (mouth movement): happens by putting four fingers (or however many you have) in the upper palate over the mouth, thumb below it. Expressions are created by performance skills and by moving your hand around at the wrist (puppet neck movement).

Always maintain eye contact from your audience (they should be able to see the eye(s) of your puppet unless otherwise scripted. The 'belly button' of the puppet should be level with the puppet stage or bottom of the television screen, unless otherwise scripted or choreographed.

Hand/Rod Puppets:
Right hand in head, left hand free. Right hand operates mouth and head movements, the right arm operates body movements. The left hand controls both arm rods (or the single arm rod if the extra hand is pinned to the chest).

Live Hands Puppets:
Right hand and arm of performer is same as last puppet; puppeteer's left hand operates puppets left hand while a second puppeteer controls the right arm UNLESS it is necessary for both hands to coordinate (piano, cooking) then the performing puppeteer operates the puppet while the second performer operates both hands.

Fully Body (Costume) Puppets:
Puppeteer is inside the body of the character. Right hand has same business, left hand operates the left arm. In these cases, where you have to put exaggeration in movements of other two puppet types wiht hands and arms, this requires your whole body to be active and exaggerated. The right arm is either operated by the monofilament attached through the puppet head to the left arm--sometimes both hands are used when against blue screen, or (as in a puppet like Sweetums) the right arm can move in and out of the puppet's right arm, perform the mouth, go back in, etc.

Big Bird's performer (Carroll Spinney) uses a small television strapped around his neck to see what Big Bird sees, and there is a tiny camera in one of Big Bird's eyes that help him see that way. In puppets like Sweetums (see through the mouth) or Bear (see through scrims in the puppet's neck/chest/body)...well, I just described seeing out of those.

The puppeteers (non-costume) watch what they're working on by watching monitors, in which the action is happening backwards from what they are doing (weird, huh?). That's how they know wen they're onscreen, off screen, can self correct mistakes of height issues, etc.

Around their heads are strapped microphones. This is so they can move about freely and turn their heads freely and still pick up the same vocal sounds without keeping so still and buried against a mike on a stand.

The performers (in most cases) are standing up peforming on a set which is 4 feet in the air in some cases (higher in others), especially if there are special guests involved--and the cameras are set higher up, too. In some cases, they are laying on the ground, or on little pads with wheels to move more freely (like 'on the street' shots of Sesame Street).

I can't really think of anything else to add except this; hope this helps.

And like I said, to every rule there are some exceptions.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

BTW--several pieces of bibliography to add here that you might can borrow from friends, trade for copies here at MC or buy over ebay, are:

Books:
Jim Henson, the works by Christopher Finch
(CF also wrote ,I think) Of Muppets and Men

Both should be found at your library (the works at a bookstore).

VIDEO:
Secrets of the Muppets (from The Jim Henson Hour)

Then, of course, there's TONS of websites about puppetry how-to's. Under puppetry, there's a thread I started called Puppetry Resource Links.

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3613&highlight=puppetry+resource+links

http://www.puppetry.info/

http://www.muppetcentral.com/help/links/index.shtml (scan to the bottom of the page for puppetry links).

Kev
FOZ

 

[Hays]

To add to the more information than you need category...

Sorry, just haven't talked about this in years, and I'm having fun.

The biggest hurdle I had to overcome when learning muppet-style puppets was that you have to move your thumb DOWN, not your fingers up, as is natural when making a mouth with your fingers.

This is, of course, not true for all puppets (Guy Smiley is a notable exception) - but in most cases if you don't do it that way, the puppet's eye focus moves every time you open your hand. (when I was learning, I found it easier to concentrate on the puppet's focus than on where my thumb was. Honestly, I never got very good at it)

Amazing what we all can come up with when we put our heads together, huh?

 

[Chilly Down]

Great thread, guys!

Does anyone else who was at MF remember how the hand-and-rod puppets were being performed? I seem to remember Dave coming out on stage alone with Gonzo, and yet both hands were moving all the time. Maybe I was just so amazed by the performance that I got caught up in the illusion.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

My puppet is on my right hand, nuff said there.

The base of the arm rods is in my left hand. With TONS of practice, you learn how to manipulate the hands just right. I use my thumb and forefinger to maintain Muley's left hand movement and my hand and/or ring/pinky fingers to do the right hand (I think).

By now, puppeteering has become so natural to me that I don't really pay attention to just how I do it!!

Dave had someone out there with him who operated Gonzo's right hand when he turned to direct the chicken chorus. I suppose in their case whatever it takes to make the movements more fluid and life-like.

FOZ
Kev

 

[Gonzo14]

What about muppets like Fozzie, who has Ear, Eybrow, Eyelind etc. movements, how does that work?

 

[matleo]

I believe Fozzie's ears used to be driven by a small motor inside the puppets head. it was dibandoned beacuse it was awkward and heavy over Frnk's hand. They haven't used Fozzie's ears in years. As for things like eyeblinks, and and that kind of things. tehre's generally a small rig inside the puppets head used for such mostions. I think many of the puppeteers on here will agree with me in saying one of our earliest influences and one of the best toys EVER produced was the Fisher Price Animal puppet that had the blinking eye mechanism. i t was really just the coolest thing to have. I know the way Telly Monster is rigged, for example, is that Telly's nose is actually hollow. marty Robonson can actually get his finger inside Telly's nose and that is where his middle finger sits in a little ring on attached to a chord. By pulling down on that cord, he can make Telly's eyelids open. I know that Big Bird works the opposite way. that is to say that by pulling down on the cord, Big Bird's eyes close, not open. and the puppets of Between the Lions actually have slider bars inside their head which help operate eyelid control while the ear mechs actually run down the through the entire course of the puppet and are operated by levers held in the same hand as the arm controls. Pwhew!!! That's a terrible explanation of it. Actually the main BTL puppets (the lions) almost ALL require a second puppeteer cause they're just so complex. I hope this helps a little.

--Matt