New Members: Please Post and Introduce Yourself

[kacee]

Hi, I'm new! I've been a Muppet fan my whole life, and lately I've been a bad mummy using the Muppet Show DVDs to keep my 15-month-old daughter entertained while I try to function around the house or lie sick as a dog on the couch.

I've been curious lately as to the finer points of Muppet operation, such as how many puppeteers it takes to operate certain ones during certain sketches, etc. In particular, I'm curious as to what the headband thing is on many of the photos of the puppeteers. Does that control something?

I'm experimenting with making puppets for my daughter. Recently I made a John puppet from They Might Be Giants (it's in my website's knitting gallery but I'm not allowed to post links here yet) because before the Muppet Show, the TMBG Here Come The ABCs DVD was her obsession. I just bought some Fun Fur to try to make one of the guys from the Muppophone. So I'm interested in tips on amateur puppet construction. It looks like a lot of the books recommended on this site are out of print.

I also wish there was a way I could beg the DVD makers to ensure there are chapter/scene breaks on the next DVD. My little girl says, "Again! Again!" to her favourite songs and it's a pain to have to rewind over them. If I could just skip back to the start of the scene, even for what would have been an adbreak, that'd make my life easier!

 

[Kimp the Shrimp]

wlcome there are Some experts here about Puppets so i suggest go to the Puppetry thread

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Hi Kacee, I'm William! It's nice to meet you! Usually it's takes no more then two puppeteers to operate a puppet. For smaller ones, It could be one person operting the puppets head and the hands and eyes, eyebrows or eyeleshes but somtimes an assistant is controlling the left hand. It's usually two when it's a puppet that uses fingers, it like a chimistry knid of thing where you can sort of understand of read each other to make it seem like one smooth preformance instead of two people jerking around each other. The head band is to hold the Microphone the muppeteers speak into. They also have little monitors to whach there preformance and see what it looks like to the cramra. They also use moving platforms when there is a seen where they heve to walk around in a big area like on a movie of somthing. But usually the can milnipulate the walking by using a back and forth motion to make it seem as if their walking. I hope this helps a little bit.

By the way I think it's so cool that your daughter likes the muppets!

 

[kacee]

Ah, thanks so much for the information! It's been bugging me to try to find out what that thing was for!

 

[muppet baby]

Hi; hard to believe it's a first post, since many of you probably know me from the Square One TV site and the Muppet Wiki. Glad to be here.

Glad that you are here this is a fun place to be

I know what you mean about not having the chapter breaks and i have that problem with some other DVDs and that is one great thing about having DVDs is having the chapers i don't know why all comapnys don't do that .

 

[Brownie]

Puppets? Ha,i'll Make Your Stinking Puppets!!

Hey there,
I am Erwin D. Brown. I was a Theatre Tech. Director at Elmira College for ten years, 60 - 100 hours a week. During that time I also became their puppet designer and builder. I made; marianettes, Henson type puppets, Avenue Qs and some of my own designs that I will not talk about. I was fasinated with "Rolf"( the fuzzy brown dog) on the Jimmy Dean Show When I was a kid. I jumped at the chance to build puppets at the college. The Theatre Department Director, Fred Goodson, had an unbelievable faith in my ability to create anything he wanted. I tore myself up running ahead of the guy trying to prove him right. The man wanted puppets, he got puppets. I owe an awful lot to Fred Goodson. He made me realize my potential, a potential that would never have blossumed without our meeting. Thanks Fred!

 

[Super Scooter]

Hello, there, Mr. Brownie! I live about 40 minutes from Elmira! And I'm frequently in Horseheads. Nice to see you here!

And to all that I've missed: Welcome!

 

[muppet baby]

Yes welcome brownie this is a fun place to be glad to have you here

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Ah, thanks so much for the information! It's been bugging me to try to find out what that thing was for!

It's no problem at all! Glad I could be of some help to you!

 

[Brownie]

A small problem.

Along with everything else I do, I am an "academic/representational artist". That means I have thousands of works on paper and canvas but I can't seem to figure out how to put one next to my name here. Can anyone make it look easy? I'll probably feel stupid after I find out how easy it is. But, I still feel a need to ask.

If you wish to see any of the art and theatre work it is on my web site at browns-custom.com. It is sort of a web surfer's amusement park. Please keep in mind that everything you see there was made with my two hands. I've had an interesting life. Enjoy.