Open Source Puppetry Project

[puppetsmith]

Hey guys! I'd be happy to put together instructions and a pattern for a simple puppet, but first a solid character needs to be established.

 

[puppetsmith]

Guess I killed the mood.

 

[gfarkwort]

No I just think ppl were and are trying to think of a character

 

[MGov]

Okay.

Male or female?

Humanoid, animal or monster?

 

[DannyRWW]

Hmmm.. I would say male would be a good. I like the idea of some type of moster (probably because I checked out that link with the consumer monster).

 

[gfarkwort]

And monsters are easier to create than humans and animals.....just because theres no referance

 

[puppetsmith]

Also, the materials used to build the puppet should be fairly standard, readily available materials. If the character is to be a monster, probably a short nap fur in a common color should be used.

More importantly, though, what's the character's story? WHY is he traveling around the world? I think to just see the sites is a little weak. He should have a purpose, which could also serve as a basis for the plot of the video shorts. Is he searching for something? Chasing something or someone? There should be a central purpose to his existence.

 

[DannyRWW]

ooo... how about he is looking for a long lost friend. Everytime he gets to a new place though his friend has moved on. Or we could have him on an amazing race type scavenger hunt. Or he's searching for the ultimate question to the ultimate answer to the meaning of life.

 

[MGov]

Two references for style of story: the "Incredible Hulk" TV show from the 70's. Not so much for the adventure part of it but for the idea that David Banner, in each episode, found himself in a new place.

And the very old (I've never seen it but have heard about) "Route 66" which was two guys driving across the country in a Corvette, finding America.

What he is looking for can be vague (a "MacGuffin" as Hitchcock called it) and each individual episode can be a stand alone story. If he is running for something or someone or looking for someone or something, then we eventually need to see those. Also, we need a motivation for him to stay where he is for the duration of the story. If he is looking for someone that just left town, why would he stay instead of moving on?

 

[MrsPepper]

Question, would he be young?
I mean, this springs from a concern of mine. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a puppeteer. But I find this project really intriguing and I'd want to take a crack at it just for fun. However, if I do end up trying, I'm a girl, so the voice would not sound much like a guy at all.
I like the idea of searching, obviously that would give him a motive to search all over the place.