The Best Rod Arms

[thatonekid]

hey guys i'm new to muppetcentral and this place is pretty dang COOL! I love all these different topics, but I don't think anyone has asked this question before.

what is the best type of rod arm?

is it the kind that connects directly to the arm, or is it the kind with rubber bands? or is there some other kind that i have never heard of?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

It depends on what you need to do with the puppet. If you'll always be using both arms a permanently attached rod might be OK. I personally prefer to have both rods removable.

I explain one approach (the best I've found actually) to making removable arm rods in my tutorial "The Tumbles P. Bear Project" which can be found here (arms rods are discussed in parts 2 & 4).

I hope that helps!

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Welcome to MC! I hope you enjoy our little family very much and that you will never get caught up in any big arguments

"What makes the best armrod" is a vary subjective question, and the answer will very according to your purposes for the puppet. From what I've gathered on these boards there is a longing in most puppeteers to find the simplest yet most effective means for removeable armrods [insert mysterious choral music here]. Sometimes it's very helpful to convey the illusion of life if the puppet has no armrods for a particular shot or scene, but usually the rods are necessary. It also allows for easier packing and dressing of your puppets.

We had a huge discussion about rod techniques a while ago. Here's a link:

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=5683&highlight=rods

If you do a search on the the boards you can usually find a lot of in depth discussion about a subject you're looking for right away. Good luck!

 

[thatonekid]

I think that the rods with rubber bands are better for actualy moving around, but then you have this strange stripe running down your puppets wrist and that might be distracting.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Actually, no they're not imho. I'm told that design does work to a certain extent though (I haven't tried it) but it's not nearly as durable. The mobility of arms actually has little to do with the rods and more to do with how the arm is actually constructed.

The best thing to do is try several techniques, experiment a lot and see what works best for you.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

The rubber band method really is one of the cheapest ways to go. The annoying stripe is one factor that contributes to this, but the major problem is that the band becomes a leash or "middle-man (or woman )". The rod needs to be connected directly to the arm for maximum mobility.

And yes, the arm's construction is very important as well, but it is valuable to consider the placement of the rod. I was instructed to bend the end of the rod at the wrist and feed the end of it into the puppet's index finger for the best results. It's been working well for me.

 

[thatonekid]

i think that if you practice you can make any kind of rod arm work pretty well.
in my experience the rubber banded kind are better but that may be because i've used them more then the kind that attach directly to the arm.

so really maybe there is not a best rod arm.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

In the arts you'll find that the word "best" really doesn't apply to much at all because you have to be innovative and constantly testing whatever you think is "best" to improve it. Puppetry is a learning process -- even Frank Oz has said, "I can give you a lot of horse pucky about it, but the truth is I don't know." So we would encourage you to build on whatever you think is best at the moment.

 

[ddavisborg]

I have used the rubber band method most of the time. I have also used puppets with the rod arms that screw off and on in the palm of the puppet hand. I guess I don't have a preference when it comes down to it. A hint for those of you who use rubber bands - at the discount stores in the hair supply section you can get clear rubber bands. This eliminates that annoying rubber band stripe around the wrist/hand and it works great for black light puppets. They are basically invisible and they are much stronger than a regular rubber band - I haven't had one break on me yet.

 

[froggiegirl18]

Hey that's a great idea about the clear rubber bands...But it really doesn't matter from far away..as long as your performance is great that's all that matters. At a puppet convention in Kankakee about two weeks ago..I found out another trick..to have your rods to snap in..true you have a cut in the puppets arm and so you have to concentrate on what you are doing so that will not be seen. The advantage is that the rods can stay in much better than rubber bands or velcro. There seems to always be something new to learn about the world of puppetry. Everyone take care and happy puppet building!