Puppeteers Unite

Puppeteers Unite is changing…hopefully for the better :-)

Tom — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:25:04 +0000

In the past 4 years of posting here I have struggled with the direction this blog was going. I have made numerous notices about changes I had planned on making to the blog (ie.providing more focus driven content). Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way and those ideas fell flat.

I struggle with different concepts for this blog and have come to realize that these ideas are feasible, but would fail without a focused plan. This past weekend I sat down and came up with a 5 year stategic plan.

I won’t go into plan details but the first step involves the editing of existing content. I noticed (to my dismay) that many of the puppetry links I listed have shut down and no longer exist. I also have a huge list of new found sites both for the Puppet Directory and the Puppet Builders Directory. The process of editing these links is time consuming, and took me away from gathering information for postings.

After much diliberation I have come to the conclusion that I needed to hire someone to monitor and edit these pages. I made a couple of calls and finally hired one of my sisters. In the next couple of weeks you should see some real changes to these pages.

Swazzle re-creates Pee Wee’s Playhouse!

Tom — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:51:17 +0000

The folks at Swazzle created 19 puppets for the Pee Wee Herman show playing at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles until Feb. 7th. In an article posted by Sean Johnson, he describes the trials and tribulations they went through to produce and perform all the puppets for the show.Funny or Die has also posted a hillarious skit featuring Pee Wee introducing all the classic characters the new IPad! The puppets look identical to the originals! Nice work Swazzle!

Thanks goes to Andrew Young who first posted the video on Twitter.

Amazing Shadow Puppet Show

Tom — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:12:11 +0000

Sesame Street: Elmo’s Monster Maker

Tom — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:19:17 +0000

Elmo wants you to make a monster friend! Its easy! In this video Elmo’s will show you how to choose a monster body and give it eyes, nose and a hat—there are lots and lots and lots to choose from. When youre done, Elmo will dance and play with your monster!

Basic Puppeteering - Using A Monitor - Podcast

Tom — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:33:13 +0000

The Henson Company podcast presents a video about puppeteering using video monitors. They also give you instructions on how you can do the same thing at home with a television and video camera.

To view please click onto the link below and then click onto the left hand section that reads: Basic Puppeteering - Using A Monitor (2010-01-25)
http://www.henson.com/podcast.php

Spike Jonze’s “I’m Here”

Tom — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:17:46 +0000

Spike Jonze, Director of Where the Wild Things Are, Adaptation and Being John Malkovich is releasing a new movie short entitled “I’m Here”. Little is known about the film but it seems like it emulates the same process as Where the Wild Things Are- people in full body costumes are filmed then CG is implemented in post to provide the character a more expressive look that animatronics can’t provide.

The short film is going be premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah and should be a hit.

Thistledown Presents: The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Tom — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:24:05 +0000

Thistledown Puppets has carefully crafted and transformed a great American classic….The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe! This experimental project combines the written word with beautifully staged puppets as illustrations. For only 99 cents the book is now available for purchase at Amazon Kindle or you can your copy from Thistledown directly here! Get your copy today!

Joyful Productions Casting Call

Tom — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:19:50 +0000

I received this email the other day…

Greetings,

We are gearing up for our casting call. Please RSVP by January 16th 2010 so we can have some kind of idea who is attending the casting call and who is not. I have also attached the submission packet. Please down load, the correct one that you will be needing, fill it out and bring it with you on the 30th. OR mail it in with your submission video! We have updated our website www.joyfulproductions.org Click under casting call for up to date casting call information. Do to the overwhelming response please NO PHONE CALLS! Email only. See you soon!

Have a Joyful Day!
Shawn Ayers: Producer

www.joyfulproductions.org

Unfortunately, I can’t attach the PDF’s needed for download so if you are interested in auditioning, please contact Joyful Productions for the paperwork. Sorry

New works by Norman Schneider

Tom — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:29:23 +0000

Artist Norman Schneider, who’s work I admire greatly; has just posted some recent works. Enjoy!

Pinocchio
http://www.figurenschneider.de/klappmaulfiguren_pinocchio.php

Fox and Cat
http://www.figurenschneider.de/klappmaulfiguren.php

Heidi
http://www.figurenschneider.de/walk_acts_heidi.php

Back :-)

Tom — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:22:21 +0000

Hey everyone,

I’m back and hopefully for a long time. Since November 2009 I have been sick for a total of 34 days! I had the swine flu, then acute bronchitis, and then food poisoning…I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired LOL

Anyway, I’m back now and thank you all for being so supportive and understanding.