puppetry

Save the VCA and its puppetry course

Posted by hil

Those of you interested in the arts in Australia will likely know that the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne was earlier in the year merged with Melbourne University. The college gave practical training in the arts, and included a post graduate puppetry course, the only school of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. The puppetry course has been suspended, many staff have lost their jobs, and the practical elements of courses are being cut back. You can read up on the back ground of the merger at Save the VCA.

Today organisers are hoping for a big turnout to protest these changes. Here are the details:

Friday 21st of August,10am

MEET
VCA Campus at 10am.
234 St Kilda Rd, Southbank
Featuring live performances and speeches from prominent industry figures, featuring Julia Zemiro (Rockwiz).

MARCH
Show your support and march down Swanston St, along Collins St to Parliament. Final speeches, featuring John Micheal Howson (Shout).

When I first started making puppets in about 1995, I had the great fortune to be taken on and coached by Company Skylark and their new artistic director, Peter J. Wilson. Peter is not only a brilliant puppeteer; he also had a vision for setting up professional puppetry training to support development of  a vibrant puppetry artform in Australia. He went on to achieve this in setting up the puppetry course at the VCA.  I admired that, and feel sadness over the loss of the course somewhat personally, too, for that reason.

Over the last seven or so years the puppetry course has produced innovative work and graduates, supporting that wider idea of puppetry as artform, where it belongs. And of course this has benefited both the arts and wider community. Ironically, while merger discussions revolve around budgets and money, and draw in the question of funding for the arts in general, the puppetry course itself had managed to bring in outside money consistently since its inception with the patronage of the Cattermole family.

Shadow puppets for Jigsaw’s Wendy

Posted by hil

peterpan

These are some of the shadow puppets I made recently for Jigsaw Theatre Company’s production of Wendy, a new musical re-imagining of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan. These and others can be seen in more detail in my portfolio set. The play had a public season at the Street Theatre and performances in schools, and received a good review in the Canberra Times.

One of the Peter Pan puppets is above. There were two crocodiles. This big one needed a handle as well as the jaw rod.

crocodile

This is John flying and some set elements for the flying sequence.

shadowpuppets

Unfortunately I didn’t get photos of the puppets in action,  because they look so much more attractive and bright on screen. The only screen shot I have is this blurry one of the Marauders Rock mermaid scene, taken without proper lighting behind. I like the water in particular.

mermaid shadow puppet scene

Another change

Posted by hil

Unima Australia is the Australian branch of Union Internationale de la Marionnette, an 80 year old international organisation bringing together people from around the world to contribute to the development of the art of puppetry, so kind of like the closest thing we puppet makers and puppeteers have to a union. For the last six years or so I’ve looked after the Unima Oz website, but last weekend I handed the job over to Naomi Guss. There are plans afoot to reinvent the site, which is a Good Thing, and I wish Naomi and Sean Manners, and the rest of the committee all the best with it.

Naomi recently blogged her visit to the National Puppetry Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. It makes interesting reading for those of us who were not able to go.

Fantastic Mr. Fox trailer

Posted by hil

The trailer for Fantastic Mr Fox. Hmmm.  I wish the animals didn’t have such people-like figures.

Previously: Fantastic Mr. Fox movie: first glimpse of puppets.

Puppet take on online safety ad fearmongering

Posted by hil

This week’s episode of The Media Show with Erna and Meena looks at fearmongering in online safety ads (via @zephoria).  The show is made by After Ed who ‘create videos about the evolving education sector’. They have given more information on the statistics they worked from.

Making of Allen’s giant doll puppet

Posted by hil

Remember Allen’s giant doll marionette that was walking the streets of Brisbane a few months ago? The Oscar-winning visual effects director John Cox, whose Creature Workshop created the puppet, has given a cool behind the scenes look at how it was made. Also, there are a few videos of her on YouTube now, including the Allen’s advertisement.

Campaign Brief has a little more background, and I was not surprised to see direct reference to Royal de Luxe‘s giantess:

‘Lam and Ross took Inspiration from a Mexican Festival puppet and a 7m French puppet.  The French puppet is believed to have cost $2M to build, yet this project didn’t have that kind of budget. The Cox created walking doll is generations ahead of the overseas inspiration in terms of her very advanced mechanics and instant physical appeal.

The Mexican puppet must be Luca. (I have some more information on Luca, but for another post). I think the  ‘generations ahead’ aspect in the case of Royal de Luxe is rather meaningless, and a bit of chest puffing. The fibreglass/plastic look versus the wood/steampunk look is an aesthetic choice, appropriate in each case;  and the movement of RdL’s giantess does not appear mechanically inferior, especially when you see the Allen’s doll’s feet kind of clap on the ground at each step in one of the videos,  and she seems to tilt backwards too much at times.

Teeny tiny puppets

Posted by hil

marionettestudio

There’s something very meta about dmmalva’s tiny puppet studio and the vogue for Blythe dolls to accesorise with teeny tiny puppets. I like this one.

Update: I found this needle felted finger puppet monster with puppet today :)

Previously: Matchstick puppets!

New puppet: Rita the goat

Posted by hil

rita2

This is Rita, a goat puppet I made recently for Merici College’s 50th Jubilee drama production, Dinkum Assorted by Linda Aronson, which will play at Belconnen Theatre on the 27th, 28th, 29th August. I became quite fond of her.

There’s a photoset of the making process in my portfolio at Flickr.  Rita is made from plywood and polystyrene, and covered with fur fabric and panne velvet. Her mechs are simple, since it will be beginner puppeteers operating her: paired leg movement, and a neck which allows movement up and down as well as turning to either side. For the eyes I decided to use faceted glass beads because I remembered Neville Tranter saying he used them in all his puppets to bring the eyes to life.

Travel well, Rita!

rita

Fantastic Mr. Fox movie: first pictures of puppets

Posted by hil

fantasticfox

Roald Dahl’s great story Fantastic Mr. Fox is being adapted for the big screen using stop-motion animation.  Some early glimpses of the puppets have been released, and the trailer will be out at the end of the month. (Update: here it is).  More details about the production at USA Today.  As usual I am anxious about how it will be interpreted!

Fox2

Fox