Tutorial with Jo

I spoke to Jo about my project and she thought the ideas i've come up with have great potential- however i do need to kickstart the making process and leave the planning behind.

We both like the idea of showing imperfections in the activation of the puppet, as done with almostb every shadow puppet performance ive seen- the sticks, hands and props are all visable, which i think adds to the experience. Ive been trying hard to think of ways around this and making the visual outcome flawless, but it doesnt need to be.
For example the show Rhubarb and custard, a stop frame animation which has glitches and imperfections but it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4aVXeDg3U4

Jo suggested a video as the final outcome and to film the performance from behind the screen aswell, perhaps with puppeteers dressed in black and filmed activating the shadows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dermZ47bI64

-live puppet show but i filmed outcome, perhaps not first intended to be shown as a film but in a live atmosphere, however it works just as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJeJwCJg6B0

- Similar idea with the Silhouettes from Americas got Talent, but in this case the puppeteers are the puppets.

I popped to the photography studio to experiemnt with lighting and see how the silhouettes would look against a fabric screen- it worked really well and was more effective than i first thought, even having the still snap shots of the pigeons flight stages proved quite successfull without the need for only revealing one at a time.

I've also finally settled on the idea of usinf fabric drapes to reflect the shadows onto, as i like the way the fabric is manipulative enough to billow and sway to create the effect of movement for each of the shadows. We also discussed creating several cut outs of the bull with just slight changes to each, as done with the pigeon, to form movement-  experimenting with the tail could be a possibility. I'm really drawn to this idea.

I also want to encorporate the monoscope idea to activating the puppet, Jo mentioned a previous student creating one and using an old inyl player to make the piece spin..but with using the light and focusing on shadows of the city i thought of utilising a circular lamp shade and painting on the inside to create the various images. This method would be similar to the old victorian style way of creating moving images.

These are just what sprang to mind after talking to my sister..these devices are called Zoetropes.

For the presentation on Monday i need to bring a clear concept and direction in which my work is headed in order for the group and Juneau to quickly grasp my responce to the project and help throw around some ideas and suggestions as to the best way of activating my puppet.

On Friday i hope to set up the drapes of fabric and shadows behind with positioning of the light techniques ive learnt from Graham. Then take stop frame animation shots of the pigeon in flight so i can begin work on my monoscope/ zoetrope piece.