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This is the first video we built puppets specially for.
Over the course of several weeks 5 puppets were constructed. The first TLC (The Lovable Curmudgeon)
video was to be a comic monologue, but when the Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses and hat came home, it
was clear that his premier video had to be "Ukulele Lady."
| Operating the puppets was a lot more difficult than we anticipated, which gave us renewed respect
for The Muppets. You just about have to be a contortionist to operate these things without permanently
crippling yourself!
Eleven audio tracks were recorded, with eight being used for the video and five for the credits.
The "Danster Quartet Minus One" plays guitar, ukulele and cello, backing up the Dannettes.
05/15/2004 |
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The set was perched on a book shelf to allow plenty of room below for the puppeteers. |
| We could see the puppets on a monitor so we could tell what we were doing. But unfortunately there was a slight delay so we couldn't depend on the monitor as much as we had hoped.
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TLC (The Lovable Curmudgeon) puppet is made from 1/2 inch foam rubber.
He is taking ukulele lessons for his first video. |
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Paper patterns are cut out and fitted together. The original patterns are taped together to
see what the basic head shape will look like. They are adjusted with tape and scraps, then disassembled
and used to make these final patterns. |
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The mouth mechanism is built first, hinging two pieces of foam core, and covering the side that will be seen
with black fleece. |
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1/2 inch foam is cut using the
patterns, then hot-glued together. |
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The nose and ears are carved from foam, then hot-glued to the head. The neck is a long foam tube. |
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TLC's torso is attached. It starts out as a tube, then darts are cut at the shoulders. The neck opening
is hot-glued to the neck. |
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TLC is painted, using Design Master spray paints as free-form air-brushes. |
| The eyes have it... Doll eyes and fake fur for the eyebrows add a whole new dimension.
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| A hat, some shades, a hawaiian shirt... looks pretty dapper! All we need is some arms and hands!
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| The hands are cut from 1" foam. Wires inside the fingers allow for shaping and placement.
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| A simple stand holds the hands and arms so they can be painted.
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Good backup singers are hard to find! |
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A pattern is cut for one section of the "beach ball." It is used to cut
seven sections, held together by the center section. Now that the first
Pineapple has been assembled successfully, the other two will be built
together.
Heads are cut out with an Exacto knife, using the paper pattern.
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A head is hot-glued. |
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Heads have been glued making the "beach balls" that are the main part of the Pineapples puppets. |
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The mouths are hinged with interlock lining, and foam tubes are glued
to the top and bottom. The tubes are for the puppeteer's fingers so the
mouths can be opened and closed by moving finger and thumb together or
apart.
These mouths are shown open wide and upside down while the hot glue holding the tubes dries.
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The heads are completed, with the mouths glued in. |
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The leaves (hair) are made largely from the scraps created when the head-darts were cut out. |
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The last piece of foam is the "neck" which, in the case of a Pineapple, is actually a background
for the grass skirt, and a way to hide the puppeteer's arm.
The new pineapples are painted, using the prototype to make sure they will all match. Later
the lines are added with a marker.
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The eyes and skirts are hot-glued to the puppets after the lines are marked in. These Pineapples are ready to boogie! |
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© 2001-2008
by Dan Veaner |
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