This week we are going to experiment with different materials in order to make puppets. Each day we have to choice an animals to experiment with as well as material.
Monday - Experimenting with paper - Elephant The first paper puppet I created was a simply 2D shapes slot into one another to create a three dimensional Elephant shape. I like the shape this model has from the font view however from the side it looks basic. Despite how I like the look of this model it has very limited movement which is very unnatural and doesn't give him any personality. I do however think this could be a good base of a maket due to how much I like the shape, and just adapt the movement.
The second paper experiment I tried was origami. I created this by using a few different YouTube tutorials, this one proved successful - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InIpbaPdA54
This one took me a few attempts to make however I really like the final outcome and although the finished look isn't very intricate I like the abstract look it look it has. However despite how much I like the shape once again this paper puppet also doesn't have the movement I'm after, but I prefer it to the movement of the first experiment I did.
The third experiment I did I initially thought would be my least favourite outcome as I thought it was simpler because it was two dimensional, However once I put the paper pieces together (by using dress pins and blue tack as a make shift alternative to split pins) I really liked the movement and personality it created. I think if I pushed this idea of separate sections further, making it three dimensional, this style could work really well.
Tuesday - Attempting Shadow puppets - Tiger
I was going to start off this experimental day by attempting hand shadow puppets however this proved rather difficult to do and film seeing as the weather in wales is very sunny right now as well as I could only make animals that I wasn't necessarily interesting on looking into so I decided to move on from this quickly.
I knew that least one day this week I wanted to look into tigers, therefore when I was researching shadow puppets and found out the medium originated in Asia I thought tigers would be the perfect animal to experiment with as wild tigers are be found in Asia.
I did a quick search on Pinterest into shadow puppets these can be found in the link at the top of my home page. I also found a really interesting shadow puppet video from YouTube on Tumblr which I've inserted below. I think this video is a really good reference as it shows how shadow puppets, particularly animals are using in performances.
I decided to create a tiger shadow puppet in keeping with traditional shadow puppetry. I created this by using thick paper and metal rivets (Given to me by my Bamp as an alternative to split pins). These were a bit hit and miss as I sometimes pressed them too tight and restricted the movement of the puppet and then couldn't release them to make the movement less restrictive, However they worked far better than the dress pins I used yesterday. Once I had my tutorial with Constance she suggested that I should also use my paper elephant from the previous day and use the that to create another shadow puppet, I did this in the same method however accidentally clapped the Rivets too tight onto his legs allowing for very little movement. I also saw online that a few shadow puppets have details cut out of the paper such as tigers strips which I was planning on doing once I had recorded it without strips however but the time it took me to create a shadow box and film it ended up being quite late therefore I decided to leave it. I created a shadow box buy using a carboard box, covering the inside with white paper, sticking two pieces of A4 tracing paper together and sticking it onto the front of the box and putting all 5 of my family's phones with the torches turned on inside of the box. I did try using other light sources such as torches but it created an uneven bright light which wasn't working well for the shadow puppets, this might have worked better if I had a longer box and could place it further away from the screen, I feel as though the 5 phones worked quite well and gave the box an even coverage.
I tried to create a background with cut out trees, however I did struggle with doing this and keeping to a scale that looked natural. Over all I like the silhouette the tiger creates once it was in shadow form. I do however think the movement I created, especially the walking wasn't as fluid or natural as I wanted it to be. I fell as though this is down to three things, the joints I created with the rivets, the manor in which I stuck on the kabab sticks as well as my lack of puppeteering skills. I think if I was to create this again I would position the sticks vertically not horizontally as not only did this affect the movement of his legs but it also meant that while I was puppeteering my hand was knocking the screen which was affecting the shadow as well as once the puppet had gotten more than half way along the screen the shadow of my hands would appear following behind it.
I would love to next time create a trigger that would allow me to open and close the tigers mouth it think this would add some character to him.
This video is a good example of my struggling to find the correct scale.
With my elephant I really restricted his leg movements by tightening the rivets but despite this I think I prefer this shadow puppet to that of the tiger as I love the movement of his trunk, but I would also alter this by keeping the length on the kebab stick controlling his trunk to prevent my hand appearing as well as adding something to move his tail to give him that little extra bit of personality. I also attempted to puppeteer the elephant whilst lead on the floor and holding the sticks above my face and although this did help with the appearance of my hands it also meant I couldn't quite see how I was controlling my animal and his movements which is why It looks like its climbing a mountain a fair few times.
Wednesday - Experimenting with cardboard - Bear
First thing I did was look at the body shape of bears. and drew the sections I thought were correct onto paper. I then cut these same shapes out of cardboard and connected them together via string in an attempt to make joints that could move in a majority of directions.
I think I semi achieved this with the neck and head however I don't think it worked well with the rest of the body. I also realised that I have created something very similar to my shadow puppets yesterday which I regret and wish I had attempted a drastically different method.
Thursday - Character concept Even though at the very beginning of my project I was very focused on looking into elephants, as I've developed over the last two weeks of this project my focus has been turned more towards bears and big cats. This is mainly because their bodies show more emotion through their movement where as with an elephant although they have the second largest brain of a mammal and are so empathetic they hold their own funerals when one of their herd dies, they don't actually show all that much of their emotional through their body language. This is also very noticeable when I've watched videos of the being rescued and released. For my puppetry project I personally feel as though emotional body language is the key in creating an interesting animal as well as people really feeling empathy for my puppet as if it was a real animal. I'm torn between bears and big cats as I love the movement of both especially when they're being released.They're so curious in the way they move such as looking around everywhere with the head close to the ground sniffing the air, picking their paws up in an unnatural due to being confused by the natural substances under their paws and they sometimes even do silly stuff because they don't understand the natural world around them, such as Rocco falling into a vat of water. I think adding quirky bits such as these into my film will give my puppet more of a lovable personality and allow the audience to sympathize with the animal. I feel as though I'm currently leaning towards creating a bear and creating both a full body puppet as well as a full head puppet to be able to show emotions through the face of the animal. After my tutorial with Dik and Jess this morning I think the best place to start would be with a back story for my puppet therefore, I've decided to look into the common situations both a captive bear and tiger would be in. The first one for a bear which Dik mentioned this morning but I hadn't heard of before which is bear bile farming. 'Bear bile farming began in China in the 1980's. It is a cruel farming system designed to extract bile from the gallbladders of living bears. Previous to this, bears were hunted in the wild for their gallbladder bile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
By the early 1990's, there were over 400 bear farms in China alone, containing tens of thousands of suffering bears. Most farmed bears are kept permanently in cages, sometimes so small that they are unable to turn around or stand on all fours. Some bears are caged as cubs and never released, with many kept caged for up to 30 years. Most farmed bears are starved and dehydrated, and suffer from multiple diseases and malignant tumours that ultimately kill them.'
The images below I found on 'Animals Asia' - Animals Asia Foundation is a Hong Kong-based charity that seeks to end cruelty to animals in Asia. These pictures are of two of the bears who suffer this awful bile farming. I find this images really though provoking and I would love to create an image such as this in my film particularly to raise awareness of Bear bile farming as its something I've never heard of and I'm sure many others haven't also. I feel as though if I was to use this scenario then I would need to design my puppet using features this bear would have such as contorted limbs with possibly an unusually walk to show that they don't ever walk and also a hole in there side where their tube had been inserted.
These are the tubes which are permanently stuck into the sides of the bears.
There's a few different scenarios that both bears and tigers experience such as circus' and zoos, they are also both killed to make rugs from their skins. After our group meeting at the end of the day we spoken about how we could create an animal by using a few different puppets to create an in-depth story and character. I really like the idea of having a body for good body movement, a head for facial expressions and a paw/lower leg to show point of view. I also really like the idea of using simple puppets to create shadows ect to have other characters involved with my film but for them to not take away from the main animal.
Friday - Sock/Glove puppets and continuing character development.
Leo my gummy lion sock puppet. Leo is made from a mustard coloured sock with an orange scrunchie as his main and given features using masking tape and sharpie. I would liked to have given him teeth but I struggled to do this without destroying them when animating him. I also tried to give him ears by pinching the sock, this only seemed to work on the left side of his head as his right ear disappeared while I stretched the sock when opening his mouth. Overall I really like him and think he has a lot of personality but I do believe I could improve him by creating teeth and ears.
When Constance said we were going to look at glove puppets the first thing that came to my head was the clip my mum and dad showed me of a tv programme they used to watch when they were little called 'Finger Mouse'
Here is that clip
I really struggled with glove/finger puppets due to my lack of material. I couldn't find gloves anywhere in my house so I attempted to make a quick elephant puppet which involved my hands.
I don't like the out come of this puppet I think it look scruffy, doesn't work well and doesn't create a character people will feel a connection to.
Overall I struggled with glove/sock puppets due to not having the material but also struggling to find a balance between childish and quality puppeteering.
I also struggled with experimenting today as I had to stop early to shop for and deliver food to my Nan and Bamp which took a large chunk off my day off where I usually would have pushed my ideas further.
Below are some really interesting videos I have found this week relating to puppetry but not my experimenting, which I really want to keep hold of.