By Chloe Yau
Puppetry Module....................................................................5 - Cyril the hand/finger puppet........................................................ 7 - Martin the Hand Puppet...............................................................13 - Scarlett Love the Rod Puppet.......................................................21 - Screenshots from video................................................................30
Manifesto Project.................................................................43 - Puppets.........................................................................................44 - Process shots.................................................................................52 - Screenshots from video................................................................58
Text/Conext Project............................................................75 - Sketchbook work..........................................................................76 - Puppets.........................................................................................82 - Sets...............................................................................................92 - Screenshots from video..............................................................104
My chosen second semester module, Puppetry, began in February and lasted until May. We were required to make a minimum of three final puppets and showcase at least one in a short film/video that includes a clear storyline and narrative. I really enjoyed making these interesting and quirky characters. The most exciting aspect of this module is how fast paced it is, which is why all my puppets are very spontaneous in terms of character and all look very different. I loved the fact that you can just get straight into it without any initial thought and a character suddenly appears from your own interpretation of features. Then it makes it more fun and a lot easier to come up with a story based on the character you’ve made. Making outfits for puppets (first time) was something that excited me a lot. As you can tell, I went a bit carried away with the fabric choices but no regrets whatsoever.
This is Cyril. He is a small hand/finger puppet with a foam head and canvas body (or outfit if you will). His face was painted with acrylic and his attire is lavishly decorated with pink and blue pom poms - of course we can’t forget his little party hat. He definitely has the most unsettling look out of the three puppets; with his lack of eyelids or any expression for that matter. However, he has this mysterious charm about him where you can’t help but chuckle at his odd appearance. Cyril was a delight to create. Originally he was only supposed to be practise for carving out foam but I thought his features were quite interesting so I made him into a working puppet.
This is Martin. He is a large hand puppet whose mechanisms only focuses on the movement of the mouth and head. His arms are limp so they are able to bend and move accordingly with the help of the puppeteer’s other hand. I made him a show-guy/ presenter outfit to match his flamboyant aesthetic. Honestly, he’s the most dashing out of all the puppets. Martin has a very versatile look about him. I’ve made him a ‘he’ so far in this module and in another project but I’m pretty sure he would make a lovely lady - given the right outfit. He is by far my favourite puppet and I would love to use him again in the future. He is able to change looks just like a Barbie doll - it’s fantastic!
This is Scarlett Love. A very professional drag queen with a big heart of gold and a mouth of a dirty yet fancy lavatory cubicle. She is a true show-stopper whose aesthetic screams old Hollywood glamour in the 50’s with a hint of 2017 trash. She is a true bombshell with features that question whether or not she is actually a man. In the drag world, the term “fishy” would be a suitable descriptive word for her. Scarlett is a rod puppet. Her body swivels when turning the rod and her mouth is able to move up and down by pulling down a string. Her arms have wire attached so that the puppeteer is able to move her arm around with their other hand. This puppet was by far the most complex in terms of the mechanics but it’s definitely the most impressive. I thought I executed it very well and she looks amazing.
Our manifesto consists of highlighting the stigma of men wearing makeup in this society. We came up with many possibilities and outcomes on how we should go about this (all mentioned in the blog) and myself and Caitlin have come up with this ingenious idea of using our newfounded puppetry skills and create a parody of a typical beauty guru being sponsored by a makeup brand and raving about it on social media (for the monies). The characters we created are your typical super masculine thugs, also known as “roadmen�. They were sponsored by their favourite makeup brand, DENCH Cosmetics, to showcase their XXL Lipstuff in whatever way possible. So, of course, they make a cool, hip music video starring themselves and their favourite product whilst lipsyncing to their favourite song.
For this project, we had to choose a story and theme from a given list in our brief. I chose Frankenstein in Space because I’m more familiar with the story than the others and also, this is a perfect opportunity for character design. My final outcome is a short (ish) video starring my charming little hand puppets, Frankenstein and Alien Creature. This was my first time working with puppets on numerous handmade sets and I have to say, it worked really well. I’m incredibly proud of myself for making the sound effects separately to the video as I was unable to use the original sound (talked too much, oops). They were really accurate and they made the video more comical as it highlighted Frankenstein’s incapability to hold or do anything with his lack of hands. The aesthetics of the final outcome is adorable and charming yet still has a sense of obscurity and comedy which definitely does not make it cliché in any way. Also, there’s a cheeky little Easter egg hidden in the video. Pixar, I’m coming for you.