From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Mathieu_Ren=E9?= <creaturiste-AT-magma.ca>
To: <puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org>
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Left-right controllers
Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2005 02:09:06 -0400


>We also added some crazy stuff to help with the
constant changing of string length, but the basic
arrangement stayed the same. That was One decision I
was never sorry about.
>Greg Ballora


Hi Greg.
Congrats on the puppeteering on Team America. Some of the scenes blew my 
mind.

I am very curious about the "crazy stuff" you mentionned you added.
I will have to build two pro marionnettes soon with the absolute need to 
remove the strings often. The costume changes are necessary, but the budget 
and time wouldn't allow for making multiple bodies for the puppets. Any clue 
for facilitating string changes would be much appreciated.

Also, if anyone has tips to avoid the strings pulling the clothes up where 
they go trough it...

Thanks!


Mathieu René Créaturiste
Marionnettes, Masques, Etcetera...
Puppets, Masks, Etcetera...
creaturiste-AT-magma.ca
www.creaturiste.com
(514) 274-8027
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gregory Ballora" <gregballora-AT-sbcglobal.net>
To: <puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Left-right controllers


>
>
> --- Jimsan777-AT-aol.com wrote:
> I think Greg used "my"
>> style for Team America marionettes.   It takes a
>> good manipulator to
>> controllers work both ways.    I think many
>> puppeteers are now preferring this style
>> of controller...and maybe even improving on it.
>> Jim Gamble
>
> Jim, Just so you know, I was brought in initially to
> design controls for the puppets. for the first tests,
> Peter Baird used his familiar airplane control. I went
> through Luman Coad's book to look for other controls.
> I Had to guess at what the puppets were going to do,
> and design one control to work for all of them. After
> playing around with a few designs, I basically came
> back to a modified Gamble control. There were a few
> reasons for this:
> 1) The Gamble control is comfortable, and flexible if
> you need to add special strings.
> 2) The arm extenders worked quite well for what we
> were doing
> 3) It was certainly the control with which I am the
> most familiar, but it was also familiar for Christine
> Papalexis, Scott Land, and several of the other
> puppeteers. Tony Urbano uses a very similar control,
> so he and Tim Blaney didn't have much of a switch.
>
> One of the main differences was the design parameter
> that the head of the puppet and its control needed to
> be removable as one unit, so we ended up with a head
> paddle that could be unclipped. This ended up being a
> good thing as we often ended up only using the four
> head strings to control the puppet; The director was
> fanatical about not having strings get in front of the
> puppet's face, or get too distracting. It is pretty
> difficult to have the puppet walk across the screen
> when the back string, knee strings, and sometimes hand
> and shoulder strings have been removed. And you have
> 12' strings. And you are walking across a Genie lift
> basket that bounces with every step. That's Movie
> Makin' for you.
>
> We also added some crazy stuff to help with the
> constant changing of string length, but the basic
> arrangement stayed the same. That was One decision I
> was never sorry about.
>
> Greg Ballora
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