From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Mathieu_Ren=E9?= <creaturiste-AT-primus.ca>
To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:13:13 -0500
Subject: [Puptcrit] Tip: tie wraps for control rods




Hi all.
Today I needed a simple yet strong and removable system for holding control 
rods on the mechanical wings worn by  a puppet character.

I remembered how tie wraps are sometimes useful for reattaching, 
temporarily, puppet limbs that have mysterioulsy fallen off before a parade 
show...(appropriate, the incidend was at Halloween time, puppeteering three 
dead kings from the Lord Of the Ring trilogy).


So, today I just tied a tie wrap to the wing's armature, and taped the 
remaining tail to the end of my rod, using duct tape.  Very strong, not 
wobbly at all.
For the final shooting sequence, we'll use very small black tie wraps, and 
tape the rods with green screen tape (or paper mache layer painted with 
green screen latex paint), as this will be filmed on green screen.

Canvas and feathers have to be aded to the wings before completion, so once 
we know of the final position of the rods (still experimenting, will ask 
puppeteer's preferences too), I'll leave some strategic gaps and hide most 
of it with feathers.

For the curious:

The wings hold onto the puppet by the very leather straps we chose for the 
look of it.
Exaclty how they would hold if the puppet had actually strapped them on 
himself!
My friend-colleague-and-boss Daniel has done a fantastic job with those 
miniature leather goods, they really work!

The up and down movement during the flight sequence is taken care of by a 
rod that simply inserts in a hole in the middle of the puppet's wooden 
torso. The rod is an old fishing pole I found on the curb. The weight is 
ridiculously low, and the handle adds a great ergonomic feature!




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