So many of you know about how I sort of have made two websites over the past year and a bit, and have been working on a new batch of shadow puppets. I'm not sure I've exactly explained what's going on with that, so here's some info about the 'relaunch' of the shadow puppets and the direction they're going in.

I've already posted on the character design that I've been working on:
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,6895.15.html

But have only just now revealed the ideas behind it... This discusses the new heading for Puppets in Melbourne:
http://www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/blog.php/2012/02/20/let-bartlet-be-bartlet

And I'll be posting updates on more developments as they come along. However, my main reason for starting this thread is because so often others here post a step-by-step build of a project they're working on, and I don't think I have (properly) for quite some time.

I thought I would post mainly on my super-secret project, some of which the above links hint at. The project is about designing and making a special set of shadow puppets; I hope to sell some in the future, however I recently got accepted to showcase them at an upcoming local puppetry summit in July. Well, with one minor issue: I won't actually be sharing the building or design process. That's the super secret part.... The design is unique and until the finished product is ready for showing I won't be explaining much of how it will work. However, I will share a lot of the progress of the project, as I'll be performing (!!) the puppets and will be developing a script first.

I have four months to develop the design and make a show for that purpose.

I have the basis for the design idea and am at the moment testing a bunch of prototypes. The design is reliant on a specific effect to be created and that means lots of testing to see what version creates the best effect. Unfortunately, it's also reliant on specific materials, so I have no idea whether it will work or not. The puppets will most definitely be shadow puppets, but have a little twist to how they're made.

I'm testing out different sizes, materials, whether distance changes the effect, etc. It's all a bit tricky but if it works it will be an OMG moment.

This design has nothing to do with character itself, some of which has already been on display at the link above. The characters will be of a similar aesthetic, the design difference is in how the puppets are made and the effect achieved by that methodology.

I'm also working on a script, for which I'll post more about later this week or next. Hopefully from start to finish of this thread I'll be able to walk you through the majority of the project; and by the end I'll have revealed the actual design and underlying mechanisms.

Woohoo! Finally some hints!

I just took some time to read your post on PIM. I don't even no where to start in terms of a response. I had underestimated how much this new project meant to you and how much much critical analysis of yourself as a person went in to it's development. I can't wait to read more Na!

Woohoo! Finally some hints!

I just took some time to read your post on PIM. I don't even no where to start in terms of a response. I had underestimated how much this new project meant to you and how much much critical analysis of yourself as a person went in to it's development. I can't wait to read more Na!

*Some* hints, yes  
Though I am working through so many problems - it works on my computer, when I do up a pattern, but in the real world it doesn't look so good. I hope I can work out the kinks...

Nobody's had any idea of the other stuff. I wanted to: a, make sure it was exactly where I wanted to go; b, not do a big reveal and spend another 6 months working on designs before being close to doing anything about it. A lot of the wait has also about getting most of the migration done for SOP, which I stupidly thought would only take a few months.

A lot of the 'critical analysis' of myself was just random musings on a lot of different topics and my life so far - it's been a natural process and not necessarily forced by my change in business plans.  There's a lot of stuff though that I didn't mention in the post about past experiences which impacted on my decision.

It's also very easy to forget or not realise, but for me puppetry was just a way to kill time while waiting for someone to employ me in other jobs ('normal' theatre or 'normal' jobs). The whole puppetry career has been a 'natural process' and this is the first time I've really had the opportunity to sit and direct it - 2002/3 was when I started, but 2008 was when I said "I'm going to sell stuff". It's been a long time coming and necessary to actually think about it and what I'm doing. Like with the articles on SOP, it was just a gradual process and I didn't plan on it being a 'hit'.

I'm still kind of nervous about it all, but I think it's something that I needed to do. I spend more time now reading about non-puppetry stuff and am becoming more excited about it than about what I've been doing with puppetry. This will keep me interested in both

So continuing on...

Today I tested out various different versions of the prototype; trying different colours using the prototype girl puppet previously shown on the site and linked above. The effect seems to work best when it is adjacent to black, and I was concerned that while the white plastic comes off grey under shadow puppet lighting/screens, black plastic would work better. Black actually comes out as a darker shadow than the white does. It improves the puppet design marginally, but not by much.

The other thing I did was to test both the black and white versions against a black background. Although I have no idea as yet how a black background can be done with shadow puppets - without overshadowing the puppets themselves - I thought I'd see what happens anyway. Again, it marginally improves the effect.

Next I will be trying out all these different versions under shadow puppet lighting. Even though I know the thickness of the material allows for a good presentation of the effect under lighting, I suspect that the lighting itself will change which of the above 'best situations' (ie. white but with black background, etc) works better.

Thanks for sharing some of the details of your project! It is so fun to see all the "puppety" stuff going on around the world!!

You really get into the details! Maybe "fantastic" stuff like elves and aliens and the like are so popular because your creativity can run amok. A bit like Hensons remark on the Dark Crystal: "If you enter another world, you would not expect everything to be like in our world." And Fettig discussed it, too. His opion was, that, if puppets are too realistic, they become more like 2nd rate replacements for real actors. Where us if the play stays less realistic the puppet gets the whole stage. But I guess how any of us feels about their work should not be limited by somebody else's vision.

No updates today. I am busy trying to stop myself from being really pissed off that I have to buy a new computer.

I'm surprised I can even read this; my screen is totally busted and that cans any work on trying to develop these puppets while I hunt for a new computer. Maybe I'll work on checking the effect with lighting later.... but it's still daylight and I need absolute dark for it.

So let's just call this a bust for today.

PS. I'd reply to the posts above but I can barely read them. That will have to wait too.

Ok, I'll have a new computer tomorrow and while I don't have easy access to all my files and programs, I've been working on more of the creation of the general shadow puppets.

Today I was on a hunt for some material to adapt for an advert/video to showcase the first new shadow puppet. It's hard because the puppet design came first and now I have to apply a script to it. However I've found what I've been looking for; but won't be using it yet.

First I'm going to spend some time cutting out the puppets, not only so I have some ready and to use for videotaping, but also so I can judge the time it takes to make one and use that for pricing calculations.

The second thing I'm doing is working my way through other issues: how I'm going to pack/ship and display the puppets; potentially sending out a couple of puppets to test out some custom packaging I'd like to do; completing pricing calculations.

Then and only then will I get to work on actually marketing the thing.

(And somewhere in all of this, actually get back to the super secret project!)

Ok, I have my new computer and while it's not 100% set up properly I at least have all my files and programs so I can continue work. I plan on posting a little of this tomorrow.

In the meantime, I had an interesting experience yesterday. I sat down to watch a movie I had taped a few weeks ago and found myself discovering a few little tidbits on how I'm going to do the super secret project. I have four guidelines now that I can follow in order to improve the effect of the puppets. -- And even more interesting is that the movie has nothing whatsoever to do with my idea. It just conveniently threw up an opportunity to notice a few silver screen concepts which are just as applicable to my idea.

I love it when it all comes together like that!

I just spent 24 hours without the net... so that gave me ample opportunity today to sit down and start writing the first scenes of my super secret performance.

Really I wanted to re-read my subject material but wasn't entirely in the mood, particularly as the movie threw up some issues that I wanted to get out of my head and onto the page.

I'm finding that I'm torn between two problems: the need to create a good and strong effect using my super secret design; and the need to not go over the top with it. I suspect if I try to do too much of the effect it will feel busy and actually dissipate most of what the effect does. This careful balance is hard to strike, and it's leaving me wondering whether or not the effect should be solely designed into scenery and to leave the characters themselves as 'normal' puppets.

In this I think experimentation is necessary, and so I will be taking some of the advice from the scriptwriting thread and write a little, then make a little, then write, etc. In this way I can work backwards and forwards as I develop the script and ensure that what I'm doing is in the right direction. It also helps as I don't need a polished performance for July and so if I only end up with a few minutes worth of a script/show it's ok: I can always write and make the rest later.

... One last thing and that is windows and doors. My new computer has set me back pretty much all of my money I was going to set aside for savings, and much of what I had set aside for getting these puppets made. In closing a door, a window is opened: worried about costs of the puppets and the need to make a new screen and buy a new light to work with my new 70cm sized puppets, I've chucked that out and decided smaller is easier. I can make these puppets from home (after some dubious tests which I'm still not sure about) without relying on the materials I'd use if planning on selling them.

This also means I won't have to make a new screen, but can rely on my shorter but long adjustable one. It will fit smaller puppets and all I need to do is buy a new light which is relatively inexpensive.

All in all, a little bit of progress, and hopefully tomorrow I can do more.

In between all of this, I have also cut out 4 new shadow puppet bodies as per the original post/design that I've been working on - the ones which will be available to buy. Gleefully I discovered I can get 2 more bodies out of 1 sheet of plastic than I originally thought, making each puppet just that little bit cheaper to make