Stop-Mo Puppets from Animation 1!

These puppets are all from the SMFA Animation 1 class of Fall 2010. We did stop-motion animation, and learned how to make armatures, fabricate body shapes and make costumes. We used extra-strength magnets in their feet to bind them to thin sheets of steel on the tabletop of the sets.

Puppets in Prague

Looking for inspiration and a great learning experience this summer? Puppets in Prague is an ongoing workshop for introducing animators and students of animation to the rich history of puppet-making and performance in Czechoslovakia.

For ten years, Mirek Trejtnar and Leah Gaffen have been organizing puppet workshops for students from around the world. Mirek heads the workshops - he is a puppet-maker himself and also a designer of toys, sculpture and much more with a special background in wood. Leah is an American who takes care of the organizational side of the workshops. Together Leah and Mirek bring together a team of leading Czech artists - woodcarvers, puppet designers, puppeteers, film animators, etc.- who bring the students into the world of puppetry in Prague.

Check out their program on their website: http://www.puppetsinprague.eu

Own a Pal!

re-blogged from Cartoon Brew post today:

Auctioneers Profiles In History are currently having an incredible entertainment memorabilia sale which is including a Lot of 100 puppets and pieces-of-puppets from the George Pal’s Jasper Puppetoons. The bids start at $1,000 (and go much, much higher.) Here’s the link.

There are also separate lots for puppets from individual non-Jasper films such as The Gay Knighties, Rhythm In The Ranks, Two-Gun Rusty, John Henry, Tubby The Tuba and on and on! This lot was part of the estate of William Nassour who, with his brother, produced several Hollywood movies and experimented in stop motion animation. Apparently they took over the Puppetoon shop when Pal moved on into feature production - and held onto these puppets until now!

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

OPENING SOON! Watch the TRAILER!

This trailer includes a "behind the scenes" look at the production.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a fantastic creature, but his food foraging forays tangle him up with some of the the "meanest, ugliest, nastiest" farmers, and that's the root of Mr. Fox's trials. And what makes it a tangibly tantalizing tidbit is that it's stop-motion puppetry!

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, Royal Tennenbaums, Aquatic Life) and was looking to sign on Henry Selick (Coraline, James and the Giant Peach, Nightmare Before Christmas) as a co-director. But, Selick was pulled away when his own project' Coraline" was given the green light by the studios. Anderson tapped Mark Gustafson, another Oregon / Will Vinton Studio stop-motion director to join him instead.