The Midnight Diaries of Catty Wampus

(note: this post is part of the Here Come The Puppets category here at the Midnight Diaries. Be sure to check out the full category for other selections from this spectacular program)

This video is a real treat. Jim Henson, who is rarely seen without any Muppets, sits down for a talk with Albrecht Roser, one of the world’s finest marionettists. Most of us know Jim Henson because of his wide influence on all kinds of media that most of us have grown up with. That is the context we know him in. One of the things I love about this interview is that we see Jim Henson in the context he clearly casts himself: the history and craft of being a puppeteer.

As animators, we often hear about lessons we can learn from The Muppets. One of the major points discussed here is that of a limited character. How many of us have been frustrated by a rig that didn’t have a full range of motion? And how many of us have seen a talented animator give emotions and feelings to nothing more than a bouncing ball?

“Like you do if you direct a show. You call from someone, from an actor, not what he can not do: you try to find out what he can do best.”

There’s such power in that small statement.

For example, you can’t make a bouncing ball wave its arms frantically as if it’s agitated and upset. But you can look closely at your bouncing ball and think about how the ball would act if it were agitated ad upset.

Taking this idea a step further, philosophically: Find your own strengths and play to those. Some people can cook a hell of a meal, but can’t play a lick on the piano. Some people can organize a business plan, but are not very good drivers. Some people are great athletes but not very good actors. Even as an animator, there are some people who are amazing with soft and subtle scenes, while others can come up with a sight gag and timing that will knock you out of your chair with laughter. Find your strengths and play to those.

But back down in the world of rigs and characters, Roser and Henson talk about how to take a simple character and fool the audience into thinking that there’s much more complexity going on. This rings so very true for me as an animator. I often find myself overthinking my characters in a real three-dimensional space instead of being concerned with how the performance will come across to the viewer. In some ways, it’s the audience as much as the animator who brings the character to life. If you endow you character with emotion and intent, the audience will be able to project their own ideas of a living and breathing character onto your Rat Chef or your Green Ogre or your Downloaded Free Rig.

At the risk of mixing metaphors, it’s our responsibility to build a bridge between our characters and the audience, and if we’re successful the audience will feel invited to suspend their disbelief over that bridge. ‘Cuz it’s a suspension bridge. Get it?

Moving right along.

The last part of this clip blows me away. Roser demonstrates a marrionette made of five beads and two scarves. (I see only one scarf, but I’ll give Roser the benefit of the doubt here) This is, I’m guessing, analogous to the animator’s Flour Sack test. Watch this puppet dance–see how Roser subtly manipulates the five strings so that we see the puppet shift its weight and balance over each foot as it dances. Even before the dancing begins, while the two men talk, you can see that Roser holds the puppet so that it sits up on the ground, as if it is simply waiting to be told what to do. He could easily let all of the strings droop until he’s ready for the puppet to perform, but seeing this relaxed sitting pose creates (for me, at least) such an intimate relationship between the puppet and the puppeteer. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there are animators who feel this same intimate connection with the characters they animate.

Albrecht Roser still performs and teaches in Germany. You can find out more about this incredibly talented man at www.albrecht-roser.de

Stay tuned for the final installment of Here Come The Puppets, coming up soon!