VIDEO BLOG EPISODE #3 HALLOWEEN 2013

This was done on Halloween 2013 with my new Mike Boise (Sparky) figure. I was very tired when I did this, as we had been handing out candy for about 2 hours. The resception was good and pretty much in line with what I expected. A few scared kids ... one or two aggressive and one little s#*! . The one thing I didn't expect was that the Velcro I wanted to use to place Max's hands on the candy bowl tore off the paint. I went and got paint to do the repair and Max should be right as rain soon. I already have plans for next year. Possibly building a dedicated puppet. I had hoped to use make a Jack O' Lantern but missed out on the fake pumpkins this year ... will have to work this into the budget.

New Bumper for Vlog Vids!!!

Okay ... So I know I should just KISS. You know Keep It Simple, Stupid!!! But my wife would be the first to point it out that, that isn't my style. Hey just pointing a camera and shooting  is not how you get better. Besides I'm trying to learn 3 new video projects. Each stretch is a little more knowlege I lean. Even if it's not to do that anymore. My next project is to do name plates inspired by LAInk. Just for a giggle. Oh yeah ... I'm thinking episode titles will be done with a "J" cut. Just thinking.

There's A New Chicken In Town

Here after a long abscence is the latest Cluck Cluck video. New front titles and a new chicken. My old one was deteriating due to being stored in a heated area before I bought her used on eBay.

I am curently working on giving the old girl a make over and getting closer to my origional vision. A step in the right direction.

Video Blog #2

6/25/13

BY THE CASEFULL

Ketchsup

I mean catch up ...

Yet again

I have fallen behind on posting ... once again. I am writing this during my lunch break ... using my tablet. This means one finger tapping in the cyber keyboard. Click ... click ....... click. Very slow go. And then there is the joy of the android version of blogger. Quirky would be polite. Almost impossible to post a picture ... make edits or anything much more than posting text. I will be going back and editing later on. Still a way to keep up to date.

I hope also to add video editions as another means of posting. Not that this will be any more efficient than the written form. Still it seems that it will offer the possibility of additional practise. And that would be a good thing ... one way or the other.

Still ... it's not an excuse ... or a very good one ... at least ... but I have been dealing with cataracts. The operation is done for both eyes. I was neither a good candidate or had the money to get the upgrade lens and the substicant surgery, as it made little sense. I was told I would, in all possibility have to wear glasses despite whatever was done. So now I am dealing with my healing eyes ... healing  ... and with each day moving further away from my current prescription and deeper into a state of blur. Hopefully things will right themselves when I can get my new specks ...in little more than 3 or 4 weeks in the least.

It has seemed an eternaty.

Happy, happy ... joy, joy !!!

Done.

The Axtell Puppet Video Challenge.

Trust me. Nothing was EVER true to it's name. There were puppets ... there were Axtell puppets  ... there were videos ... with puppets  Axtell puppets! But of all there was the challenge.

Believe me ... this was a challenge.

Two start off with ... I want to know, how much I admire what Steve Axtell has done with this contest. Yes sure it promotes his company. But what it also does is promotes ventriloquism and puppetry. It gives the common guy a voice to be heard ... to express themselves. And that is amazing.

But this was a challenge in so many ways. First in just the doing. If you have read Ken Groves "Creating a Character" then you know that his Dad made him practise until he was perfect before he could preform in public. Ken took three years before he reached that point. Extrapolating along that time line, I have about two years, three months to go. I am not really ready to begin this. This was/is not a sudden revelation. I knew this going into the contest. And while I understand what Ken is saying and respect him ... I have another teacher. And while I have no illusions that Stephen Seifert can throw his voice, he does play a mean dulcimer., which is another interest of mine. Steve once told me that sometimes to grow , you needed to make a goal ... a giant leap and put everything you have into this effort. That you make the leap is unimportant. It is the stretching and the learning than comes from it. These two opposing philosophies definitely created a ethical dilemma for me. Even by going through this I still feel a share of guilt.

The next challenge came in the script. I had the concept. One chunk after another. I knew where I wanted to go this. The simple concept of one person is profiting from the work of two. I had it all worked out. But it seemed so angry. I had worked and reworked the chunks. But there was so much anger. I didn't like it. It didn't have the relationship I was striving to put together with my character, Cluck Cluck. So I started all over again, to remold it, reshape it true.

But the other challenge of the script was a time constraint. Five minutes. As I reworked the script to fit the tone, time became the task master. Choosing my words so carefully. Brevity. Not a thing  I'm generally known for. So that was a challenge in its self. However, while checking on something, I made an important discover. Had I not discovered it, I would of been sunk to the water. The five minute time limit ... was a typo. The real time limit was half that. Two and a half minutes. Two and a half minutes.  I almost produced a haggis. Literally. I had to cut so much. Jokes ... little nuisances that stripped it bare. Oh I understood. I do not have any idea how many entries they get ... but winning ones were numbered in the thirties. So if there were just thirty videos, at five minutes ... those poor judges would be subjected to over four hours of a collection of such amateur ... matter.  Still a huge hurtle to manage.

One bit I was working on used the location of Chick Filet. It was perfect as it is closed on Sundays. I simply went after work. Had the drive through all to myself. Scoped it out the first week and took some pictures. Then next week I came back and filmed Cluck Cluck using my Zoom 3 microphone. While it is primarily used for sound recording it can record video. Due to it's flip style shape, it is excellent to record in tight quarters. I got it all done, quite pleased with myself, talked it over with my friend Danny at work. He expressed his surprise that they would allow me to use a trademarked chain. I suddenly remembered the rules about owning everything in my film. By the next Sunday, I had photoshoped the sign and had reshot my footage.

The next challenge was unexpected. I had practiced getting the patter down. Had it down right to the second. I went into this with a certain assurance. I edited it together in Pinnacle and then viewed it. I was devastated. When it was played on the larger screen I saw all the lip movement. Not just quivers. It was bad. I now had a week to prepare, practise and reshoot.

I spent the week doing mirror work and practising before the camera. Then I spent a day and a half filming, and editing. Got it in shape uploaded a version I could live with if not happy with, and started to fill out my entry form. It was then that I noticed that though on my computer it was two and a half minutes ... on YouTube, it was a minute long. Back once again, I sniped a frame here ... a few more there. And at last I could l put my film up and enter.

After a day of waiting, I found out that my entry was excepted. My task is done. I charged myself to come up with an entry that would at least be admittance. I have no further hopes on this work. Any dreams I might have is to do better next year.

TWO AND A HALF MINUTES

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pardon the rant.

OK so I have been working for the last three weeks on the Axtell Puppet Video Challenge ... every spare moment I have had. I have shaped my routine between work orders at the hotel only to get to a piece and throw it away and restart all over again. At least three times. I finally got it to the point where I got to something I could live with. I was all set to start the serious filming. I had completed my props. Tomorrow the plan was to film the opening title, the end table scene and the interior of the process/green screen shot.

It had quiet an experience editing and shaping ... wrestling it to the five minute limit. It was going to be tough. But I was going to do it. I was pleased with myself. I had edited it down. I felt a certain accomplishment.

And then I found out. Quite by accident ... actually. I had a couple of questions and wanted to find out the answers. One was If I could give a nod to Tom as my ventriloquist instructor. The other was if the required five second title card counted within the five minute limitation. I found a thread on their discussion page. There I found out it ... there was an error in the original contest rules. The time limit is not five minutes ... it's two and a half.

HALF!!!!

Half. I can't believe it. Once again ... I have to rewrite. I understand. I mean ... I thought ... Wow! Five minutes. That's going to be a good piece of time. Even though I was having to shoehorn it into that slot, I thought it a pretty generous amount of time. I even thought that was a lot for the judges to have to wade through.

 But Holy Moses!!!

So here I go again ... I think I already got it ... And I understand that this is good practise. That in the real ventriloquism world that performance times get cut all the time ... and you just have to adapt.

But two and half minutes!!!

KETCHSUP: part 3 ONE STEP FORWARD

OK ... how does the saying go??? "One step forward ... Two steps back."

I've had plenty of experience with that. But lately it's been ... "One step forward, one step back ... one step to the side, one step forward ..."

I had gotten an idea for my Rene figure. I worked on several skits to bookend pieces on both Rene and the figure. I practised routines ... did research and found clips to illustrate points.

But then I decided to explore the concept of editing. You see while I was working on the Rene film, I became aware of how they were editing Jeff Dunham and Terry Fador. It seemed extremely fast. Cuts lasted no longer than six seconds. Boom, boom badaboom! I started looking at these over and over again. Watching. So I decided to make a film where I could try and duplicate what I was seeing. To see if it made a difference. So I got two dialogues together and peg an practise and started working on the feel of the film. And then ...

I got something in my email box. A notice from Axtell ... the puppet company ... about their video challenge. One step forward ... one step back .... one step to the side. So here we go, begining  yet another film.  The real challenge is that I have just to February 15th and I have five minutes as a time limit. I think so far, I have rewritten this about three times ... stressing over each change. I have had to learn to let go of what are major elements. Seeing what effects the timing. Allowing exploration. I am working fast and hard. I have finished my vent stand. The design as mention in the previous post was simplified. I made a laying box for Cluck Cluck. I'm working on opening titles and a process shot. And still practising ... practising ... practising.

KETCHSUP part two:

So I decided to build my own vent stand. They were going for about $125. I found a speaker stand on Amazon for like $20 and thought I was well on my way. I bought a board and some material ... including some velvet, buttons and fringe. I had designed it on paper. It looked good. First off, I got the stand and it looked sort of big. Bigger than it expected. Let me put it like this ... I could have a blacksmith build me a vent puppet. It's definitely heavy duty. Put on the board and it looked ok. Made my patterns ... and found I need new pair of scissors . Sewing by hand ...

Wow ... wish Mom was still alive. We use to make teddy bears together. I designed the patterns and did the hand work. She did the machine work. I can't believe I never learned to sew on a Singer. I have one that my Auntie Donna given me. Never even opened. But I have to learn .... for reasons that will become clear in a later posts. Mom never let me even close to it. Just because when I was three, I stuck my thumb under the needle of pump Singer. No stitches required.

Any way I got the pieces together. Hot glued the fringe and stepped back. I had some froo-froo to add and it just didn't fit. So much for design work. It's a case of less is more.

Lesson learned.

Hopefully.

KETCHSUP

OK I'm sorry. Life sometimes just gets in the way. And of late my existence seems to consist of work, walking/exercise and sleep. The holidays were good ... but busy. There is a lot going on. It's back to Doctor mode. This month it's the dentist, the blood doctor, blood work, the hygienist, and seeing about my cataracts. Fun, fun, fun.

I've got so many irons in the fire, and there are more irons than fire. Three videos, the making of a vent stand, and the dalliance of puppet building. Add to that the normal lessons, and practice ... for vent and three instruments ... dulcimer, uke, and harmonica.   Too many irons.

And then there's this blog. Well .... something had to give. I'm going to try this. I got this tablet in part to watch Netflix and such on it during breaks. Finally thought about how I could write these instead. Must of finally got the right ratio of coffee.

More to come.

I promise.