TWO AND A HALF MINUTES

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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.