An Intensive 3 Week Summer TV Puppetry Workshop 2010 in Sydney, Australia

Our first International three-week intensive Puppetry for Television and the Web workshop will take place at the Wesley Institute for the Arts in Sydney from 11 to 30 January 2010.

This puppetry workshop is suitable for film-makers, performers, puppeteers, educators and others interested in learning about puppetry for the screen. The course includes design and construction of puppets, manipulation for the camera, developing scenarios for performance, voice characterisation, and directing short performances. Participants will develop, perform, produce and edit their short scenarios for webcast on a dedicated puppetry ‘You Tube’ channel.

This course examines the art of puppetry in the 20th century and its effectiveness as a medium of communication in our digital age. The history of the puppet on film and television from Burr Tillstrom’s Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Jim Henson’s Muppets to contemporary productions will be explored.

Participants will work with professional puppet builders to design and construct their characters. Specialised puppetry techniques required to perform for the camera will be developed. We will specifically focus on developing characters and will spend time improvising on camera to discover the puppet’s individual personality, voice and movement.

We will explore the art of the puppet effectively interacting with live performers on camera.
An Australian cinematographer will teach camera techniques to capture and enhance the performance on screen. Each group will have an opportunity to edit their short pieces.
The participants will investigate effective television techniques and learn how these differ from developing a production or series for the web.

The workshop is produced by Gary Friedman Productions in association with Wesley Institute for the Arts and is aimed at anyone interested in producing, performing and directing puppetry for television and the internet. We have all the facilities and nearby accommodation available and it'll be a wonderful opportunity to experience an Australian summer. For full information, email me here!

African TV Puppetry Workshop 2009 is First Official International UNIMA Project

Internationally acclaimed Kenyan puppetry group "CHAPS" have had their first 'Puppetry for Television and Web Workshop' scheduled for October 2009 accepted as an official pilot project of the UNIMA Commission for International Cooperation in Switzerland. For further details, see here!

The two-week intense workshop, which will be conducted by African-Australian puppeteer, Gary Friedman, is due to take place during the International Puppetry Festival in Nairobi in October 2009. The workshop is aimed to give the already existing group of over four hundred East African puppeteers, who were trained by Friedman in the nineteen-nineties in 'Puppetry for Development' work, further skills to take their messages into the multi-media, via television and the internet.

I recorded a short film on CHAPS 'Puppets Against Corruption' project in the early nineteen-nineties which you can view here!

Learning to use rods for arm manipulation

Weekend... Time to browse a little and on PuppetryLab.com I found some really good instruction for students of Puppetry for Film and TV learning to manipulate the arm rods while still keeping the puppet alive and focused. I know my students always struggle at first to get the balance between manipulating the puppet's arms while keeping the puppet's head alive and animated. The first advice is practice in front of a camera as much as possible and if you don't own a camera and monitor to watch what your puppet is doing, then practice at least in the bathroom mirror every morning after cleaning your teeth.

New TV Puppetry Course in Sydney

Bettina and Zoe, two of our new students demo their talents in the new beginner's Puppetry for TV and the Web Course which started recently at The Wesley Institute in Sydney. The eight week course will run every Wednesday evening until 22 April. We are now completing our puppets and sewing our skin this week and then we're out there performing, so stay tuned for a taste of our short films in a few weeks!

We are also currently organising an intensive International Three-Week TV and Web Course for January 2010. If you are interested, please register your email with PuppetryNews (on the right under my chair) now!

PUPPETRY COURSES and EVENTS for 2009

It's hard to believe that the holiday season has come and gone and here we are into a new year. We are now planning new puppetry courses, as well as launching a brand new puppetry broadcast company this year, so stay tuned.

Despite all the troubles in the world, I remain extremely optimistic for 2009. I believe this will be a year for great opportunities and the year we shall put puppetry firmly on the webcast market!

But firstly, our first Puppetry for Film and Television Course for 2009, will begin in Sydney on 25 February and run until 22 April.

Gary Friedman Productions presents a unique opportunity to learn the art of puppetry for the camera in Australia. The course is suitable for film-makers, performers, puppeteers, teachers and others interested in learning about puppetry for the screen. The course will include design and construction of puppets, manipulation for the camera, developing scenarios for performance, voice characterisation, and the directing of short performances.

Participants will develop, perform and direct their short scenarios for a course DVD.

Venue: The Wesley Institute for the Arts, 5 Mary Street, Drummoyne, in Sydney

Dates: Eight consecutive Wednesday evenings from 25 February to 22 April 2009 (Excluding Wed 8 April) Time: 6pm to 9pm

Cost: *$749 (including materials)
*Early-bird: $50 discount for all bookings before 31 January 2009

To check out a short film of the course, click here!
For bookings or more information, contact me here!