Learn what it takes to make dynamic-looking characters in your puppet designs. Noah Ginex will show you how different shapes & colors affect your character's mood & up your design game.
This class was created to help skilled professionals without a teaching background translate their knowledge into clear & meaningful curriculum.
Description:
If you want to present at a place like Gencon but don’t know where to start, or simply want to make your presentations better then this is the class for you. “How to Teach a Workshop” was created to help skilled professionals without a teaching background translate their knowledge into clear & meaningful curriculum. Topics covered include writing a lesson plan, marketing your class, time/classroom management, supplemental material development, & teaching theories such as Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence & differentiated instruction. Participants should leave with the skills necessary to plan a lesson & map out all of the prep work & skills necessary to execute their class successfully.
Puppet Builder Gordon Smuder talks detailing for television-style puppets. Eyes, ears, noses, teeth, tongues, you name it!
Description:
Professional Puppet Builder (& previous Gen Con Puppetry Track GOH) Gordon Smuder gives up all his secrets for detailing foam & fleece (Muppet-style) television puppets. Bring a note pad (or a sketch book!) because the info will be flowing hot & heavy!
Lotte Reiniger is an unsung treasure in puppetry & animation with a career spanning 50 years & 30+ films. Animation historian Whitney Grace will reveal Reiniger's career & contribution to history.
Description:
For 3 years during the 1920s, in an attic in Potsdam, a young woman crafted what is today the oldest surviving animated feature film. Equipped with scissors, cardboard, sheets of lead, glass panes & a camera, animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger filmed Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed) using a technique of frame-by-frame silhouette animation she developed. As the result of a number of factors--her gender, her German ethnicity, World War II & a lack of funding--Reiniger became a footnote in animation history. Yet her 60-plus films plainly show her skill & dedication to her craft. This detailed account of her life & work describes her significant contributions to animation, puppetry, Weimar cinema & modern filmmaking
This is a seminar on making dynamic puppet films & videos, from script to screen.
Description:
Noah Ginex will lead a panel discussion about film & video making with puppets; from script writing to storyboarding & shooting, to editing & music. This panel has been making puppet movies for over 20 years, from home demos to professional music videos, & everything in between. They have plenty of tips & tricks to share, & are eager to help beginners figure out how to bring their ideas to life.
Valerie Meiss holds a guided open forum about puppets as cosplay, travel buddies, professional & passion projects. Focusing on how-to's, & answering questions about whatever it is you want to build.
Description:
With her detailed experience in both found/recycled parts, & professional tools & materials, Valerie Meiss will help you problem solve whatever is needed to make your next creation. Sample works will be passed around, & discussed. Infused with the bizarre philosophy of making puppets, Valerie brings experience from studying puppetry around the globe & teaches you to make puppets & then follow them to the strange & incredible places they will take you. (& they will.) All skill levels welcome, any projects in whatever state are welcome too! Come join in the friendly adventure of #makepuppetsmakefriends.
A panel of experts will lead a discussion and demonstration of tabletop puppetry with audience participation & lots of fun.
Description:
Tabletop puppetry dates back hundreds of years & spans many cultures. This style of puppetry is common practice in pop-culture--moreso than a lot of people realize. Come learn what it takes to be a tabletop puppeteer.