Puppets - Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance - page 35

Marionettes
My wish for more complex movement from ventriloquist puppets also applies to marionettes.
I am full of admiration for the craft and the dynamic storytelling of such shows as Gerry
Anderson's brilliant Thunderbirds , but I wanted more from the puppets themselves. By their
nature, marionettes have a more lyrical, smoother movement, with gestures l owing and
overlapping into each other, lacking the sharp precision of stop motion. Gravity and the natural
bounce and momentum in the strings do not always allow sudden moves with dramatic
instant pauses. Some marionettes can get a bit syrupy without the clarity and energy that stop
motion can provide.
The animator animates: Anthony Scott drawn by Chris Butler.
Thunderbirds was an exciting series about a family providing a catalyst for the vivid action
scenes involving Derek Medding's astonishing model work and special ef ects, with the
l amboyance of Lady Penelope and Parker thrown in. The show made up for limited movement
in the characters by using the old standby we have all relied on: put the characters
in a vehicle (but what sensational machines) and have the vehicles race around,
not only providing great pacing, but also speeding up production. In Rigoletto ,
lacking the necessary time to animate as much walking as I would have liked, the
camera provided much of the movement. This also suited the i lm, as the camera
became illustrative of the music itself. There are always ways to fool the audience
into thinking they have seen a puppet running into shot.