Man Eating Plant Loose in Swazzle Workshop!

Swazzle's Audrey Two killer plant puppets are nearing completion. In this video, Swazzle puppeteers and puppet builders, Patrick Johnson and Russ Walko, test out Audrey II's man eating ability.

Swazzle and Patton Oswalt

Swazzle provided puppets and puppeteers for a short sketch at the beginning of Patton Oswalt's new comedy DVD, My Weakness is Strong. The unrated DVD (not for kids) hits store shelves today.

Swazzle puppeteers Grant Baciocco, Brian Clark, Artie Esposito, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Victoria Johnson, and Russ Walko all helped out on the shoot.

New Water Color Puppets

Patrick just finished a bunch of puppets for Swazzle's new glow in the dark under water puppet show, Water Color. Check them out.

Busy Day in the Swazzle Workshop

This is a busy time for Swazzle. Right now we are working on a couple of custom puppet builds - One of the puppets is a seven foot walk around. We are also building puppets for Swazzle's summer puppet show tour. Along with that we doing some creative development on some very cool projects... top secret, for now. Here are some photos from the day. Enjoy.

By the way, Swazzle is having auditions on April 30. Click here for more.



Swazzle Creative Director/puppeteer/puppet builder, Sean Johnson sews sea monster tentacles for the new Swazzle puppet show, Water Color.



Swazzle Creative Director/puppeteer/puppet builder, Patrick Johnson sands a nautilus shell for the new Swazzle puppet show, Water Color.



Puppet show creator/director Dan Clark in the Swazzle Workshop.



Puppeteer/puppet builder Russ Walko builds a seven foot walk around puppet for a short film.



Puppeteer/puppet builder Artie Exposito builds a puppet for a short film in The Swazzle Workshop.



Puppeteer/actor/writer Brian Clark develops a couple of new Swazzle projects in the Swazzle Workshop.

Swazzle Reel

We just finished cutting a new Swazzle reel. Check it out, and share it with your friends. Click the "HQ" button to watch a high quality version. Enjoy.

By the way, you can become a fan of Swazzle on Facebook. Click here to join the fun!

Kaney West and Monster Puppet

I managed to dig up some amateur video of the monster puppet Jim Henson's Creature Shop made for Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour. Patrick and I were part of the small team that built this huge puppet. It was made out of foam and fiberglass, and built on a carbon fiber spine. The entire monster is covered in fabric, and has hand stitched wrinkles and veins running up and down it's body. It was built over a couple weeks at the Creature Shop in Burbank CA. You can't tell from the video, but it also has a long tail. The videos were shot on cell phones by concert goers, so bear with the low quality of the image - they look a bit better if you watch them in high quality. Enjoy:

Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Video 4

Henson.com Podcast

Patrick Johnson, Patrick Bristow and I were interviewed for the June 16 edition of the Henson.com Podcast - Check it out. As a reminder, Puppet Up is playing at the Avalon in Hollywood this Saturday. Click here for more info.

Starfly

This is Starfly built by Patrick Johnson for the Swazzle puppet show Space Bugs Alpha. He is a delivery fly that awakes after oversleeping in hyper-sleep to discover that he is carrying some very important cargo.

Bobby Drone

This is Bobby Drone built by Patrick Johnson. He is a hand and rod puppet. In Space Bugs Zeta, Bobby Drone is sent on an important mission by the Queen Bee.

Hitler in Hell

Patrick performs the Hitler puppet for the JibJab Anniversary Sendable. In the final video the poles holding the chain were hidden behind a digital rock element, and the puppet’s hand hole, was covered with digital fire.

Performing Satan

Patrick Johnson puppeteers Satan's mouth and left hand, Sean Johnson assists with Satan's right hand. All of the puppets were shot at Jibjab's green screen studio and comped into their fiery environment using After Effects and Flash. See Satan in action in JibJab's new Sendables.

Swazzle Workshop Shoot 1

Today we shot at the Chiodo Brothers Studio for the second day. We completed most of two new episodes of our Swazzle web series, the Swazzle Workshop. In one episode Mayor Mole stops by to make a garbage monster rod puppet, and in the other Mama Dragon drops in to make a dragon sock puppet.

In this photo, I'm performing Tiger, Tim is performing Mayor Mole, Victoria is performing Mousedeer, and Anita is assisting with arm rods.

New Swazzle Workshop episodes premier the first of every month.

Friday Fun, Fox's Naked TV Part 3

This is Richard, a puppet built by Patrick for the 2005 production of Naked TV. He was based on a two demential animated character from the 2004 production. I voiced and performed him in both taped and live segments. Naked TV is evening of One-Act plays that serve as television show pilots, presented by Naked Angels and Fox Broadcasting Company.

Friday Fun, Fox's Naked TV

This is Shakespeare, a puppet I built based on Patrick's design for the 2005 production of Naked TV. Presented by Naked Angels and Fox Broadcasting Company, Naked TV is evening of One-Act plays that serve as television show pilots. Shakespeare was one of three puppet hosts that tied the plays together with both live and taped segments.

Friday Fun, Alien Short Film

These are some stills from a cool puppet short film. Patrick made the puppets and directed the piece. The short was made while he was involved in Group 101, where film makers make six shorts in six months. We'll be posting the film online in the near future, so stay tuned. In the mean time check out The Magic Meadow, The Mystery of Cobblestone Way, and Door to My Heart on YouTube.

Friday Fun: Swazzle's Puppet Greetings Shoot

Today we shot our Hazel and the Dragon Valentine's Day Puppet Greeting at the Chiodo Brothers Studio in Burbank CA. In this photo Anita performs Hazel, Patrick performs Filbert, (behind a pile of gifts) and Victoria assists.