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.

River Otter Painted Drop

Swazzle's new puppet stages feature a large painted drop between the two playing areas. Here are some photos of me painting the drop for River Otter Circus, and the final product.

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.

The Ringmaster's Son

This is the latest puppet for the new Swazzle puppet show, The River Otter Circus. I built him based on Patrick's design. The River Otter Circus will begin it's Northern California tour on June 16, 2009, it moves to San Diego on July 20, 2009. Check out Swazzle.com for a complete tour schedule.

Ringmaster

This is the Ringmaster the newest puppet I built for the new Swazzle The River Otter Circus. He's and hand puppet and his arms move like a glove puppet. The fur was dyed and boiled to get that fun color and texture. I think he looks like cotton candy, which is perfect for a circus. This little guy also has a black top and a bow tie.

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!

I'm in Animation Magazine

The March issue of Animation Magazine did a two page article on Team Smithereen, the new stunt puppet show from The Dan Clark Company/W!ldbrain/Jetix Europe. I'm pictured with show creator Dan Clark, and a crazy monster puppet. Team Smithereen will be coming out in the first quarter of 2009 - in the mean time check out the show's production blog: teamsmithereen.blogspot.com. You can pick up a copy of Animation Magazine at your local newsstand or on their website.

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

Digg my Blog - Mini Update

Hey readers of Puppet 101, I just added some share buttons and a Digg button to my blog. If you like Puppet 101 please help out by digging it or sharing it on your favorite social networking site.

This has been a super busy time for myself and Swazzle. We had another very busy summer of puppet shows, and then Patrick and I rolled right into the crazy stunt puppet production Team Smithereen. A few months back we moved into our brand new workshop in Glendale, and for the last couple of day's we have been rehearsing our brand new holiday puppet show, Live from the Ice Cube. Believe it or not, we are already planning our two new summer puppet shows: The River Otter Circus, and Water Color. Water Color will feature light up "neon" fish puppets - more on that later.

I hope you are all keeping busy with some fun puppet projects. Please keep me updated, and always feel free to email me your puppet questions: sean@swazzle.com

By the way, I will be adding some new behind the scenes puppet building photos once we begin production on the new summer puppet shows.

Team Smithereen Behind the Scenes Video

Check out this crazy behind the scenes video from the set of Team Smithereen. I'm the one in the mask and black plastic bag. Enjoy.

Puppet Stage 3.0

We tried a PVC stage and a wood frame stage but we needed something better. As we designed our next stage, we addressed the short comings of our previous stages. The new stage would have to be sturdy, light weight, easy to set up, and take up less space.

The stage that came next was pretty good, and it lasted a long time. The whole thing was built on a hinged 2X4 frame that sat on the ground. The vertical poles were made from PVC (keeping in mind our first PVC stage, these poles were connected together with a bungy cord, like a tent pole). The play board and back support were made from wooden curtain rods, so they wouldn’t sag like PVC. The rods were connected with a PVC joint. The sides were made from metal electrical conduit - sturdy, but heavy.

This stage worked nicely, but after a couple of years, it began to break down. The real weakness was the wooden base. Eventually, the large wooden pegs that secured the vertical PVC poles began to break, the hinges on the wooden base came unscrewed, and the front and side 2X4s were no longer sitting squarely on the ground. The stage became very wobbly, and unstable.

The final blow for one stage came during our extended run at the Los Angles Zoo. Anita and a member of the zoo staff attempted to move the stage for a special event, and the whole base twisted and broke. We managed to tape it up for the rest of the run, but it forever lilted to one side. It was time for another puppet stage.

Sean and Satan's Minion

This is me performing one of Satan's Minions in a new JibJab Sendable. In the final video he was composited in with the Hitler puppet performed by Patrick. Check out all of the Greetings from Hell Sendables at JibJab.com

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.

Friday Fun, American Idol

This is a shot of me on the Paramount back lot during the shooting of a Ford spot that played during season 4 of American Idol.

Friday Fun, Fantastic Burgers

This is a rock puppet that I made for a Burger King "Fantastic Four" commercial. The puppet was sculpted out of a block of foam and painted with layers of latex paint. Because the mouth was practically invisible when it was closed, it could easily be sealed shut or cut open depending on the needs of the director. In the final cut of the commercial the non puppet version was featured.

Friday Fun: You've Got to Start Somewhere

I thought it might be fun to show all of you my very first puppet. This is a sock puppet I made when I was in Jr. High School - Enjoy!