To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org>
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:55:00 -0800
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Kukla, Lip Synch & History




Milt Kahl (animator) talking with Richard Williams (animator) had this to 
say about Jim Henson when asked about the secret of Lip Syncing in 
animation. (Referring to Jim Henson) "Well he is a Genius! He understands 
something that puppeteers never did before.  Here he's just got a sock over 
his hand and though he can never match the sound exactly, he does a far 
better job than most of us animators with our technical resources.  You 
watch what he is doing!  He's PROGRESSING the action.  He's GOING somewhere 
with that Frog when he is talking." -Source The Animator's Survival Kit

Richard Williams also points out that great lip Syncing is more to do about 
having a great sense of the FEELING of the word.

I personally think Henson was a master at this, he got it.  Just like a 
great puppeteer can deliver great emotions with a puppet without saying a 
word.

William

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Axtell" <steve-AT-axtell.com>
To: <puptcrit-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org>
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 10:17 AM
Subject: [Puptcrit] Kukla, Lip Synch & History


I joined puptcrit 10 or 12 years ago to gain an
understanding of the field with the specific
purpose of broadening my awareness of styles,
different views, and learn more about the history
of puppets.  This is one of the great values of this list.

As a kid I loved Kukla Fran and Ollie but was
always really bothered by Kukla's lip sych
manipulation.   The comic brilliance of Burr
Tillstrom aside, Kukla's mouth usually opened and
closed, biting the words rather than speaking
them.  I was always pre-occupied by that.   (Keep
in mind this was long before I saw Henson's work)

On a rec.arts.puppetry post from many years ago I found this.....

"Henson was quick to acknowledge the work of puppeteers before him. He
particularly admired Edgar Bergen. While KFO was good, it's style was much
the same as it had been since the middle-ages. But whereas KFO used a
traditional style comeplete with stage, Henson was the first to make the TV
screen the stage. This was a revolution in puppeteering. Henson was also one
of the first to lip-sync the puppet's mouth movements with their speech.
This made the characters appear real enough so that one could forget they
were puppets.   Patrick Joseph McNamara"

Is that accurate?  Was lip synch never an issue
in puppetry before Henson?   It's hard to believe
that with all the effort to create the illusion
of life, that there wasn't an effort to move the
mouth as if it were real speech.

I'm really curious.  Were mouth puppets not
common before TV?  I doubt it but I don't
know.  Punch & Judy had an Crocodile, but did it
ever talk?  What other early mouth puppets were
there before Kukla?  What is the time line?

I look forward to learning.....thanks.


Steve Axtell
Axtell Expressions, Inc.
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is =A9 2005 Axtell Expressions, Inc.



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