Critique 2 Idea Development - Puppeteer Animation in DAZ Studio

Daz Studio offers a virtual environment and toolset for the posing and animation of 3D character models and props. Unlike traditional 3D polygon modeling software, the 3D content is not actually created in Daz Studio. Rather, 3D models are imported from other software packages, such as 3D Studio Max or Maya, or purchased from various 3D character model retailers, such as Renderosity.

Critique 2 Idea Development - Kinect Interactive Puppet

I found this is interesting that could be apply in puppet show.

Two designers, Emily Gobeille and Theo Watson, have whipped up this digital puppet prototype with it. It's a 2D puppet that uses skeleton tracking on an arm to control the movement and posture of the puppet. They hacked it together in a day using open-source Kinect drivers, which is pretty cool.

Speed project - made in a day using openFrameworks and libFreenect.

Concept and Production by Design I/O
Emily Gobeille - Theo Watson
design-io.com

3D depth camera for arm tracking, courtesy of Microsoft and the open source / diy community :)

Critique 2 Precedence Study - Rod Puppet

Yuqin Wang is an outstanding artist; her stage career started early. By the age of 19, she had already sung and acted in scores of classical Beijing operas. Beginning in 1964, she directed her artistic energy toward puppetry.

Through years of research and experimentation, she brought new excitement to puppetry by weaving into it traditional opera techniques. She has played the lead role in more than thirty puppet shows, numerous movies and television programs. She has performed throughout the world, receiving critical praise everywhere.

In 2004, with Zhengli Xu, Yuqin Wang received the National Heritage Fellowship.

Zhengli Xu has performed as a Chinese rod puppeteer for over 40 years. Graduating from Beijing Puppetry Art School with a major in show production and direction, he spent many years studying under the great puppet masters of China. Like Mrs. Wang, he has traveled to many foreign countries to perform. Drawing on his many years of experience in puppet making, direction, performance and stage design, Xu produced and performed a large production of Maiden Pearl at The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center in Portland, Oregon in September 1999 to critical acclaim. Mr. Xu designs and creates all the puppets, sets, staging and props, and selects the traditional Chinese music for the performances.

Awards:

• National Heritage Fellowship, with Zhengli Xu National Endowment for the Arts
• Excellence in Performance Award Association of Art and Culture, Beijing
• Best Artistic Expression, Children's Favorite Award 11th International Festival of Puppetry, Yugoslavia.

Critique 2 Precedence Study - String Puppet

String puppets are beloved and adored by children and adults alike. Many cultures have used

string puppets,also called marionettes, for entertainment, artistic and even religious and political

purposes. In different areas of the world, string puppets vary greatly in their function, design and

artistic execution.

Ancient World

1. There is evidence that marionettes were used as toys or entertainment for children in classical Greece. Dolls have been found alongside children in grave sites dating from this period. Archaeologists who unearthed these dolls found holes for string manipulation, leading them to believe that these dolls were in fact marionettes. Writings from Plato and Aristotle also mention puppet performances, confirming this theory.
2. Marionettes as Divine
3. String puppets have been associated with the divine. The term "marionette" means "little Mary," after the Virgin Mary of the Christian tradition. Some scholars believe this alludes to the fact that many Christian plays were performed with Mary as a puppet character. Others postulate that the term refers to the "divine" effect that is achieved by being manipulated from above by strings. This manipulation makes the puppets ethereal, as if floating.
4. Chinese Marionettes
5. The Chinese as well as the Europeans recognized the link between string puppets and the divine. Though many forms of puppetry exist in China, marionettes have traditionally had a specific function. String puppet performances were said to drive away evil spirits and were used to offer thanks and praise to the gods.
6. Here is the news about Taiwan glove puppet VS China QuanZhou string puppet.
7. Taichung, Taiwan was organize a special exhibition of cultural heritage, including an old master from China, a big show of puppetry's unique skills, through the hands of the 36 strings, not only can make moves like a real life-like, and even changes the expression in detailed.

As the video mentioned, the more of strings you used, the more flexibly of puppets.

Critique 2 Precedence Study - Stage Designs

From the image above, the stage design changing based on different stories. The purpose of doing this is to enhance the realistic scenes and convey the message clearly.

Critique 2 Precedence Study - Puppet Designs

Remark : Click the image to enlarge it. ^^

Well....As you can see there are many different types of puppet designs came from every state in China. I'm going to list down the places name by following the flow from left to right which is:

1. China Puppet
2. JiangXi Puppet Theater
3. HuNan Puppet and Shadow Art Troupe
4. YangZhou Puppet Theater
5. Shanxi Puppet
6. ShanXiSheng Puppet
7. Rod JiangSu Folk
8. Opera Fan
9. China Puppet Art Troupe 1
10. China Puppet Art Troupe 2
11. China Puppet Art Troupe 3
12. Hebei QuQiao MinJian Rod Puppet
13. Shanghai Puppet Theater
14. Inner Mongolia Puppet
15. ShenYang Army Puppet Art
16. ChaoZhou, GuangDong Wire Puppet
17. YaoFa Puppet
18. Meat Puppet

Critique 2 Precedence Study - Puppet show stage

No matter what form of performances, puppet stage performances are required, as a segment of the front and back stage, and between audience and artist features, while providing the required dramatic performances set. Puppet shows early stage of development, the stage is more primitive, only pole, simple stage set up inexpensive cloth. Then gradually popular puppet theater, the stage has become more complex. The Theatre is about three to five meters wide, there are four pillars and the middle hall, it is the activities for the puppet stage, and its being surrounded on three sides emptiness in the lobby with a layer of diplomatic relations screen, performing artists used to cover the early and carved decorative corner shelf are relatively simple, but the latter part of the progressive development of more complex refined, with wood carving techniques and style of traditional Chinese architecture to create the stage.
In 19th century, the development of a hexagonal shed puppet stage, the left and right in front of the stage plus a slope, to attract the audience left and right sides, such hexagonal stage design, although not large, although the stage wide-field rate increase, but it makes the stage space and the rich visual effect more change. And such beautiful and rich decorative stage, although able to attract the audience and the sculpture is the art itself, but is expensive and difficult to transport, so not all of the troupe are affordable, so in Taiwan in the 1930s, there has been a billboard-style painting species Theatre. Decorative patterns such stage painted all the way to flat production, the cost of cheaper and easy to carry, and the stage effect is not lost to traditional stage. So far, the Theatre is still the main stage puppet troupes’ choice.