ABSTRACT
Starting somewhere Where to start with a fi lm? Perhaps ‘what’s the point? ’ is a good question, followed by ‘can this fi lm be made with actors? ’ Others are ‘do I care enough to spend a year with these characters?’, ‘do I know enough about it all? ’, ‘have I got the energy and focus to go through with all this?’, ‘this may be my one chance with this theme, is it right? ’ and ‘have I thought it all through?’ Much soul searching happens before anything moves; well, it should. Then there are the technical questions about how long will the fi lm be, what sort of scale, what sort of puppets, what about the budget, what about the technique, what sort of style, who is it for, and many similar questions. No animation can be done without such preparation. The main thought has to be the story or the perspective. I have been guilty of having great visuals in my head, but then have struggled to fi nd a reason for them. Others have fallen in love with an innovative technique, but have not had the story to support it. Others start with a puppet then try to fi nd a story for it. Puppets may not be the most appropriate way to go at all, and I have given up on good ideas before now, because another technique might validate the subject better. But ‘puppets’ is a vague word, probably defi ned as something loosely fi gurative that is used to express character and emotion; something that is given life and controlled by another, perhaps; something eighty feet high operated by dozens of technicians, or pieces of felt on a fi nger.
