Caitlyn Connelly — Research Update #2

This week’s research updates will overlap a bit with my Industry Event post, since I’ve been reflecting on my visit to the Jim Henson exhibition and how it has helped in my process. Find that post here.

I’ve continued working on my prototype for next week, which will be finished as soon as my sewing machine gets delivered! Since it’s about 2 hours from being finished, here’s my takeaway from my prototype puppet:

1. Take time with the details. I made the decision to “rush” through this prototype puppet to make mistakes and figure out where I was ASAP. (It was also good for my usual perfectionist self to just get through something and learn from mistakes.) I stand by this decision! But I definitely want to be a lot more painstaking in the character puppets. For example, making seams line up on the neck, body, and arms, and making sure facial features are on symmetrically.
2. Roll with the changes. I talked about this a little bit in my last post, but I’ve struggled with being nervous that my puppets won’t look like what I pictured in my head. My prototype hasn’t ended up exactly what I pictured either (not for better or worse, just different). Truth is, it’s my first time working with puppets and I’ll have a hard time imagining results within the realm of reality. So I need to be prepared to roll with the changes in the designs based around the materials and skills I have available.

As I discussed at the end of my Industry Events post, I’ve been researching to further define the themes and tone of my show before I totally finalize the script. I was inspired by this sheet I saw at the Jim Henson exhibition to make a list of all the themes and adjectives to describe my show. I expanded it further to describe the two main characters, since I’ve found that creating unique, flawed characters is a huge part of the children’s shows I’m modeling my show after (Sesame Street, The Muppets, Nick/Cartoon Network shows I mentioned in my research plan). Find this sheet below!