Drama
For drama this quarter, we have been studying about puppets, puppets all over the world. Puppets coming from different countries, however the task I am uploading is a essay about a muppet I have chosen. The muppet which I have chosen is Elmo, luckily I was able to write about Elmo because Elmo was the only muppet which I knew and I luckily got the first pick. So I researched basicall on everything about Elmo.
Aditya
19/01/2012
Class 8.1
Muppet Research
Amazing Elmo
Elmo is a muppet character from the children tv show called Sesame Street. He’s a red furry monster and currently hosts the last 15 minutes of Sesame Streat called Elmo’s World which is for babies. Elmo is described as a three and half years old and he avoids pronouns, he refers himself as the third person. For example rather than saying “I have a question”, Elmo says “Elmo has a question.” Elmo has parents, Mae and Louis who speak with Southern American accents.
The staff writer from Sesame Street, Nancy Sans once stated how Elmo was found. She said that there was a extra red puppet lying around in the studio. The cast would pick it up and play with it. Sometimes they would try to create a personality for the puppet. However, nothing seemed to happened.
The puppet was first performed by Carrol Spinney in the early 1970’s. It was then continued by Brian Muehl from 1979 to 1981, also by Richard Hunt from 1981 to 1984. However in the late 1984,a talented puppeteer named Kevin Clash raised him. Kevin gave energy and life which made the puppet into Elmo. It was then when people started to write for Elmo.
The personality of Elmo is quite obvious, he is a cheerful red furry monster. He is sweet, he has a fun-loving nature and he has a high pitched voice. His puppeteer is Kevin Clash who uses a tool called a falsetto to produce Elmo’s voice. Elmo is a muppet who loves life and learns through games and asking questions. Elmo is very optimistic, he is fascinated with minor actions in life such as washing hands, tying shoes, singing and hopping with one foot. Elmo truly has a personality that attracts toddlers.
Kevin Clash is indeed a very talented puppeteer, he has made puppets since the age of 10. He started to perform puppetry as a hobby when he was a teenager at Baltimore ‘s Inner Harbor. After hearing about Sesame Street, he loved the muppets and officially became a puppeteer in 1984. The technique of puppetry used by Kevin is very impressive. There are two puppet styles used in Elmo.
The first style is indeed the hand puppet. A hand puppet is the simplest form of all puppets. It only consists of a cloth tube in which the puppeteer will put his hand inside. A hand puppet can be made by a sock, glove or others. Elmo is definitely a hand puppet, if you see the picture on the above, the puppeteer Kevin Clash has his hand inside tihe cloth tube.
However, Elmo is not completely a hand puppet. If you analyze Elmo, his hands are awfully long which will not fit human hands. Which is why Kevin Clash uses rods to move Elmo’s hands. This means that Elmo also is a rod puppet. The picture on the left will show the rods easier. The rods aren’t in the arms though, the rods are placed in the wrist because the arm isn’t a joint.
It’s surprising how Kevin Clash can control two rods with one hand. It’s amazing how he does it in during Sesame Street. I have always wondered where the puppeteer is while the muppets move. Well logically the puppeteer would be underneath the muppet, and it’s correct. Based on the picture I have found, Kevin Clash is beneath Elmo while performing.
The origins of Elmo may have been clear that he was found in the cast. However, the origins of who actually invented Elmo as in the puppet itself remains a mystery. Creating a puppet is difficult, espacially for a puppet like Elmo. Elmo is both hand and rod puppet. For its interior body, puppeteers usually use foam just like the picture below. For the head, it is usually made by thick cardboard or a illustrators board. The last important part is the skin, the skin is from cloth, usually the cloth named anton fleece. For hands and legs, the inventors would still use foam and glue it with the body. There is a special glue named foam glue. I am sorry I cannot give exact materials in how Elmo was invented for it’s inventor is unknown.
In conclusion, Elmo is a very unique muppet. He has a very optimistic personality, he likes to sing, dance, play games and other joyful things. What’s more interesting is that he is both a hand and rod puppet. This truly proves how truly amazing Elmo is.
Reference
By, Posted, and Saskia De Melker. "'Being Elmo': The Man Behind the Muppet | Art Beat | PBS NewsHour | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2011/12/being-elmo.html>.
Davies , Jennifer. "Characters Come and Go, but Elmo's Truly a Monster | The San Diego Union-Tribune." San Diego News, Local, California and National News | UTSanDiego.com. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. <http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061123/news_1n23elmo.html>.
"HowStuffWorks "Muppet Bodies"" HowStuffWorks "Entertainment" Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/muppet1.htm>.
Troutdale, Tig In. "All Things Elmo!" Yahoo! Voices - Voices.yahoo.com. Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/all-things-elmo-108401.html>.
"What Kind of Puppet Is Elmo? | ChaCha." Questions & Answers | ChaCha. Web. 15 Jan. 2012. <http://www.chacha.com/question/what-kind-of-puppet-is-elmo>.
"What Materials Do You Use for Muppet-type Puppets?" School of Puppetry. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.schoolofpuppetry.com.au/tutorials.php/what-materials-do-you-use-for-muppet-type-puppets>.
19/01/2012
Class 8.1
Muppet Research
Amazing Elmo
Elmo is a muppet character from the children tv show called Sesame Street. He’s a red furry monster and currently hosts the last 15 minutes of Sesame Streat called Elmo’s World which is for babies. Elmo is described as a three and half years old and he avoids pronouns, he refers himself as the third person. For example rather than saying “I have a question”, Elmo says “Elmo has a question.” Elmo has parents, Mae and Louis who speak with Southern American accents.
The staff writer from Sesame Street, Nancy Sans once stated how Elmo was found. She said that there was a extra red puppet lying around in the studio. The cast would pick it up and play with it. Sometimes they would try to create a personality for the puppet. However, nothing seemed to happened.
The puppet was first performed by Carrol Spinney in the early 1970’s. It was then continued by Brian Muehl from 1979 to 1981, also by Richard Hunt from 1981 to 1984. However in the late 1984,a talented puppeteer named Kevin Clash raised him. Kevin gave energy and life which made the puppet into Elmo. It was then when people started to write for Elmo.
The personality of Elmo is quite obvious, he is a cheerful red furry monster. He is sweet, he has a fun-loving nature and he has a high pitched voice. His puppeteer is Kevin Clash who uses a tool called a falsetto to produce Elmo’s voice. Elmo is a muppet who loves life and learns through games and asking questions. Elmo is very optimistic, he is fascinated with minor actions in life such as washing hands, tying shoes, singing and hopping with one foot. Elmo truly has a personality that attracts toddlers.
Kevin Clash is indeed a very talented puppeteer, he has made puppets since the age of 10. He started to perform puppetry as a hobby when he was a teenager at Baltimore ‘s Inner Harbor. After hearing about Sesame Street, he loved the muppets and officially became a puppeteer in 1984. The technique of puppetry used by Kevin is very impressive. There are two puppet styles used in Elmo.
The first style is indeed the hand puppet. A hand puppet is the simplest form of all puppets. It only consists of a cloth tube in which the puppeteer will put his hand inside. A hand puppet can be made by a sock, glove or others. Elmo is definitely a hand puppet, if you see the picture on the above, the puppeteer Kevin Clash has his hand inside tihe cloth tube.
However, Elmo is not completely a hand puppet. If you analyze Elmo, his hands are awfully long which will not fit human hands. Which is why Kevin Clash uses rods to move Elmo’s hands. This means that Elmo also is a rod puppet. The picture on the left will show the rods easier. The rods aren’t in the arms though, the rods are placed in the wrist because the arm isn’t a joint.
It’s surprising how Kevin Clash can control two rods with one hand. It’s amazing how he does it in during Sesame Street. I have always wondered where the puppeteer is while the muppets move. Well logically the puppeteer would be underneath the muppet, and it’s correct. Based on the picture I have found, Kevin Clash is beneath Elmo while performing.
The origins of Elmo may have been clear that he was found in the cast. However, the origins of who actually invented Elmo as in the puppet itself remains a mystery. Creating a puppet is difficult, espacially for a puppet like Elmo. Elmo is both hand and rod puppet. For its interior body, puppeteers usually use foam just like the picture below. For the head, it is usually made by thick cardboard or a illustrators board. The last important part is the skin, the skin is from cloth, usually the cloth named anton fleece. For hands and legs, the inventors would still use foam and glue it with the body. There is a special glue named foam glue. I am sorry I cannot give exact materials in how Elmo was invented for it’s inventor is unknown.
In conclusion, Elmo is a very unique muppet. He has a very optimistic personality, he likes to sing, dance, play games and other joyful things. What’s more interesting is that he is both a hand and rod puppet. This truly proves how truly amazing Elmo is.
Reference
By, Posted, and Saskia De Melker. "'Being Elmo': The Man Behind the Muppet | Art Beat | PBS NewsHour | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2011/12/being-elmo.html>.
Davies , Jennifer. "Characters Come and Go, but Elmo's Truly a Monster | The San Diego Union-Tribune." San Diego News, Local, California and National News | UTSanDiego.com. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. <http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20061123/news_1n23elmo.html>.
"HowStuffWorks "Muppet Bodies"" HowStuffWorks "Entertainment" Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/muppet1.htm>.
Troutdale, Tig In. "All Things Elmo!" Yahoo! Voices - Voices.yahoo.com. Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/all-things-elmo-108401.html>.
"What Kind of Puppet Is Elmo? | ChaCha." Questions & Answers | ChaCha. Web. 15 Jan. 2012. <http://www.chacha.com/question/what-kind-of-puppet-is-elmo>.
"What Materials Do You Use for Muppet-type Puppets?" School of Puppetry. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.schoolofpuppetry.com.au/tutorials.php/what-materials-do-you-use-for-muppet-type-puppets>.
Reflection
From this assignment, I would say I have done a very good job. The main reason is that I got the muppet Elmo, also the fact that i got the first pick. Unlike some of my friends who got muppets that I never have heard of. Muppets by the way is a show made long ago that is all about puppets. The one thing which I could have improved would be to find the materials.. One component in the essay was to find out how the muppet was made, using what? But I couldn't find it which is why it prevented me in getting a full mark. The IB learner profile which I learned from this assignment is principled because I could have writen some lye about how Elmo was made. Or a lye about the material used in the muppet Elmo. But I didn't because I was being good, being right, being principled.
From this assignment, I would say I have done a very good job. The main reason is that I got the muppet Elmo, also the fact that i got the first pick. Unlike some of my friends who got muppets that I never have heard of. Muppets by the way is a show made long ago that is all about puppets. The one thing which I could have improved would be to find the materials.. One component in the essay was to find out how the muppet was made, using what? But I couldn't find it which is why it prevented me in getting a full mark. The IB learner profile which I learned from this assignment is principled because I could have writen some lye about how Elmo was made. Or a lye about the material used in the muppet Elmo. But I didn't because I was being good, being right, being principled.