As long as the kid is the little monster from next door, I am sure it would be ok. If on the other hand you were to shoot their little precious out of the cannon. . .may God help you!

Steve
http://www.thedummyshoppe.com

Steve;
When I was very young, I was the little monster from next door.

Why do I have such a problem seeing that?


Steve
http://www.thedummyshoppe.com

I personally like a figure with side to side eyes, winkers and raising brows... those animations add a lot of possible routines and ideas.

I have a Payes old man with side to side eyes, raising brows and wiggling ears... the ears only move once during the 5-7 minute routine

I have also tried figures with only one movement, the mouth of course and had no problems with the act

I have the twin to Wanlu's old man, I rarely use more than the mouth. Mine doesn't have the flapping ears.
My Selberg has op and down eyebrows, even though they still stick in the up posistion. closeing and wide eye and seperate winlkers. and side to sid eeyes. I use the eyes and the blinkers!
I would have closeing eyes fitted as the first extra to any new figure!

Colin
http://www.aceofdiamonds.co.uk

Colin:

First you NEED the flapping ears…

Seriously, the only additional movement I would like now is the frowning eye brows; after that the blinkers and the winkers; for now Dan has side to side eyes and raising brows, all I can handle now with my level of training.

My question is;

The extra movements you have now, are you pleased with them, or wish they were not installed?

On the movements that you rarely use, when you do use them are they an audience pleaser?

When you do use them, can you hear or see the reaction of the audience responding?

Everyone, please contribute with your comments.

Jim Barber had a puppet routine using just..... his right hand.

Scripting, talent, showmanship is the key to any performances.

Oh yes... I only use the wiggling ears once in the old man's routine and it get's an extra roar or laughter

I agree 100%

... but the thread is about figure animations.

I am now working on the script, and I believe that I have the talent and showmanship



I am looking for creative ways to get the extra roar that Wanul has experienced.

I know, I'm just bringing out the other extreme end.

Dave Paddleton on one end, Jim Barber on the other end, and we are all in-between.

But think about it, Jim's hand becomes his 'figure', isn't it?

We have not gone off the topic, it is part of the topic.

Do you rely on animations only, or do you need talent and showmanship as well?

Easy question to answer. Do you see any of the top vents just relying on animations?

There you go, if you're a vent, it's a package deal. If you're any kind of a performer, you need talent and showmanship, and if you're a performer who is a vent, then you need those, plus technical ability in both controlling your lip movement and your figure's movements.

Something else that I hadn't thought about before but sort of came to me the other day, I think it was after reading Dan's post about Dave Pendleton who he said would tell you "less is more".
I think over the years, I've noticed that the people most interested in a lot of animations are people who are new to it. I don't know if they think it will help make their act better, or if they're just fascinated by a figure that can do all that stuff, or maybe both. I know when I started out, I used to dream about having a figure that had all the bells & whistles, and I will unabashedly admit it was for both reasons, but along the way without even realizing it, I started losing interest in all the extras.
But if you look at the people who have been doing vent for a good length of time, it seems most have figures with a minimum of movements, or if they have a figure with a lot of extra animations, you seldom see them used.

I am new so I can tell what I am thinking.

Comments with a * are comments from others that I cut and pasted from this thread

Q. blueshawk1;

*I've noticed that the people most interested in a lot of animations are people who are new to it. I don't know if they think it will help make their act better.

A. Buzz:

IMHO, I think it will make my act different, and I will enjoy playing with the movements on stage; the ONLY reason I have not ordered the bells and whistle figure is that I am not good enough to work the figure and concentrate on the script. One step at a time, lip control, script, showmanship, then figure.

Q. blueshawk1:

*I know when I started out, I used to dream about having a figure that had all the bells & whistles

A. Buzz:

IMHO, A new ventriloquist has a dream of owning a figure with all the bells and whistles, they are new and can’t afford, or don’t want to spend the money for a $3000.00 plus figure and buy the basic figure with the moving jaw and eyes.

I am like you, I am starting out and want the bells and whistles, I have posted it here for discussion for what I think is a very interesting discussion; IMHO, the replies posted here are what everyone thinks but probably never voiced it before.

Q. blueshawk1:

*but along the way without even realizing it, I started losing interest in all the extras

*if you look at the people who have been doing ventriloquism for a good length of time, it seems most have figures with a minimum of movements,

A. Buzz:

IMHO, As they work on a script that works for them, they get into a routine and may think that “it works and if it isn’t broken don’t play with it”. As a ventriloquist, I am making money now, why change it?, or here are some other reasons:

*the control stick is hard to navigate,

*Dan Horn for instance uses Orsen with no bell & whistles

*I am a soft puppet advocate,

*It seems that lots of ventriloquist’s look at what the next person is doing and either tried to copy them, or follow them.

*If Scripting, talent, showmanship is the key to any performances why doesn’t everyone do as Jim Barber?

*Jim Barber had a puppet routine using just..... his right hand.

I can go on and on, but I am tired of cutting and pasting the reasons everyone has posted here.

As a photographer, I met many other photographers that owned the same equipment for a long time, the camera worked and they did not see a reason to expand and buy better and newer state of the art equipment.

I invested in new equipment and bid on jobs my fellow photographers were not equipped to take on; I got the job charged more for the complicated techniques of the assignment and prospered.

In conclusion, I am a new ventriloquist and I would like to share my ideas and experiment with outlandish concepts and live my dreams here with my fellow ventriloquists.

Am I wrong for doing this

[quote]On 2011-02-20 10:03, Buzz Lawrence wrote:
[quote]On 2011-02-20 09:28, Wanlu wrote:


With all due respects and correct me please if Im wrong but the title of thread is the topic

There are other threads for script writing and showmanship   

Wanlu;

Are we not talking about the number of movements in a figure is it important, do you need them all?

Are the movements more important than script writing and showmanship?

I don’t understand your question Wanlu

I confess that when I started out in ventriloquism, I was after figures with all kinds of animations... and after four years, I realized that the animations wont make thee act BUT it will help. More animations give more possible routines.

The script is more important, the manipulation is more important, showmanship is more important BUT as Ive said, there are other threads for those topics...

There is nothing wrong with vents using figures with only a moving mouth, Mr Edgar Bergen is the best example... but equally, there is nothing wrong with vents using figures with animations other than a moving mouth, Mr David Pendleton has a McElroy that has wiggling nose, wiggling ears etc. Mr Jeff Dunham has figures with just a moving mouth (The Super Hero) but his top falls off, Peanut and Jose.
Walther's animated eyebrows simply adds character to the figure... same thing with Achmed.

Bottomline here is... nobody is stopping anyone to have a figure with ot wothout extra animations other than a moving mouth. You decide what works for you In my case, I can handle both kinds

I don’t understand your question Wanlu

Are the movements more important than script writing and showmanship?

I am still confused about a script writing thread, I see that the thread has been kept on topic, talking about movements on a figure, are you saying it is against the Magic Café policy to mention anything about script writing here?.

I don’t know all the rules of the Magic Café; if I am breaking a rule I will no longer do it