nurturing the sutures part one

the seemingly violent first stages have begun. Before I can start to set up pieces in the theatre and start the animation process, I need some basics completed - first on the docket is the head. I am trying to suture together as many pieces from the toys that I have; after all, they are of the same species and therefore should be relatively compatible.


After getting the Cinderella mechanisms back up and running (I unfortunately melted her casing and had to solder a new battery back to her pieces), I determined that the response to sound through vocals, light, and movement could tie in well with the head of the object. The next step was then to start to assemble pieces that could compose the head. As seen above - I started by carefully pulling apart the ear of the teletubby.

I was hesitant to use the entire head of the boobah - I've sectioned it apart, and plan on building up the other side of the head with wiring.

The geometry of the Cinderella mechanism (on the left) is starting to inform the connections between the mechanism itself and the shell of the head. Cinderella incorporates a small motor, a microphone, and a speaker. Within the circuitry should be a comparator, as it can determine the volume and responds vocally based on the comparison.

Finally, the face of the teletubby is being fused into that of the boobah.

posted by chelsea @ 6:11 PM 0 comments

theatre box part three - completed

I've made some changes to the original theatre:

The stage now reads more as a stage...the newly added legs at the sides worked to enclose the viewport, but are flexible and allow me to work from three sides of the theatre, rather than just one. Two braces were added to the top corners for stability, and two dowels were added below these to suspend the velveteen. A cross brace was then added between the two at the top, mostly to allow for a wider range of suspension below. It also allows for a more diverse range of lighting.

Small battery-powered LED swivel lights were an amazing find (thanks again to Princess Auto). Typical stage lighting incorporates back, middle and front angles, and this has been mimicked to provide an (almost) even wash across the stage. Fortunately these can be adjusted readily, expanded upon, etc.

posted by chelsea @ 5:35 PM 0 comments