Day 324 / A Director’s Chair For A Muppet

January 24th, 2011
 
Today I knew exactly what my creative project was going to be from the beginning.  I planned on it last night.
 
Today, on set, was the first of the muppet interviews.  I’ve been capturing plenty of human interviews but we still have yet to begin the long list of muppets that we need to sit down and talk with.
 
I really wanted it to look like they were sitting in they’re own director’s chair but of course you can’t use a regular director’s chair when there is a puppeteer below.  So, I cobbled together this little baby.
 
I left the house a bit early so I could collect my materials.  First, I raided my garage for all the tools I might need, then I drove into the office and grabbed a chair that my boss would let me to mutilate.  I went by Home Depot and bought a cheap fence plank and had it cut into multiple pieces the size of the seating area.  I also bought some wood screws and a couple of L-brackets.  Then I stopped by a store in Burbank called Filmtools and found a connector which would allow me to attach the faux chair to a C-Stand or light stand.
 
I drove to set with all the pieces ready to go.  By the time I got there, interviews needed to happen fast so I was really rushing to get it built.  I realized that I left the most important drill bit in my car which was too far away at the moment so, I had to use these thick screws which actually broke the wood in a couple of spots.  I attached a plank to the two sides of the chair where the seat exists and another plank to the back.  I found a grip who let me borrow a smaller drill bit and I stabalized it a bit with the two L-brackets.  Finally, I drilled into the back plank and attached my special connector from Filmtools.
 
By the time it was done I was really unsure of whether it would survive the day.  Luckily, it did but I will most certainly need to put some extra work into making it more stable for the rest of the shoot dates.
 
It looked great on camera though and the puppeteers were very happy to be in a comfortable position while they answered questions.  I’m proud of my little creation and I’m glad that it worked out.
 
Oh, and it was hilarious.  The muppet’s improvisational skills are truly amazing.  I keep reminding myself how lucky I am, to be where I am, doing what I’m doing.