. . . literrally.
I’m working on props for the feature film 13 Minutes (Elser – Er hätte die Welt verändert) portraying failed Hitler assassin Georg Elser. Brand new tin buckets need to become old paint buckets from the 1930ies period.
Category Archives: Behind the Scenes
Rübezahl: faking a manuscript
Some Handwriting.
A documentary about the authors who wrote about Rübezahl, the folklore mountain spirit of the Bohemian and Silesian Giant Mountains. We’re preparing a detail shot, showing Johannes Praetorius, one of the historical authors, writing a manuscript. I take over as the hand double writing in historically correct old German Kurrent, the handwriting of those times.
Fancy an extract?
Don’t worry. The text is not only written in a historical handwriting, but also drawn up in 17th century German. So the following transcript also won’t help the German-speaking readers too much ;-)
“Darauf antwortet der [Bursch, es wird zwar wenig]
sein, doch langet er zugleich erst nach dem
Schiebesack und zeucht vom Rest etwan noch
zehen oder eilff Schoten heraus eröffnet eine
und siehet daß es nicht mehr grüne Erbsen
sondern klares gelbes Gold gewesen
welches er auch in den übrigen ertappet
alles miteinander verwahret ungeachtet
daß der Wirth um ein paar bahtet.
Zum anderen visitirete er auch mit Ver-
wunderung seine Flaschen und fand des- […]”
[Praetorius, Johannes: Rübezahl machet Erbsen zu Gold.; in: Des Rübezahls Dritter und gantz Nagel-neuer Historischer Theil. Leipzig, Arnstadt 1673]
Sauhund DingStars
On location with the DingStars.
In addition to the talking every-day items already known, this time I inroduce a more elaborated type of puppet. They have a body and rod-controlled arms. An example from sketch to finished puppet of an Erlenmeyer flask.
DingStars: Octoberfest special
Another job for BR. A little series of clips for their daily live broadcasts from the Oktoberfest. The back story: two beer mugs – a veteran and a greenhorn – experience different situations on the famous Bavarian beer fest. There will be three puppets of each charakter, each with a different facial expression.
An example of the old beer mug.
Sauhund: Ludwig’s office
Shooting day for BR’s new puppet show.
I dressed a corner in our premises as the show’s central control room. This is from where line-producer Ludwig Wolpertinger (puppet builder: Robert Rebele) desperately tries to manage the on-stage mayhem.
Just moments before shooting. Behind the camera: director David Gromer and DOP Stefan Spoo.
Under the table, quite uncomfy: Norman Cöster (head and voice) and me (both hands) working Ludwig.
Sauhund: sock puppets
Another project for BR.
Sauhund, a puppet show. My DingStars will also appear in this show. A new regular feature will be the Socken-Fans, characters clearly to identify as sock puppets . A bunch of fans waylaying the guest star at the back door of the sound stage. I’m doing my best to make the most of those normally rather primitive sock puppets and make them fully-fledged characters.
An example from sketch to final puppet:
Rudi, a Bavarian Prototype.
And here the whole cast so far.
DingStars: Tuna
This little tuna can was quite stubborn during shooting. The hinge between lid and can didn’t want the way I wanted it to work…
DingStars: The Lamp
From sketch to the finished puppet.
One of my DingStar-puppets. This one is exceptionally not manipulated from below but from above. (That’s why the upper rim of the lampshade will never be seen on screen.) A rod, fixed to an elastic is used to push down the lower lip of the puppet. Reducing the pressure on the rod and with that on the elastic will cause the mouth to close in a quite natural way.
CNS: summiteering
The summit episode on the show.
The riddle is camouflaged as a metal memorial plate. I’m fastening my dummy to the front side of the original one so that no one notices anything at a first glance.
By the way, great shooting! A real outdoor experience in the Bavarian Alps. No art-department trucks, no cars. Only packing cases and brim-full back packs, that need to be dragged through the woods and up the mountains. Tough, but big fun.
CNS: Wet Games
Cartoon Network’s Spurensuche on location.
Hundrets of bright coloured balls need to be flushed down the waterfall. So somebody has to be upstream to throw them in…
