ANIMATED SERIES DELIVERS SANTORUM RESPONSE IN LESS THAN FOUR HOURS
Stratford, CT/Richmond, VA–Puppet John Law–an online series about the process of running for president and the name of the show’s main character–did something unheard of last night. It delivered a response to Rick Santorum’s announcement that he was leaving the race for President in less than four hours, a process that normally takes weeks for an animation of this length. What makes this so impressive is that the response is animated with 3D characters, of both Puppet John Law and a puppet version of Rick Santorum. What also makes this response impressive is that the creators were able to make it by building atop freely available tools.
How They Did It
The series is the brain child of J. Sibley Law (Official Honoree of the Webby Awards), who has a long history of political spoofs. Once he knew what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it, he contacted Jason van Gumster of Hand Turkey Studios. What makes the partnership a perfect match is that van Gumster is the author of Blender for Dummies; Blender is an open source (free) animation software that can literally be run from a thumbdrive on most any computer. The two devised a plan that put their joint creative juices in the same…blender. What they came up with was a collection of virtual puppets, of John Law (Law’s visual alter-ego), each of the candidates, and a hand which has yet to appear on the series. When asked why he took this approach Law explained, “lampooning anything in politics is a game of timing, but when you are poking fun at the process itself, timing is that much more important.” If last night’s response to Santorum’s announcement is any indication, expect to see very pithy and timely observations of the political process.
The series has already spoofed President Obama’s press conference on the birth control issue and campaign finance issues. However, the series got its start with an official announcement that Puppet John Law is NOT running for president. In that video he states: “I plan to cross this nation of ours and carry the torch for all manner of puppetry, from the highest of marionettes to the lowest of sock puppets. I know that one day all puppets in office will be able to serve this land openly. Thank you.”
About the Production Companies
Saxon Mills, Stratford, CT, is a both the production company behind the series and the engine behind the YouTube network that it is a part of (ZizComedyNetwork). Saxon Mills was founded by Law in 2005 and has been on the forefront of mobile and web television since then. It currently operates two YouTube Networks TangoDango and Ziz.
Hand Turkey Studios, Richmond, VA, is a full-service animation studio based in Richmond Virginia. It is helmed by Jason van Gumster who is both the author of Blender for Dummies and an expert at pooling large groups of animation talent to create high quality animation at lightening speeds.
Puppet John Law is a collaboration between the two production companies.
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