Production Journal #2

A TALE OF TWO HOUSES

There are two houses featured in the plot of Some Puppet to Watch Over Me:

(1) the house where Pudding and Jammies are doing their babysitting, and

(2) the neighbor's house. Finding two appropriate houses to fill these important roles is quite a casting challenge. In an upcoming production update, you can join in the search for the main house. For now, let's go next door...

FAMILIAR FACIA

Pudding and Jammies are not the only established movie stars to appear in Some Puppet to Watch Over Me. Astute viewers will also feel right at home with another star of the movie: my parents' Brookfield home. Their house has been featured in movies dating back to, well, when we moved there in 1979.

Since those humble Super 8 film beginnings, the house has been immortalized in productions like The Ken & Cocky Show (starring me and my dog), The Wright Stuff, Welcome to Senior Year [the Senior Banquet Video], Hire Education , I Witness News, and even the original Pudding and Jammies (although I'll bet you can't pick out the *one* shot that was photographed inside the Brookfield house!).

Now, the house will make its most extensive onscreen appearance yet, in Some Puppet to Watch Over Me. Neighbor Merrill is occasionally seen through the windows of the house, and Pudding is catapulted onto its roof in the action-packed rooftop scene. The first step in returning this celebrity abode to the screen was simple: ask my parents. They each read the script and gave me their comments on it, and (thankfully) said I could use their house once again.

SHOW ME, DON'T TELL ME

The rooftop scene involves a number of complicated shots, so I storyboarded it first, back in March, to get an idea of exactly what shots we need. Here are a few shots, exquisitely rendered by yours truly:

After recovering from pneumonia, I met with my dad, to discuss how to achieve some of those shots.

One important bit of cinematic trickery will be making my parents' garage roof (one story off the ground) appear to be the main roof (two stories off the ground). That way, the camera can be safely on the ground, and the puppeteer who is afraid of heights (me) can be a bit closer to terra firma. Dad and I talked about key shots, safety measures, which parts of the roof to use... we even decided to take down a tree, so I can get a better shot of the side of the house! [Editor's note: Ken's parents were planning on getting rid of that tree anyway.]

Click here for some storyboards and the real-life views that correspond to them.

The whole time, the scene was playing continuously in my head. I've already got it shot and edited in there- if only I could simply download it! Can't do that (although George Lucas is probably working on it), but I did do the next best thing...

I'll tell you all about it in my next production update.

Until then,

Digital photos by Paul Schellin.

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