Ideas for recording Puppet videos in the Field

I planned on having my puppet out while I attended Comic Con in Lansing yesterday. It seemed like the best place/time, because everybody is in costumes anyways, I would practically blend right in. I am also inspired by someone who I saw walking around the floor during the Grand Rapids Comic Con with a Kermit puppet replica. Anyways, a big barrier to bringing my puppet was to figure out a way to transport them safely. The bag I typically use isn’t very big, so its easy for it to bulk up if I fill it too much or if I put in something too big. For example, I have carried my camera in it, but that adds a lot of weight. I decided that I’d bring my lizard puppet because it’s custom made, but still small enough that it would flatten easily and fit in my bag.

But, then I also needed to bring a tripod/selfie stick, mount for my iphone, and arm rods. I chickened out and left the rods in the car because I was worried that they wouldn’t be allowed. This was silly, because nobody even checked my bag, and again with so much cosplaying there wouldn’t have been an issue.

Towards the end, I got the puppet out and we took a couple of pictures with it in a Star Wars environment. I wish I could have done more with it.

Ideally, I’d like to dress up and carry a puppet as a prop. I have a Tom Servo puppet, so one of my original plans had been to get a Gizmonic jumpsuit, and then I could walk around with Tom Servo. But, the puppet is heavy and delicate, so this isn’t very practical unless I take a lot of precautions. My other puppets don’t lend themselves to a given fandom, unless I dress them up. We could both be police detectives, or doctors, for example.

My plan is to carry my puppets and gear in a soft tool bag. This makes a lot of sense, because tool bags have a great deal of structure, and are wide enough to accommodate one or two of my larger puppets. It would be a little like carrying a cooler around, I think. Not as practical as my normal bag, but if I want to bring out my puppets with confidence, it would be enough.

I suppose if I was bold enough, I could bring one of those wagons people get for their kids or for their chairs when they are attending a festival. This would give me a platform one which I could set up my tripod and camera, plus a way to carry the puppets. I have been thinking about testing this approach by going around my town and just recording several “remotes” with my puppet(s) from different locations. I would pull a wagon we have and it would serve as a platform for my gear.