When I see stuff like this I wish Jim was still around to see where his work had gone and what it is accomplished. Not a lot of people realize some of Jim's work has led to Major developments in prosthetic limb design and advancement.. I am still big on practical effects like Howard the Duck back in the 1980s that jam complained so much about ;). I love CGI but things like the aliens in Farscape or Howard the Duck the original '80s version are a reminder of what's possible with physical effects just as much as digital. I hope there's always a place for something physical and tangible that an actor can reach out touch and interact with especially when enhancing it after the fact with digital modification.. Stuff like this is really impressive where it's a combination of puppeteering and CGI.
@@celestepalm6949 I hope you know I mean 1980s Howard the doc the animatronic puppet head. Hanson had a lot of trouble with that animatronic. I'm not 100% sure if johnny5 was one of Henson's Studios projects or not but I know Howard was one of their heads. Not a lot of people realize Dark Crystal was done by Hanson Studios. Last project the man worked on was the original Ninja Turtles live action movie. There's been rumors that Jim Henson Studios did Biker Mice from Mars costumes the same style as the Ninja Turtles suits.but the Biker Mice live action movie got shut down a couple months into production back in the 90s and it's never been confirmed specifically what happened with the suits or the bikes I've always wondered if there's some underground collector out there somewheres with three Biker Mice heads hanging on a wall like some macabre Safari Hunter. Farscape was one of the things I wish Henson could have lived to see done the creature effects they did in Farscape were incredible most of the stuff in for our Escape was practical effects over CGI. I think Disney's still owns Henson Studios. Most people think of Sesame Street and Kermit the Frog when you say Jim Henson and they don't think about the more advanced stuff he was getting into with his kids when he died.
@@originaluddite Back in the 1990s a lot of visual effects artists started getting replaced by computers and CGI work. It's what's called practical effects. If you're familiar with the robot arm from the Terminator as an example or the exoskeleton those are giant wire operated puppets human size. Guys that were making rubber latex masks ended up moving into making artificial skin for prosthetic limbs. Guys that were doing stuff for puppeteering started moving over to making prosthetic arms and legs for the handicapped this was long before stuff like 3D printing. There used to be news articles about it. Other movie effects Engineers got work at toy companies like McFarland toys and it's where you started getting professional grade action figures that are heavily detailed and sculpted they were done by people that used to do miniatures for special effects and things like Star Wars in the 1970s. A lot of movie effects people ended up getting work at prosthetic limb companies and companies that made high-end toys. McFarland toys back in the day was willy-nilly hiring people that worked making miniatures for special effects.. A lot of people don't realize things like animatronics and animatronic puppets are very similar when you break components down to earlier days of prosthetic limbs like hands arms and legs. There used to be cases of people that were burn victims and they were making things like prosthetic ears the same way they used to make movie prosthetics. Where do you think stuff like those magnetic artificial body parts were coming from like ears fingers noses that sort of thing. I'm sure you've seen documentaries about people that wear latex over parts of their faces where they've been burned and it helps them look more normal. It's not specifically the exact same as what was being done for the movies but it's done by the same people they had to make the stuff out of different materials but other than that it's the same concept
As an '80s baby that grew up on Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, & Storyteller & have monetarily supported most Jim Henson productions; I don't mind that some Computer Graphics is used so long as the essence of JH's uniqueness in physical puppetry & animatronics in final production displayed isn't unused & is the majority of the content output. Otherwise, if 100% or near 100% of completed JH output is CG, JH Creature Workshop will have become like all other CG production brands: standardized & cookie cutter. What makes JH content different from all other entertainment is the combination of appearance, unique puppetry & animatronics as well as the mannerisms expressed through the Muppets used. Please don't become another Pixar.
Also an 80's baby I too grew up loving the very shows/films that made Henson so popular and I do understand where you are coming from, from a total nostalgic perspective but I do understand that unfortunately companies like henson co would go bust if they didn't keep up with the times. I loved the dark crystal series but it was a flop in the current day viewing ratings because of the lost love for the original style. Very sad but unfortunately true. We can only hope for a resurrection of original puppetry or we'll just have to enjoy the classics for the rest of our sorry existence 😢.
@@mark-smith5757 Interesting to note, since you mentioned Dark Crystals, that it used ample amounts of visual effects, i.e. shots with computer generated elements in it, including main characters at times.
I love it! Digital performances that can be captured in production with the director and the actors/performers together. All the creativity and spontaneity and freedom of shooting a film without extra constraints or limitations. Very cool.
You know what else is no latency, straight to editorial at feature film level of quality? Real, actual puppetry. I'm sure you're doing some good stuff with this but it doesn't, and can never beat the thrill of seeing a real muppet, or any puppet, on the stage or film set, on the small or big screen. Seeing human actors alongside puppets has a real magic that is rare in the age of CG. Please don't let this beautiful artform die.
Me and my friends talk about this all the time. I unfortunately lost an authentic copy(from a hurricane) of “Return of the Jedi” with the full puppetry characters. Regretfully, I had a second chance, to request from someone, whose copy was collecting dust on the shelf, in which they didn’t realize the importance/distinction of the copy they had. Anyone who grew up with the Muppets will always appreciate seeing its authenticity with the singer of Max Rebo’s Band singing,”Lapti Neck” and the devotion James Cameron had, to go over budget, to secure the real look of hundreds of Terminators in the opening scene of T2.
Stop being a luddite. Exploring new ways to better their craft does not mean the death of the other. Learn to understand the nuance and logic of the big picture before spewing ignorant diatribe from the perspective of someone who cannot go past their personal incredulity.
@@eddiek8179 If anything you're the one being ignorant but also hilariously and unncessarily pretentious. These advancements do have a place, like all digital effects, but the odds of it remaining a tool to expand the on what's possible in puppetry vs mostly being used as a cost cutting measure at the expense of using real puppetry aren't great. It's been the case with all innovations in CG and digital effects in film and TV and there's no reason to assume this would be any different but for something like real puppetry that's already quite rare in modern pop culture it gives an even bleaker outlook.
@@beowulf1417 If you think I'm being pretentious then it's your own projection coming forth. The art of puppetry is not dead. Stop thinking in Backward. They're still utilising everything in puppet-muppet craft and merging it with new tech to give the performances more breadth, mobility and scope. There are advantages and drawbacks for both physical and digital puppetry. Understand the nuance about how evolution works in performance and creature work tech. What do you think was the objective when they first started using puppets in other media like shows and movies? It was to try their best to seamlessly integrate a creature of their design with the environment and the actors in the best way possible as deemed by the story. That always remains to be the objective to this day. The objective never was just so you can have a puppet there. You are supposed to forget it's a puppet while watching a presentation and get transported by the performance and the characterization of said creature in full flow. You, apparently just want the physical puppet while not respecting the artistry behind it thus damning the medium it surrounds itself with. There's a reason the puppets existed in the first place - it was for the story which was enhanced by pure skill from the artistes behind it. Physical puppets are not going away, if that is your concern - but just like anything in VFX and creature works - it needs to be used where it's appropriate. The objective of the scene and the moment within, is the thing that takes priority. If a physical puppet is needed in a scene, so be it. If a digital creature is need enhanced by puppetry craftsmanship, then it's also great. You talk about ignorance and yet you wear it like it's your skin.
You're forgetting that most computer animation is currently done by hand. Which is cheap and which is why most modern animations have this similar vibe to them. Animators use the same references to express particular emotions on characters with very expressive faces and that's why they all get that same vibe. This technology fixes that hyper-emotive style and makes it feel more authentic. Don't see this as a substitute for puppets but rather virtual puppetry substituting manual frame by frame animation.
I really want to see the JH company create characters again the way they did on Where the Wild Things Are. That combination of irl fur suits and photorealistic facial features projected onto those suits was a game changer
I dont think people in the comments really understand that Jim himself was a huge fan of computer technology. He was always interested in seeing how far he could push not only his but other's limits on what is and isnt a puppet. Its why Dark Crystal exists at all, he wanted to make something he KNEW others would dislike and while it didnt break box office numbers here, it sold outstandingly well in other countries and is beloved as a film/series today. Its FINE to use Unreal and test new grounds here with this kind of technology, Jim would be amazed by all of this. But don't push too far past that line or you'll lose the magic the Creature Shop is so well known for putting out. DONT LOSE SIGHT!
My kids loved Word Party when they were so young. I didn’t know you shot it this way. That’s great. I appreciated that so much and preferred that above them watching cocomelon. Thank you!
@@celestepalm6949 When my son grew out of the cocomelon period in his life I thought I would never see it again. His little sister grew up a few years later, I was hoping her brother would show her the way. But the Cocomelon was strong. She knows now her daddy doesn't like her watching that kind of content.
Look, this is cool and all, but there are amazing CG character and creature studios out there already who kick ass. The biggest differential of Jim Henson's Company is their AMAZING physical IRL puppets. NOBODY makes puppetry that looks as good as Jim Henson's. Please keep focusing on that. CG doesn't sit well with me with Jim Henson's name attached to it, and none of what I just saw in this mini featurette looks like a Jim Henson product or looks as good as something Weta can put out. Leave CG to the CG masters; You guys are puppet masters.
Alot of people complaining seem to miss out that one of the digital creatures is the AI from Earth to Ned allowing the world to flesh out in real time and have a cgi character improvise with the excellent physical creatures that where in the studio.
While I love the idea of this, to me - it kind of takes away some of the magic. Henson created life from fabrics and materials in a way no one has been able to come close to. But, that being said, the magic I feel is in the puppets themselves. They are given life through the puppeteers and voice actors and actresses. Without a tangible hands on filmed puppet, I feel some of that magic is lost. While more can be done, is it what Jim Henson woulda wanted? For his puppets to just vanish into digital creations instead? Again, I love how it isn't just standard cgi, and it involves puppeteers still and such... but it loses some of that magic, and I feel that is a loss maybe a lot of younger people won't miss. However, people my age, born in the 80's, the puppets were my childhood and I grew up watching them in shows and movies and even commercials. So long as all puppetry doesn't fade away, I hope this process and progress continues to go well. Just keep the puppets still, keep them alive. Looking at a physical, tangible real world puppet vs a cgi one - it is worlds apart. I for one would favor the tangible one anyday.
half these comments are like "I understand your studio may have dozens of expert craftsmen and performers looking to expand their skills by innovating in their field but actually you shouldn’t because you haven’t considered it makes my tummy feel bad"
It's unique stuff, but never lose the old ways. There needs to be a line where tradition and new can be used. Earth to Ned was a good example as it appropriately used large scale puppets and digital ones. Please, do not leave the magic.
JH was the last bastion of puppetry. Seeing them go digital just like everyone else just tells me puppetry is dead. There is nothing special about digital.
I've always taken a dislike to exaggerated facial expressions in most 3D animation. Because animators can tweak everything frame by frame they can emotionally manipulate into perfection and that always felt creepy to me. That's also why I love puppets so much. There's an ambiguity to them, and they're animated in real-time which means there's a roughness and honesty to them. The animator can't get it perfect and that's what retains the integrity. I don't see this new technique as a substitute for real puppets, but rather a substitute for manual animation and allowing cartoons to be less exaggerated and refined.
Having given this some more thought and seeing the other comments, people worrying that this is the end of puppets. I think this video fails to convey the exact pain point in animation that they're trying to address to this technology. This isn't replacing puppets with virtual puppets. This is about replacing conventional computer animation with something more tactile and authentic.
Very cool technology, I can see kids loving it. As an adult who grew up with Henson, this just comes across as another CGI shop with poorly rendered animation (I get that it is that way due to being live, but still). It lacks the magic that the practical effects brought.
Sorry I'm not a fan of this, I know you're trying to advance with technology but there's a reason why older Jim Henson movies are beloved and this isn't it.
Jim Henson himself loved computer graphics and pioneered the first CGI performance capture puppet in the 1980s, called Waldo. They also pioneered CGI virtual production with CG sets in the TV show The Jim Henson Hour also in the 80s. These guys are pushing the art form of puppetry forwards in different styles and media IN ADDITION to traditional foam and felt puppets which they will always continue to use. In short, lighten up. If Jim were still with us he'd love this.
@@as46643 and I love Farscape. Rygel, Pilot, Zhaan, Chi’ana, Ka D’Argo, John, Æryn, Scorpius, the Whole Scarran lot. The Nebari. Etc etc etc. Farscape is my favourite show.
My only real problem with it is all the body performers moving like they're Disney Parks mascots trying to sell it to the cheap seats. It takes me out of it because all I see is a human trying (and failing) to move like a cartoon character.
I can see its uses but I don't see it being a good thing for genuine real puppeteering in pop culture in the long run. All advancements in CGI and digital effects in film/tv end up more often than not being used as cost cutting measures in place of practical sets and effects etc, odds of this breaking that growing trend just doesn't seem likely.
CG puppetry with raw motion captured body movement looks like garbage. There's a certain uncanny valley awkwardness to it. Plus, if you're having two people independently doing the voice and body acting, it just ends up with that dumb Japanese video game quality animations where the body language is clearly divorced from the voice acting and results in the body feeling like it's greatly overacting. Hate it. There's no interesting artistic interpretation there as a result of the medium.
Hello Sam, Henson Co sold The Muppets to Disney a while back. You can see them via the Disney Channel. Best recent project in my opinion was the Muppets Mayhem, a series focusing on the Electric Mayhem band. Good songs, fun stuff, had a couple really poignant moments for Janice, my fave Muppet.
This ain't it. We miss physical creatures, Cinema is inundated with stupid lifeless looking CG creatures. The audience craves real texture, lighting, physical spaces. The art of real puppetry and creature design is being lost. Please don't deviate from the old ways, it's what made Henson studios what it is.
0:02 We’ll, If it the old Brian Henson the director of the 2 Disney Muppet Movies from the 1990S “Muppet Christmas Carol” & “Muppet Treasure Island”. Before “The Muppets” & the Most Wanted sequel returned to Disney years later. I’m surprised that he’s still with us. His late father Jim Henson was barely that old. I could believe Brian’s father Jim died just before both me & most of my cousins were ever born. A few of my cousins however were born in the middle 1980S. Still, sad that Jim Henson’s death was tragic. At least Jim’s bloodline Brian Henson is still keeping his father’s masterpieces alive.
Each character needs to be rendered on its own machineand digitally overliad on the scene. Youre going to burn out equipment trying to force entire scenes to render out all at once. Its a rediculous workflow that shouldn't be attempted until computers are 8x as fast
The real sad part is the lack of investing into material sciences and technology. Most industries by now would have specialized parts and workflows, training, r&d. You people parasite off computer scientists for crumbs.
When I see stuff like this I wish Jim was still around to see where his work had gone and what it is accomplished. Not a lot of people realize some of Jim's work has led to Major developments in prosthetic limb design and advancement.. I am still big on practical effects like Howard the Duck back in the 1980s that jam complained so much about ;). I love CGI but things like the aliens in Farscape or Howard the Duck the original '80s version are a reminder of what's possible with physical effects just as much as digital. I hope there's always a place for something physical and tangible that an actor can reach out touch and interact with especially when enhancing it after the fact with digital modification.. Stuff like this is really impressive where it's a combination of puppeteering and CGI.
'Howard the Duck' may not be the most persuasive example here but I get what you're saying. 😆
@@celestepalm6949 better examples are the Ninja Turtles from the first two live action films. Fantastic work.
@@celestepalm6949 I hope you know I mean 1980s Howard the doc the animatronic puppet head. Hanson had a lot of trouble with that animatronic. I'm not 100% sure if johnny5 was one of Henson's Studios projects or not but I know Howard was one of their heads. Not a lot of people realize Dark Crystal was done by Hanson Studios. Last project the man worked on was the original Ninja Turtles live action movie. There's been rumors that Jim Henson Studios did Biker Mice from Mars costumes the same style as the Ninja Turtles suits.but the Biker Mice live action movie got shut down a couple months into production back in the 90s and it's never been confirmed specifically what happened with the suits or the bikes I've always wondered if there's some underground collector out there somewheres with three Biker Mice heads hanging on a wall like some macabre Safari Hunter. Farscape was one of the things I wish Henson could have lived to see done the creature effects they did in Farscape were incredible most of the stuff in for our Escape was practical effects over CGI. I think Disney's still owns Henson Studios. Most people think of Sesame Street and Kermit the Frog when you say Jim Henson and they don't think about the more advanced stuff he was getting into with his kids when he died.
Love to know more about this prosthetic angle. It's great how a development in one area can spin off into other areas in ways you never expected.
@@originaluddite Back in the 1990s a lot of visual effects artists started getting replaced by computers and CGI work. It's what's called practical effects. If you're familiar with the robot arm from the Terminator as an example or the exoskeleton those are giant wire operated puppets human size. Guys that were making rubber latex masks ended up moving into making artificial skin for prosthetic limbs. Guys that were doing stuff for puppeteering started moving over to making prosthetic arms and legs for the handicapped this was long before stuff like 3D printing. There used to be news articles about it. Other movie effects Engineers got work at toy companies like McFarland toys and it's where you started getting professional grade action figures that are heavily detailed and sculpted they were done by people that used to do miniatures for special effects and things like Star Wars in the 1970s. A lot of movie effects people ended up getting work at prosthetic limb companies and companies that made high-end toys. McFarland toys back in the day was willy-nilly hiring people that worked making miniatures for special effects.. A lot of people don't realize things like animatronics and animatronic puppets are very similar when you break components down to earlier days of prosthetic limbs like hands arms and legs. There used to be cases of people that were burn victims and they were making things like prosthetic ears the same way they used to make movie prosthetics. Where do you think stuff like those magnetic artificial body parts were coming from like ears fingers noses that sort of thing. I'm sure you've seen documentaries about people that wear latex over parts of their faces where they've been burned and it helps them look more normal. It's not specifically the exact same as what was being done for the movies but it's done by the same people they had to make the stuff out of different materials but other than that it's the same concept
As an '80s baby that grew up on Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, & Storyteller & have monetarily supported most Jim Henson productions; I don't mind that some Computer Graphics is used so long as the essence of JH's uniqueness in physical puppetry & animatronics in final production displayed isn't unused & is the majority of the content output. Otherwise, if 100% or near 100% of completed JH output is CG, JH Creature Workshop will have become like all other CG production brands: standardized & cookie cutter. What makes JH content different from all other entertainment is the combination of appearance, unique puppetry & animatronics as well as the mannerisms expressed through the Muppets used. Please don't become another Pixar.
More "real" physical hand puppets and less CGI that looks awful and cartoony... Puppets should interact with humans on the screen...
Also an 80's baby I too grew up loving the very shows/films that made Henson so popular and I do understand where you are coming from, from a total nostalgic perspective but I do understand that unfortunately companies like henson co would go bust if they didn't keep up with the times. I loved the dark crystal series but it was a flop in the current day viewing ratings because of the lost love for the original style. Very sad but unfortunately true. We can only hope for a resurrection of original puppetry or we'll just have to enjoy the classics for the rest of our sorry existence 😢.
@@mark-smith5757 Interesting to note, since you mentioned Dark Crystals, that it used ample amounts of visual effects, i.e. shots with computer generated elements in it, including main characters at times.
Yall probably need to re edit this video so it starts with Jim’s quote “I’m really exciting by computer graphics and performing them as puppets”
I love it! Digital performances that can be captured in production with the director and the actors/performers together. All the creativity and spontaneity and freedom of shooting a film without extra constraints or limitations. Very cool.
You know what else is no latency, straight to editorial at feature film level of quality? Real, actual puppetry. I'm sure you're doing some good stuff with this but it doesn't, and can never beat the thrill of seeing a real muppet, or any puppet, on the stage or film set, on the small or big screen. Seeing human actors alongside puppets has a real magic that is rare in the age of CG. Please don't let this beautiful artform die.
Me and my friends talk about this all the time.
I unfortunately lost an authentic copy(from a hurricane) of “Return of the Jedi” with the full puppetry characters.
Regretfully, I had a second chance, to request from someone, whose copy was collecting dust on the shelf, in which they didn’t realize the importance/distinction of the copy they had.
Anyone who grew up with the Muppets will always appreciate seeing its authenticity with the singer of Max Rebo’s Band singing,”Lapti Neck” and the devotion James Cameron had, to go over budget, to secure the real look of hundreds of Terminators in the opening scene of T2.
Stop being a luddite. Exploring new ways to better their craft does not mean the death of the other. Learn to understand the nuance and logic of the big picture before spewing ignorant diatribe from the perspective of someone who cannot go past their personal incredulity.
@@eddiek8179 If anything you're the one being ignorant but also hilariously and unncessarily pretentious. These advancements do have a place, like all digital effects, but the odds of it remaining a tool to expand the on what's possible in puppetry vs mostly being used as a cost cutting measure at the expense of using real puppetry aren't great. It's been the case with all innovations in CG and digital effects in film and TV and there's no reason to assume this would be any different but for something like real puppetry that's already quite rare in modern pop culture it gives an even bleaker outlook.
@@beowulf1417 If you think I'm being pretentious then it's your own projection coming forth. The art of puppetry is not dead. Stop thinking in Backward. They're still utilising everything in puppet-muppet craft and merging it with new tech to give the performances more breadth, mobility and scope. There are advantages and drawbacks for both physical and digital puppetry. Understand the nuance about how evolution works in performance and creature work tech.
What do you think was the objective when they first started using puppets in other media like shows and movies? It was to try their best to seamlessly integrate a creature of their design with the environment and the actors in the best way possible as deemed by the story. That always remains to be the objective to this day. The objective never was just so you can have a puppet there. You are supposed to forget it's a puppet while watching a presentation and get transported by the performance and the characterization of said creature in full flow.
You, apparently just want the physical puppet while not respecting the artistry behind it thus damning the medium it surrounds itself with. There's a reason the puppets existed in the first place - it was for the story which was enhanced by pure skill from the artistes behind it. Physical puppets are not going away, if that is your concern - but just like anything in VFX and creature works - it needs to be used where it's appropriate. The objective of the scene and the moment within, is the thing that takes priority. If a physical puppet is needed in a scene, so be it. If a digital creature is need enhanced by puppetry craftsmanship, then it's also great.
You talk about ignorance and yet you wear it like it's your skin.
You're forgetting that most computer animation is currently done by hand. Which is cheap and which is why most modern animations have this similar vibe to them. Animators use the same references to express particular emotions on characters with very expressive faces and that's why they all get that same vibe. This technology fixes that hyper-emotive style and makes it feel more authentic. Don't see this as a substitute for puppets but rather virtual puppetry substituting manual frame by frame animation.
I really want to see the JH company create characters again the way they did on Where the Wild Things Are. That combination of irl fur suits and photorealistic facial features projected onto those suits was a game changer
I dont think people in the comments really understand that Jim himself was a huge fan of computer technology. He was always interested in seeing how far he could push not only his but other's limits on what is and isnt a puppet. Its why Dark Crystal exists at all, he wanted to make something he KNEW others would dislike and while it didnt break box office numbers here, it sold outstandingly well in other countries and is beloved as a film/series today. Its FINE to use Unreal and test new grounds here with this kind of technology, Jim would be amazed by all of this. But don't push too far past that line or you'll lose the magic the Creature Shop is so well known for putting out. DONT LOSE SIGHT!
RIP Jim Henson
The goat behind The Muppets
he died close to 35 years ago... this is his son Brian Henson, best known for directing The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island
@@iLikeTheUDK The insanity behind fans thinking they know Jim's legacy better than his own son and heir...
My kids loved Word Party when they were so young. I didn’t know you shot it this way. That’s great. I appreciated that so much and preferred that above them watching cocomelon. Thank you!
Yes, especially when in some countries cocomelon means "sh*tbrain." Sometimes I wonder about shows like that.
@@celestepalm6949 When my son grew out of the cocomelon period in his life I thought I would never see it again. His little sister grew up a few years later, I was hoping her brother would show her the way. But the Cocomelon was strong. She knows now her daddy doesn't like her watching that kind of content.
if it was up to me i'd still use real puppets but I understand how digital puppetry is much more efficient and easier to utilize
And then also with some examples it's for a different medium that wouldn't necessarily use puppets
@@alphabros5226 true
I knew one day computers would take over puppetry. It was inevitable. But, man, it's the evolution of CG ive been waiting years for
I challenge anyone to tell me any of this is as magical as Ludo.
I need to know the weight difference between the suits.
It would be sure cool of you made Discworld movies. Youre a match made in heaven
This is stunning technology, so much mocap going on!
Just saw this at the SIGGRAPH2024 exhibition hall, it was awesome!
I wish Jim Henson and Kermit were here to see this.
Look, this is cool and all, but there are amazing CG character and creature studios out there already who kick ass. The biggest differential of Jim Henson's Company is their AMAZING physical IRL puppets. NOBODY makes puppetry that looks as good as Jim Henson's. Please keep focusing on that. CG doesn't sit well with me with Jim Henson's name attached to it, and none of what I just saw in this mini featurette looks like a Jim Henson product or looks as good as something Weta can put out. Leave CG to the CG masters; You guys are puppet masters.
They aren’t switching to digital guys don’t be scared. They’ve been making digital stuff for a while now.
Alot of people complaining seem to miss out that one of the digital creatures is the AI from Earth to Ned allowing the world to flesh out in real time and have a cgi character improvise with the excellent physical creatures that where in the studio.
The guy at UK Dragon's Den was 15 years ahead of his time.
While I love the idea of this, to me - it kind of takes away some of the magic. Henson created life from fabrics and materials in a way no one has been able to come close to. But, that being said, the magic I feel is in the puppets themselves. They are given life through the puppeteers and voice actors and actresses. Without a tangible hands on filmed puppet, I feel some of that magic is lost. While more can be done, is it what Jim Henson woulda wanted? For his puppets to just vanish into digital creations instead? Again, I love how it isn't just standard cgi, and it involves puppeteers still and such... but it loses some of that magic, and I feel that is a loss maybe a lot of younger people won't miss. However, people my age, born in the 80's, the puppets were my childhood and I grew up watching them in shows and movies and even commercials. So long as all puppetry doesn't fade away, I hope this process and progress continues to go well. Just keep the puppets still, keep them alive. Looking at a physical, tangible real world puppet vs a cgi one - it is worlds apart. I for one would favor the tangible one anyday.
That’s cool, but please don’t ever stop using real puppets completely. 🙏
They won’t, they’re going to keep making puppets.
That’s so, cool i really want to get into this kinda stuff,
Cool! I make real-time digital puppets in unreal engine too
That's all cute but I want to know what eldritch symbols Brian Henson is wearing around his neck. :)
I would like to see some longer clips. I'm not familiar with any of these properties.
Cool!!
half these comments are like "I understand your studio may have dozens of expert craftsmen and performers looking to expand their skills by innovating in their field but actually you shouldn’t because you haven’t considered it makes my tummy feel bad"
eat glass
what a dead weight take
Man, the tech is definitelt worlds apart from, arguably, one of the firsr digital puppet, Waldo (the Jim Henson one, not the black mirror one).
This is very cool
Awesome vid
As someone who’s seen labyrinth, I know this studio is able to do better.
beautiful. love anything/everything Henson.
It's unique stuff, but never lose the old ways. There needs to be a line where tradition and new can be used. Earth to Ned was a good example as it appropriately used large scale puppets and digital ones. Please, do not leave the magic.
JH was the last bastion of puppetry. Seeing them go digital just like everyone else just tells me puppetry is dead. There is nothing special about digital.
Congratulations, you are doing what Cartoon Network's "The Moxy Show" did in 1993.
Jim Henson did this in 1989 with a CG character named Waldo(Waldo C Graphic, I believe).
Thanks Brian and crew for continuing Jim's legacy. You all never cease to amaze.
Cheers from Washington State. 🤙
Without the actual puppets it just looks like a cartoon.
Very cool blend of CG and traditional techniques!
kind of like what has been happening in disney and aardman, in terms of their traditional (2d and stopmotion) elements with cgi, right?
@@scoutart1508 Pretty much.
Just make puppets, brian. Please. Puppets are cool, your company can do it like no other. We have enough cg already
physical puppets are still being made! this is just another thing they're doing
Bring back Farscape then!!!
I've always taken a dislike to exaggerated facial expressions in most 3D animation. Because animators can tweak everything frame by frame they can emotionally manipulate into perfection and that always felt creepy to me. That's also why I love puppets so much. There's an ambiguity to them, and they're animated in real-time which means there's a roughness and honesty to them. The animator can't get it perfect and that's what retains the integrity.
I don't see this new technique as a substitute for real puppets, but rather a substitute for manual animation and allowing cartoons to be less exaggerated and refined.
Having given this some more thought and seeing the other comments, people worrying that this is the end of puppets. I think this video fails to convey the exact pain point in animation that they're trying to address to this technology. This isn't replacing puppets with virtual puppets. This is about replacing conventional computer animation with something more tactile and authentic.
Thanks interesting🤔
They've been doing this for years.... How do y'all think they did Sid the Science kid?
With computers
Love it!! I think Jim Henson would be proud😁
Didn’t Homer Simpson invested in this? 💸
Real Puppets >>>>> CGI
Hey Brian... time to chat?
You've got to invite Adam @tested over and into a capture suit.
Awesome work! Can't wait to see the Tested behind the scenes video on all of this at some point in the future! Hahah!!
This looks realy good
Turning into Weta...
Very cool technology, I can see kids loving it. As an adult who grew up with Henson, this just comes across as another CGI shop with poorly rendered animation (I get that it is that way due to being live, but still). It lacks the magic that the practical effects brought.
Id love to see more from the Henson Alternative. Happytime murders had a lot of potential.
They'd hoped Happytime would do well and then they were going to spoof various other genres besides the cop genre. I would've loved that.
It's kind of a shame to abandon physical puppetry but at least it's not AI.
Sorry I'm not a fan of this, I know you're trying to advance with technology but there's a reason why older Jim Henson movies are beloved and this isn't it.
Jim Henson himself loved computer graphics and pioneered the first CGI performance capture puppet in the 1980s, called Waldo. They also pioneered CGI virtual production with CG sets in the TV show The Jim Henson Hour also in the 80s. These guys are pushing the art form of puppetry forwards in different styles and media IN ADDITION to traditional foam and felt puppets which they will always continue to use. In short, lighten up. If Jim were still with us he'd love this.
It’s not the technology that’s the problem. It’s the suggestion that Henson Muppetry is ONLY for little kids.
@@benmech I made the digital Rygel puppet for the Henson show Farscape back in the early 2000s, a puppet-heavy show most definitely not for children.
@@as46643 and I love Farscape. Rygel, Pilot, Zhaan, Chi’ana, Ka D’Argo, John, Æryn, Scorpius, the Whole Scarran lot. The Nebari. Etc etc etc. Farscape is my favourite show.
My only real problem with it is all the body performers moving like they're Disney Parks mascots trying to sell it to the cheap seats. It takes me out of it because all I see is a human trying (and failing) to move like a cartoon character.
I feel like I watched some UA-cam ads to watch an ad on UA-cam.
Oh well, still cool.
Down with CGI. We need to go backwards in technology.
I can see its uses but I don't see it being a good thing for genuine real puppeteering in pop culture in the long run. All advancements in CGI and digital effects in film/tv end up more often than not being used as cost cutting measures in place of practical sets and effects etc, odds of this breaking that growing trend just doesn't seem likely.
CG puppetry with raw motion captured body movement looks like garbage. There's a certain uncanny valley awkwardness to it.
Plus, if you're having two people independently doing the voice and body acting, it just ends up with that dumb Japanese video game quality animations where the body language is clearly divorced from the voice acting and results in the body feeling like it's greatly overacting.
Hate it. There's no interesting artistic interpretation there as a result of the medium.
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Where has Kermit and all the other Muppets gone? Wanted: Muppets! Not imposters!
Hello Sam, Henson Co sold The Muppets to Disney a while back. You can see them via the Disney Channel. Best recent project in my opinion was the Muppets Mayhem, a series focusing on the Electric Mayhem band. Good songs, fun stuff, had a couple really poignant moments for Janice, my fave Muppet.
They’re owned by Disney, unfortunately. They’re barely using them.
@@CarbyGuuGuu Guess Disney owns all the socks then lol
This ain't it. We miss physical creatures, Cinema is inundated with stupid lifeless looking CG creatures. The audience craves real texture, lighting, physical spaces. The art of real puppetry and creature design is being lost. Please don't deviate from the old ways, it's what made Henson studios what it is.
Those aren’t puppets
You can keep calling them puppets all you want, they’re not gonna turn into felt and foam all of a sudden
Just give us functionally better FNAF animatronics, instead.
0:02 We’ll, If it the old Brian Henson the director of the 2 Disney Muppet Movies from the 1990S “Muppet Christmas Carol” & “Muppet Treasure Island”. Before “The Muppets” & the Most Wanted sequel returned to Disney years later. I’m surprised that he’s still with us. His late father Jim Henson was barely that old. I could believe Brian’s father Jim died just before both me & most of my cousins were ever born. A few of my cousins however were born in the middle 1980S. Still, sad that Jim Henson’s death was tragic. At least Jim’s bloodline Brian Henson is still keeping his father’s masterpieces alive.
NO
YES
@@hunterw4304 NO
It’s literally just mocap whats so special about this?
i donno. i like real muppets for the creature shop. don't lose that knowledge.
Each character needs to be rendered on its own machineand digitally overliad on the scene. Youre going to burn out equipment trying to force entire scenes to render out all at once. Its a rediculous workflow that shouldn't be attempted until computers are 8x as fast
The real sad part is the lack of investing into material sciences and technology. Most industries by now would have specialized parts and workflows, training, r&d. You people parasite off computer scientists for crumbs.