Brian Henson Introduces Adam Savage to Digital Puppeteering!
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2023
- While it may be best known for its mastery of hand puppetry, the Jim Henson Company is also a place of major technological innovation. At Henson Studios, Brian Henson, Chairman of the Board at the Jim Henson Company, and puppeteer Drew Massey give Adam a demo of the Henson Digital Performance System, a proprietary system that allows performers to puppeteer digital characters in real time. Be sure to watch to the end, when the controls are handed over to Adam himself to try!
An ENORMOUS thank you to Brian Henson as well as Drew Massey for showing us this amazing technology! See everything the Jim Henson Company is up to here: www.henson.com/
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching! - Наука та технологія
An ENORMOUS thank you to Brian Henson as well as Drew Massey for showing us this amazing technology! See everything the Jim Henson Company is up to here: www.henson.com/
Isn't most puppeteering digital? Fingers are digits and practically every puppet gets manipulated using fingers in one way or another.
Drew Massey has been performing with Henson for over 30 years and is one of the most skilled puppeteers, and now instructors, on the lot. He holds the distinction of being one of the first humans to be digitally erased on film when he puppeteer the "Dic-ta-bird" for the first FLINTSTONES movie.
In addition to being a talented puppeteer, Drew is also a world class graphic artist, an accomplished musician and a writer producer. His show THE BARBARIAN AND THE TROLL can be seen on HULU and Nickelodeon.
@@HariSeldon913 I don’t d word word dds mo is😮😮😮 8:08 😮
Again, i must demand that Adam goes back there and spends much more time with every single person involved in the company. We need multiple 5 hour videos of puppeteers and adam talking and geeking out and having fun.
This is cool thanks for sharing but this is another industry who in their bid to streamline and make their work digital will in no time at all reach a point where an ai can do their work for them. Ive seen it with artists and graphic and web design and automation in every factory and even professionals are now at risk. Yes its cheaper and faster and easier due to that goal eventually an ai and a robot will replace people to some degree.
Also ive never met an over weight puppeteer but i cant say the same about ai operators and animators so again our health..jobs and professions all replaced by computers.
And respectively to Jim henderson when everything was practical...they made their best work BY FAR...RIP Jim.
He didn't specify, but when Mr. Henson was talking about Drew and Misty working so well together on "Sid the Science Kid," he didn't specify that he was talking about Misty Rosas, who has gone on to be one the core backbone performers on "The Mandalorian," with credits as Kuill, Frog Lady, the bartender at Adelphi Outpost, and the pirate's coxswain. She's such and incredible performer, and - like the Henson company themselves - deserves more attention in the spotlight, not just behind the scenes.
Speaking of star wars based media, am I the only one who thinks that digital character looks a bit like that junk shop owner that owns Anakin Skywalker in star wars episode 1?
Henson comes off as such an asshole here - doesn't bother to introduce the puppeteer standing right in front of them, then does so as an afterthought at 2:20 only because he is demonstrating the equipment he is talking about. Also earlier he just casually describes how his staff had to work 12-14 hour days and pull all nighters to produce Dinosaurs. Like dude, you're the chair of the company, do you not feel any shame about exploiting the hell out of your team?? He must be a nightmare to work for.
@@FCBfullMatch Adam obviously met him before they started, and yeah filming can have notoriously terrible working conditions [if you've heard Jenna Ortega talk about shooting 'Wednesday', it was horrendously long hours and crazy workload] and Dinosaurs was an ambitious tv production for the time, so I can't fault Brian here for that, HOWEVER, having said that, there is an article that doesn't paint him as a nice guy, saying "I hate that fucking song" while backstage seeing Kermit performing Rainbow Connection and in response to Steve Whitmire fired from being Kermit he has been very angry and dismissive.
@@FCBfullMatch I think the "walk a mile in his shoes" ethos would be useful to bear in mind, can you imagine what hyper threading Brian is doing on a daily basis. I would think the introductions and a fair bit of Jamie's gushing were left on the cutting room floor. I am impressed that they let the cameras in to film the intricacies of their setup.
@@FCBfullMatchAre you joking?
I love how Brian Hanson and all people at the company keep doing their skilled tradition in a digital era. Where CGI companies use a mouse and keyboard (and do great stuff with it) it's pretty awesome to see these more practical artists keep their own tradition alive.
They need to get them linked up on LED wall stages. Imagine the actors being able to react to the "CGI" creatures LIVE. Like Brian said, they could "go again" and get totally new stuff. I bet the puppeteers would be really good at ships coming in for shows like Star Wars.
Where it's really unique and powerful I imagine is in controlling non-humanoids in real time, improvising
It's pretty much the puppeteering equivalent of using a Wacom tablet and pen instead of a mouse when drawing.
From sewing buttons onto a sock to this. Amazing. And in my lifetime. Waka waka waka! $0.02
The puppeteer just making the puppet move and not thinking about the actual hand movements is, I assume, the same as a musician playing an instrument not thinking about each note. In both cases the result is marvelous.
Or like, one drives a car and changing gear without thinking about it.
Muscle memory is a beautiful thing.
@@frqv Which most Americans won't understand ;-)
@ Should change that to most people under the age of 30. I'm in my 50's and when I had Driver Ed in high school it was required we learn to drive a manual.
I'm just older than that cutoff, and I learned to drive in a manual, lead acid electric. Had to use all three pedals at intersections. There was this one hill I had to take at speed, or else it would peak at 500 amps during the climb. Which was no good for machine life expectancy, I think 200 amps was a normal load for it.
I image that Jim Henson is so proud of where his son has taken the artistry. This is so freaking cool.
Came here to say this. I remember in The World of Jim Henson video (I think), towards the end he was talking about this technology while it was still in it's relatively early stages,; it was exciting direction to take the company in. I think he'd be immensely proud indeed!
The 6 frame delay threshold is interesting to hear. That's the same terms I hear when talking about video game reaction times and when things become unplayable.
The spontaneity talk reminds me of Del Toro's Pinocchio and how they added little hiccups to the stop motion to give it more life.
Drew's voice being different when he steps off the rig tickled me.
Suggestion longer format video - Adam spends a couple days learning to puppet his digital-self in a space like the Cave, but with fan service. Han on the wall looks around, the swiss army knife grows and grows in tool count, the door behind the sawbench goes to Narnia or similar.
criggie... wonderful ideas for AS, how about your own centered stuff?
I have grown up on the Muppets and admire Jim Henson and Co. Brian is making his father proud. This was so interesting, and this movie loving engineer loved this. Thanks, Adam and Brian!
I feel the Henson company and Andy Serkis are cut from the same cloth. Using technology to enhance and grow performance through the talent of actors and puppeteers. It is beautiful when that happens.
Now all I want is to see Andy Serkis as a Muppet.
@Vigilant Cosmic Penguin Yes match made in heaven! Or a movie staring Andy Serkis and the Muppets like Muppet Christmas Carol or Muppet Treasure Island. Oh the possibilities are endless.
@@amandahobson1602 How about something like "Dr Serkis and Muppet Hyde" wherein Andy Serkis transforms into a Muppet...😉😁
@Will Frank I did not know I needed this, but I do. That is perfect.
Even as an adult I loved Fraggle Rock. And how they did the group singing is amazing. I loved the creature and puppetry of Farscape was one one of my favorite things about the show. Which BTW is one of my favorite shows ever.
There’s something about seeing Brian talk that really warms my heart. His dad was a hero to me and I was 9 when he passed away, one of my first experiences of death. I adore the work that Hensons do, it’s totally magic.
This is why Henson with all they've done continues to be a grand inspiration for a lot of people
Really nice tech! The one thing that I think is still lacking from digital puppets is a good real-time hair and cloth sim. With real muppets you get so much secondary motion on the felt and fur, even with the smallest movement, that it just breathes so much more life into the character.
We are getting there with Unreal these days, so I'm super excited to see what the Henson Company is going to do with it.
Never knew about how Brian made the company so successful, He is really a perfect example of the next generation improving on the past.
This will overtake pure digital because of the spontaneity which is impossible to program.
OMG, Drew Massey, we worked together on “Cousin Skeeter!!! Great seeing you!
11:00 Watching Adam's reaction over the cameras being invisible. I don't think I've ever seen his mind that blown before.
Brian Henson is like a great uncle who bought me a bicycle for my birthday once and it was my favorite bike ever for years. We've never met, but he's brought so much joy to my life.
The saying still holds true. Adam, You are 8 year old you's freggin hero! The desire to want to have a little time on one of those interfaces is something that probably a lot of us have. It makes me happy that the tools are still a means to capture a person. I loved the Fraggle video so much.
I for one can't wait until they put on a live show with this. Even just having a character on a screen talking back to someone in real time on something like a talk show would be amazing.
Sounds kinda like Vtubing, huh?
There's that finding nemo interactive thing at Disney; that could be fun with a smaller group & real interaction with voices + animation.
You definitely need to check out Vtubers then. There are amazing performers in that field!
This already existed on TV back in 1998. Real time CGI host. Check out "Le Bigdil", from France.
These Tested videos, in a weird way, remind me of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. We get to learn new things, the takes are long, and we just sit and learn together.
Cool to hear that the Creature Shop is working in Unreal now! Excited to think about what may be possible for them as the rendering tech continues to progress, especially in the area of hair & fur.
Spoilers, it's not the engines anymore, it's the hardware. There's folks out there right now, like Code Miko, doing live real time full body and facial performance capture complete with hair and uh "other" physics. The issue is no longer can the engine render hair or fur in real time. UE 5 totally can & does it fairly well too. The issue is can your GPU do all that physics math in real time?
@@hazonkuWhat’s the need for it to be in real time?
@@ClaudiaPadme watch the video, it's explained clearly in there
also, no need to explain why it needs to be real time for a live streaming
Incredible. Henson should patent and market that as a game controller - wouldn't matter what it cost - it would sell.
The satisfaction a puppeteer must derive from engaging with these finely crafted and tuned systems to develop a character, bring nuance and personality to it, then engage with others in a dance of skill and play and technology to manifest a performance that expresses something
not just realistic, but compelling and dramatic is just too much to take in. Such an amazing time to be alive where humanity is realizing and harnessing such potential, and using it to create, instead of destroy.
The collaboration between two performers is fascinating. Achieving that level of understanding to work together so well must feel amazing.
I love how Jen from the Dark Crystal is just standing right behid them the whole time. lol I would give anything to spend a day at that studio.
Ever since I was a kid, puppeteering for Henson was my unobtainable dream job. I knew there was no way I'd get to do something that cool. Still, whenever I see behind the scenes with the performers and rigs, I'm fascinated with it. They're living the dream.😌
I love that Brian is carrying on the innovation of puppetry, something that Jim would have wanted, especially in a digital age. Really, all the Hensons are doing everything and then some to continue to innovate and change the landscape. It's jaw dropping to watch.
Since it was brought up, the ring finger actually shares nerves with the middle and pinky finger. Not all of them, but some of them, making it impossible for most people to independently move their ring finger without causing movement in either the middle or pinky finger, if not both fingers.
Puppeteering has evolved with technology and computers and continues to do so.. I applaud their innovation and design!
12:10 I like it how Adam instantly transitioned from laughter mode to serious mode
Just imagine what will be possible in 1, 2, 5 and 10 years from now! Those rigs are amazing.
I was very lucky to have worked Props on one of Brian’s spec projects about 10yrs ago called “Good Morning Today”. The first day I got to witness these rigs in action, my mind was blown. Such a fascinating process, and now seeing how it’s grown up, I love it even more. Thanks for the great visit, Adam!
That was pretty amazing to watch, really interesting technology. Never imagined it being operated like this and even in realtime.
Single camera blocking in a multi-camera setup, that's stuff I'm just dreaming about. Just wow
I thought that his movie "The Happytime Murders" was hysterical. It is surreal seeing puppets that come from the same people that bring us The Muppets being so naughty. Team America already did the thing with puppets getting jiggy with it but that movie takes it to the next level.
AAWWEEE i cant beleive how much brian henson looks like his dad ...thats so wonderful he has continued with what his father started he has such a beautiful legacy to keep going its just mind blowing ...also thank you to brain and the late jim henson for all my wonderful imaginative memories as a kid in the 1980's and now for my children ... my kids now have the power to imagine up anything fun thanks to the henson family and it is now in the DNA of my kids forever who will hopefully pass it on to their kids and so on ...thank you from the bottom of my heart u have made life beautiful b/c of what ur whole family and company have continued to do to keep the sparkle of imagination alive for kids young or old !!!!
OMG I remember seeing this on one of the muppet TV shows. There was a CGI character named Waldo and they did a scene where they showed all the puppeteers. Because Waldo was all CGI they just had what was probably one of the early generations of this rig. That is so crazy to see how far the technology has come.
Yeah! Waldo in Jim Henson Hour was the prototype of this technology! Brian refers to the hand puppet rig as a Waldo!
I grew up on Labyrinth and its puppeteering work, and it makes me happy to see (and at the same time messes with my mind) to see mister Brian Henson :) I hope he is well
I've been intrigued by this system since I first saw a behind-the-scenes video years ago with what I believe was a fairy character. The rig was far more basic than this, probably one of the million dollar systems that Brian mentioned. Jim was (and still is!) one of my heroes, both in his innovation and in the way that he connected with children to help them learn. I grew up watching Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and all the movies. There's always been a wonderful beauty in the Henson productions, and I'm glad to see Brian and company carrying on the tradition. Thanks for sharing this Adam!
Henson workshop puppeteers are amazing at their craft. The real life puppeteers are so great at bringing their characters to life that when you look at them just holding their puppet you see someone holding a puppet, but when they start moving the puppet I immediately think "oh shit, that's a living being" but like it's just some felt.
Same thing with Randy Feltface. Whoever controls him has the movements look so fluid and I sometimes forget Randy is a puppet.
Cool to see the basic rig hasn’t changed over the years, and a puppeteer now could pick up a physical puppet and use the same rig and hand gestures to operate.
This is so cool! It's nice to see the craft of puppeteering moving into the digital age!
"Yeah, this is my rock!"
Pfffffffhahahaha, it was totally hilarious that Drew suddenly made the puppet come alive! And all with a snarky British accent... 😂😂😁😁🤟🤟
Adam is gold. Working with the Henson family makes you golden.
I would have been so excited that I would have literally exploded.
Adam handled it well, asked the right questions.
From a certain perspective, this technology brings the element of live performance to a digital medium in ways that are otherwise impossible, and in the most efficient and cost-effective manner available. There's something to be said for the humanity and life that this technology brings to the works it produces, and it enables creativity in new and previously unattainable ways. A beautiful combination of man and machine.
Brian Henson is probably one of very few people who is the chairman of a large corporation who understands how every job at his company is done.
Incredible. I love puppeteering.The technology they're using is amazing. .
If Henson gets in to VR hardware and software, I think we’re going to end up with something beautifully expressive
Fascinating.
I’ve been a Jim Henson nut since I was a little kid, from the Muppets to the Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock to the Storyteller.
Jim always managed to combine the greatest moral sensibility with cutting edge technology and it’s wonderful to see his son Brian (who I remember as Hoggle in Labyrinth and the dog from the Storyteller) continue to push technology and puppetry in new and exciting directions.
Imagine ‘live’ cgi, that pretty incredible!
I saw a BTS of this setup for Sid the Science Kid years ago. Brilliant stuff.
Super cool! I've always felt that muppets / Henson's puppets have so much life to them. More that just a computer animation. I think the direct human creating the character has a lot to do with that.
Having first-hand knowledge of how difficult it is to repair and service Steadicam and Jimmyjib controls, overhauling this Waldo, must be a nightmare!
I'd love to talk with the maintenance engineers, and share horror stories!
I love that they're just using off-the-shelf Dunlop-style expression pedals on the floor.
Imagine if all your gaming and productivity software macros were just dwarfed in epicness by Jim Hensen's Studio presetting character nuancing due to the complexity of their puppeteer's character performances.
Then watch this and recognize that's already a thing.
This is incredible! A long way from watching the muppet show as a kid. Technology aiding creativity like this is truly a marvel.
They had a bigger version of this in their off Broadway show several years ago. It's such an amazing technology.
Brian looks so much like his dad now.
Very similar manner and sense of humour, too!
Jim would be so proud of Brian of the work he and the Henson Company has continued his legacy.
Such a fantastic vlog. Some of my favorite Henson productions were The Dark Crystal, Fragglerock, and the original Muppet Show. I was so enamored with Fragglerock I named one of my pets BooBer and another Kyra. I still watch Henson programs when I find them and any documentaries I can.
person: Why are you looking so happy?
me: perfect storm of Adam Savage, Brian Henson, digital puppetry and motion capture.
I've done work with programming of digital puppets / 3D environments, currently working with capture systems.
The digital puppet is typically sculpted (modelled) in 3D on computer, sometimes based on a real model, digitally painted (textured), a basic controllable skeleton frame added to support the skin (rigged), sometimes body 'fat' is added, then the skeleton control 'muscles' are grouped together into a control systems, which are sometimes linked to a hardware control system such as the 'stick' and 'waldo' mentioned in the video. The controls are often either range controls (move the arm to a certain position) or action triggers (thumb up, perform a backflip, etc.).
This is magical. I love it so much. Thank you Jim Henson.
so cool when you see old technology come into the digital age
Wild to see Henson grow up, I remember how young he looked in "from star wars to Jedi"
From socks on hands to this in about 50 years. Imagine what they will be doing in the next 50.
The rock introduction was funny af, I could see just that alone being a really good form of comedy. Like the purple puppet comedian Randy Feltface
Such a great video. I have always enjoyed any interview with Brian Henson, and of course his father. Absolutely fascinating.
Amazing video. Loved every second!
That was incredible! Thanks for sharing!
6:53 - "We could go live TV."
Now I sort of want to see a live Muppet Show. Live sports coverage could be fun. Especially if Statler and Waldorf were doing colour commentary!
If you asked me 15 years ago, I would not have predicted that the Unreal Engine would become a backbone of movie visual effects production.
The description of designing and assigning expressions reminded me of setting up vtuber or vrchat models. Just imagine a vtuber model being puppeted by one of these, the breadth of expressiveness would be incredible.
The puppeteers must love being able to work without having to have their arms straight up for hours.
I'm all for tech that allows human expression and acting to still shine. This is fabulous~
I am so envious.
I’d do almost anything to work in that place.
I’m just so happy that you had this experience. You must have been so incredibly thrilled. Joy that was hard to contain I imagine. Wow, just wow. Thank you so so much for sharing this experience.
You must have been pinching yourself constantly. What an absolute dream.
I’d never want to leave.
🤣
Please, please could I stay? I’ll work for snacks, and I promise I’ll be good. 😬
Please please don’t make me leave.
Ha ha 🤣
Wow! Fraggle Rock was one of my favorite shows as a kid, that stuff just blew my mind at like 5-8 years old :) Ahhh good memories, thank you
That would be the *PERFECT* controller for a Mech.
Absolutely amazing and SO EXCITING going forward!!
Wow, what a great look behind the scenes.
Thank you for this interview. I absolutely love this company and the computer animatronic control stuff.
I love this tech. I saw a behind the scenes for Sid the Science Kid several years ago that showed it.
The tech can continue to evolve too. The introduction of Hall Effect sensors could increase accuracy and longevity. I can also see where AI could be implemented into the character programs to allow for streamlined processes.
The main skill that has carried the Henson company through over the decades has been the ability to imbue a puppet with life to the extent that even if you can see the puppeteer you still engage with the puppet as a living entity in it's own right. That runs through glove puppets, semi-animatronic marrionettes and costumes and computer generated characters alike. For 68 years the skilled hands of puppeteers have evolved this craft into one of the most important art forms in cinema and television. God bless Jim Henson and all who sail in him.
The JD Wah pedals on the floor is absolutely baller.
Love how Adam is so distracted by the tech that it appears all he is hearing blah blah blah. :P Love your videos Adam. Thank you.
Oh the many hours of Sid the science kid I watched with my kids!!!! Such a great show. This was really cool to see how they work the rig and bring together digital and puppeteering. Love it!
It's amazing how many decades the Henson Company has been working on this type of digital/physical blend of puppetry
Ammazzing video. Thanks so much for this! this is completely new tech I had never seen before!
Thank you for sharing this, so fascinating!
Once again, Adam is living my best life 😁
This is awesome, to think they developed this amazing controls so many years ago and now is paired with the latest of technology
Adam is a natural puppeteer
I was very happy to be able to sit in on the dark crystal panel at DragonCon a few years ago with one of the Henson kids and Toby Froud.
That rig is absolutely stunning, I look forward both to the day when the system architecture and base technology allows them to put on a fully digitally rendered live show, and when the self same technology becomes more commonly available. You could do so much with a controlled rig that has so many potential axis of action.
Amazing!
I love how Brian carries the family legacy and all the fantastic people working there. Also, Brian has a resemblance to his dad Jim Henson.
In 2000 something I Worked for A Tech moving company and Helped move them from Gower I think. I had full access to the lot and Brian's office with Animals Drum set. If only I had a camera to record the memories, Sooo many cool things from my youth.
Please keep all of your videos over the 15min mark please, I have an addiction and you are just going to have to facilitate, with all due respect 😂 love videos like these!!!
Appreciate the kind comment - thank you!
@@tested I like long detailed videos that explains every step of a process. (no junk filler of course)
Ok…
This was just the inspiration I needed! Not for anything specific, just creative motivation in general! Thank you all for showing/reminding that technology can always be a tool to enhance creativity, and for helping to push that tech in those directions! Tbh, as concerning as a lot of current advancements currently are, they still are relatively new, and we have the power to shape them and use them in ways that do more good than bad! 👍👍👍
It makes me unbelievably happy that the Jim Henson company has stayed in the family
Actual live CGI shows using UE is a mind-bending concept.
what an amazing job/career.... digital puppeteer.....amazing.
Mind blowing!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Combining Puppetry with CG is awesome!
It's more realistic and innovative!