Leo Brodie
Any consumer video camera or camcorder will do, as long as it has a video output.
The camera lens should be level with the puppets. For Muppet-style work, this usually means the camera should be about as high as your hand when you stand with your arm raised overhead. If you will be doing this a lot, it's easiest to get a tripod that is tall enough. Otherwise, you can put a shorter tripod on top of a desk.
Of course, different puppeteers will have different heights, so be prepared to adjust the tilt on the tripod accordingly. Other than tilting the camera between takes, you don't need anyone to operate the camera once you set it up.
Turn off auto-focus, and focus the lens manually for the distance where the puppets will be.
You get more of an exagerated perspective effect (bigger difference between close and far) by setting the zoom to a wide angle, and working the puppets closer to the camera.
(Here's a fine point that you can experiment with. Tilt the camera up so that the lower sight-line is horizontal, as shown in the following figure. Once you've adjusted the height of the camera so the puppeteer's heads don't show, then the puppeteers can move closer or farther from the camera without their heads suddenly appearing in the shot.)
The video monitor should be placed where the puppeteers can see it when their puppet is facing the camera. The monitor should be high enough so that everyone can see it, and not too far right or left of the monitor. Often schools have tall "AV" (audio/video) carts; these are ideal.
If you have a lot of people working at once, you may need more than one monitor so that everyone can see easily. For example, you might set one monitor five feet to the right of the monitor, and another five feet to the left.
How you connect the camera to the monitor depends on the equipment you have. It'a simplest to use a regular VHS VCR in-between. Connect the VCR to the TV in the usual way. Play a tape and make sure you can see the picture on the monitor.
Next, connect the camera to the VCR. Usually you will need a "video cable" with an RCA (phono) jack on either end. One end goes into the camera's "Video" plug. If there's a switch that selects "Input" or "Output", set it to "Output". Connect the other end to the "Video In" plug on the VCR.
If you plan to record your rehearsals, then connect the audio cables in the same manner, and mute the volume on the TV (otherwise you'll get feedback).
Select the setting on the VCR so that it uses the signal from the Video Input (camera) instead of from the TV channels.
If everything is turned on and set up correctly, you should see a picture from the camera on the monitor.
With this setup, you can record practice takes and play them back for analysis using either the VCR or the camcorder.
To connect a second monitor, you'll need an "RF splitter", which is a device usually used to split a cable-TV input for more than one television set.
© 1998 Leo Brodie
