The Phoenix Project

The Phoenix Project:

Building a realistic bird puppet for
the short independent film:
The Phoenix

Winner of the 1st Place Jury Prize at the 2000 Alibi Film Fiesta, Official selection of the 2001 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

Film directed by Peter Ettinger
Puppet built & designed by Monica Roxburgh
Puppeteering by Monica Roxburgh & Michael McCormick

All Images On This Site ©1999 By Monica J. Roxburgh
Character and its likeness ©1999 By Monica J. Roxburgh

Use of these images without permission constitutes a
copyright violation.

Phoenix Pictures From the Set

Puppet Construction

Puppet Design

Last Updated 7/7/99

Phoenix Pictures From the Set

"Young" Phoenix

The phoenix and I on the set
and in our cage

The young phoenix was puppeteered by myself and puppeteer/creature builder Mike McCormick, who was also my puppeteering coach.

"Old" Phoenix

Its easy to forget there is anyone under or behind the set isn't it!

Puppet Construction

Finished Puppet Head

Full head

Close-up

Earlier Stages of Building the Head


The original prototype puppet head/skull. Much wider and more curved then the final head ended up being.

The revised head shape. Narrower than the original, and with a straighter beak. I was experimenting with having a narrower beak through a modification of the typical hand puppet hand position--using two fingers and the thumb instead of the whole hand. In the end I went back to the normal hand position anyway.

The final skull, feathering in process, and still waiting for latex eyelids. The lower beak shown here was later rebuilt with less vertical height.


	Eyes with latex skin. The lid is nonmoving, eye-blinking will be added to the film in post.

Puppet Body Near Completion

Here the white feathers have still to be airbrushed yellow and orange, the wings are not yet properly attached, and the feathering of the face is not complete.

Its interesting to compare the actual puppet body with the earlier mockup below.

Early mockup pasted together in photoshop from some of the older photos and video captures below.

Earlier Stages of Building the Body


	The only cast I have ever had. ;) I must say it was interesting trying to cut the cast off by myself after it was set, using my left hand too.

The basic body shape. It was formed with newspaper and masking tape over the arm-casting, to build the actual puppet body over.

This is actually the second version of the body. It is much more vertically oriented than the original, shaped more like a heron's body. In addition to looking nicer, it will make the puppet easier to manipulate, as there is more room for the puppeteer's arm and body behind the bird than with the original.

Body with feathers. Partially airbrushed, more color would still be added.

Puppet Wings


The wings, inner side & outer side. This set is designed to fold from fully open to semi-closed. For shots where the wings need to be fully closed, separate closed wings will be used.

Here you can see the structure of the wing. I built the skeleton out of fiberglass rod and rubber tube, basing the joint mechanism on the folding of a travel umbrella rib.

Finished Puppet Legs

Painted legs, claws attached.
		Close-up

Earlier Stages of Building the Legs


	Plastilina sculpt over a wire armature.

Making the mold for the leg sculpt

Rubber foot, unpainted

Thermoplastic claws, unpainted & painted.

Stunt Bird

The "stunt" model of the puppet for scenes and locations that were too harsh for the good puppet.

Puppet Design

Structure

Basic plan

Puppeteering
method

Color Scheme

New color scheme for head

Basic color scheme

www.goblinart.com

All Images On This Site ©1999 By Monica J. Roxburgh
Character and its likeness ©1999 By Monica J. Roxburgh

Use of these images without permission constitutes a
copyright violation.