Craig Crane

Some bits and bobs from 2006

Well, here is some of the stuff I managed to keep from Nickelodeon…., there is also some early Rainbow stuff from the first series we did (where the george voice was still a little “raw”), and lastly, there is some stuff from Pinnochio, where I animated the cricket in Real Time.

Sadly, I have no archival footage from The Little Green Planet Show or the TV AM stuff…. and getting the Muppet stuff on the reel was too much of a hassle due to the 29fps issue with NTSC DVD

This is a selection “Arnie and Barnies Busy People” from Nick jr. As well as performing Arnie, I also wrote this series. One episode was never made tho, because it was deemed that the firestation script had far too much inuendo

This reel consists of some work undertaken with Medialab in Paris and Dream Team Israel.

OMG, Just found this in my old stuff whilst looking for material for a new Show Reel for the puppets. I cant really include this, so here it is on its own…

Andy has a new toy, from ebay… its his underwater camera housing.

The end part is me showing the world how boyant my wetsuit still is….. couldnt get under the water for some pretend freediving…..

YAY!!! The first reel I sent out has won me an interview in a top london facility!!!!

Even better, its a company that I actually like and tried to get in a few years back AND its a stones throw from Nickelodeon….

C’MON!!!!!!!

OK, time to think about how one conducts oneself in such a situation…….

Crikey!

OK, im back on track. Must have been the full moon last week or something as equally profound.

Anyway, I’m certain puppets and and CG can co-exist for the time being…. after all, they are both just story telling tools at the end of the day, and the real matter at hand is the actuall story one wants to tell… and there is the rub of the matter… there have not been many reasons or opportunites to tell a story.

So, thinking cap is back on, and juices are flowing.

Back in control, have a nice day….

And, speaking of hero’s earlier in the week….

Looks like the Henson exhibit in Washington DC looks like a great place to go…… plenty to see. I have never see this pic before of the younger Jim posing with Kermit. I have to say, he looks too smartly dressed for that to be an On Set pic, but its still a great shot none the less…

And….

This is a great pic too, because it just sums up the great Joy that you can get in the studio when everything is going really well, and performnces are tight and very enjoyable to watch as they develop rom take to take….

I know why I am bored! I am feeling very unfulfilled at the moment (proffessionally speaking that is). This is probably the worst I have felt for 4 years, and 4 years ago was not the brightest of times. Its around the time that I left my job (no choice, was surplus to requirements), and that took a while to get over…. Spent 4 years learning CG (even tho I had been surounded by it for years with all the real time stuff), and recently its becoming more aparent that I am missing the puppets stuff. I think Hensons are a no go anyway, due to my having been so vocal about the company selling the muppet$ to Di$ney… which is a shame when I consider that it was a career built upon the dream and ambition of working with Frank Oz and Jim….

So, here I am at a pretty crucial crossroads, knowing what I am good at, and not giving myself the room to do it. I dont think I could ever go back to doing live continuity for a channel like Nickelodeon (even though I do still pre-record stuff for them), primarily because the last time I did that, I treated it like an office job towards the end, and lost all the passion that only now I can feel welling up again.

So, CG, Puppets or both? Maybe thats whats been irking me for the past few weeks. I know I have been very short with a few people… even vented on one of the forums I run, practically on the verge of banning people (although I still maintain that I was right in the choices I made). Maybe I am proffessionally frustrated and the desire to improve my animation skills due to the feedback from the showreels is really just me wanting to animate with a puppet… but not having the chance. Maybe I am pinning too much onto the CG…..

I love GOOD puppets!!! No time for shit ones, and shite performances really piss me off…. But a good puppeteer performance alwayts gets my attention…

For the last few years, I have been really dissapointed with the way the Henson company has been run, but with hindsight, and pulling from my own lesser experiences, I can see how it all went a bit tits up…. Maybe I shouldnt have been so vocal last year and just kept quiet, out of respect more than anything else…..

I dont think a new company can evolve that will have the same amout of kudos as Hensons. That boat has sailed. Maybe spitting Image…. and possibly Avenue Q may grow into something bigger… but man.. Hensons were the best!!!! Sure, The Muppets were great, but Fraggle Rock???? That was the best thing… that and the Dark Crystal….

From the outside, it looks like the only thing that really keeps the Henson dream alive are the die hard fans, syndication and the prospect of re-kindling the magic of the Dark Crystal for the planned sequel…. Having not seen mirrormask yet, I have no idea what that sort of venture could mean for the company. But there was a time when there was always something happening at the creature shop in Hampstead… my puppet Mecca…. Its now a medical practice and the companies HQ in Camden is dark.

No matter how vocal I am about the company, no matter how acidic certain comments I have made in the past towards certain factions within that company have been, I still hold the brand in high regard, especially the name and its legacy. In todays industry full of shite, Hensons still have a back catalogue that is only matched in quality and durability by Disney. I played a miniscule part in that, and maybe I should be gratefull for just that.

Anyway, I digress…… I think I missed the Henson Dream boat by roughly ten years… I shopuld have gotten on the case as soon as I left school. Heck, I should have done a Mike Quinn and gotten on the case whilst I was still at school! But I didnt, and I have no more time for what if’s and maybe’s. That boat sailed, stop dreaming and just create those new characters you have in mind for a “mature” audience and write about what I know best!!!

I really need to get back to the puppets I think. Keep the CG going, but harness all the energy I have found since leaving Nickelodoen and put it to creative use…. all the stress of the past four years should somehow find its way onto paper as I write the one adult show that has been bubbling under the surface for a couple of years now… As I have said before… CGI is great and it pays the bills… but where is the instant gratification of laughter from the studio floor??? I think I need to cut a few ties, maybe take a back seat or even avoid the forums….. maybe not limit myself by living in the middle of FUCKING NOWHERE and regain control of my life… find that laughter again…. The past four years saw me acting as tho I was retired or something…. more like a retard if you ask me…. You cant retire from this shit if its in your blood….. you just have to do it, and I can hear it calling me again, just like it did in 86 and 89….. I gotta stick my hand up something and breathe life into it, before the clinical world of CG sucks my soul out into oblivian!

Why am I writing this Blog by the way….? cos its cheaper than therapy!!!!