As I looked over the feedback from my Country Bear articles (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), I realized that I left a few things unexplained. Plus, there were a lot of specific questions about how these creatures work and so on. So, this time I decided to let you have a little peek behind the curtain.

When I joined the Jim Henson Company, they trained me on an amazing control system of their own design. Mastering that system is what catapulted me to the sixth position on the Jim Henson list of good puppeteers.

A question was asked for further clarification about my control falling apart when I performed as Trixie in the Country Bears Film. It was just as I explained, the controls simply disintegrated. Meaning that the parts that it was made of just gave out. Not the best thing to happen during a performance but something you have to be prepared to handle.

Controllers come in many shapes and sizes. The simple ones can be radios used in running remote controlled planes and boats reassigned to move servos in a puppet face instead of moving the servos in a model plane or car.

Others are custom designed to handle a lot more expressions, yet still very portable. This is because we did a lot of shooting on location.

What does programming mean exactly? What are the steps?

First a Jim Henson mechanic designs the head and places servos in it to move the eyes, brows, mouth and so on. Once that’s done, the head is handed over to the puppet performer. That’s me! I go though a list called servo placement list. It’s a map the mechanic gives us so we know where the servos are on the face helping us to design the expressions we need to make our character come to life.

We then go through the list and carefully wiggle each to determine the servo’s range, then set limits inside that range so it won’t burn itself out. One rule we have to learn is to never work a servo the full range.

Next we take the puppet head and begin assigning servos in the head to the controllers on the radio or the box. The joystick has several buttons on it one for each of your five fingers to work. We assign each button to make the eye blink or the brows move up and down, things of this nature.

The joystick can also be placed into a number of positions by moving much like the controller in an airplane. This is where I would assign a group of servos to create a number of expressions. This way I could make the entire face respond by putting the joystick in each of those positions. For example, a happy expression on the face would happen when I pulled the joystick back toward me and when I pushed it forward away from me the expression would become sad.

A shift to the right could change it to confused and to the left could mean upset or whatever I needed for the character to perform realistically in the film.

So for Trixie, I wanted to be sure I had a loving understanding expression for her so when she looked at Tennessee you could tell she was in love.

For Tennessee a crying face was created so that all Julie the performer had to do was to hit that position with the joystick and he could really cry as seen in the film.

The Country Bears was a very elaborate film and required a lot of detail. Whereas in a film like The Flintstones it’s was a lot more simplified.

Plus, since the majority of the puppeteers are right handed, the controller for the right hand is designed to move the mouth. Here you can assign servos to part the lips or flair the nose for example.

This servo/controller relationship works for all sizes of animatronic puppets.

Here Terri makes the facial expressions for the Dino Fred Flintstone rides. It took nine other puppeteers inside the belly of the beast to create the rest of the movement.
Here Terri makes the facial expressions for the Dino Fred Flintstone rides. It took nine other puppeteers inside the belly of the beast to create the rest of the movement.

In the Television show Dinosaurs it was a balance between the two.

What I love about animation is that there is a multitude of ways you can make a character move. In the next few photos below you can see that the old fashioned way of just using your arms or hands created the effects needed. This is my favorite way to perform a character.

Terri as Baby Sinclair’s Arms in Dinosaurs the TV Show.
Terri as Baby Sinclair’s Arms in Dinosaurs the TV Show.
Terri behind chair as Baby’s arms in Dinosaurs the TV Show.
Terri behind chair as Baby’s arms in Dinosaurs the TV Show.
Terri as Dino’s Paws in The Flintstones.
Terri as Dino’s Paws in The Flintstones.
A Glamorous Job? Terri as Dino’s Tongue in The Flintstones.
A Glamorous Job? Terri as Dino’s Tongue in The Flintstones.

I hope you enjoyed this diversion story. If you do, I can show you more examples of how puppets in films work.

PERSONAL UPDATE

It’s a shinny new year and that always gets me to hit the ground running. Literally. Last year I ran the Dopey Challenge at the Walt Disney World Marathon Event. For those of you who have no idea what this is, the Dopey is a race where participants run the 5k, 10k, half marathon and the full marathon for a total of 48.6 miles over 4 days.

Doing this once is crazy enough, but twice is borderline insane. Well take a look because I ran it again. So yes, I’m INSANE!

Terri with her friends Kendra, Steven and Anita.
Terri with her friends Kendra, Steven and Anita.

In the photo above, Anita is wearing her Half Marathon finisher medal. In the running world that makes her only half crazy. Kendra, Steven and I however, well, you get the picture.

Many runners say running the races, isn’t really the hard part. The hard part is getting up every morning at 3am to run them 4 days in a row.

This year the toughest race was the 5k. YES the 5k! Many of you are saying “What?”

The 5k was a Beast. The temp in Florida was a chilly 30 degrees on that day. However we also had the gift of gusty winds which dropped the temp to 20 degrees. Runners of this race ran for survival. I remember thinking, “ I need to run for my life because if I don’t I’m going to freeze like Anna and I have no Elsa to free me from that Frozen state.

I’m not a really fast runner. I just enjoy chatting with folks and helping them to finish. Katina, a friend of Anita’s, came to do her first half marathon. She had a couple of injuries or cranky joints let’s say. She was concerned with being able to finish. She just wasn’t sure.

Katina started a few corrals behind me and by mile 10 she had caught up with me. She looked at me and told me she didn’t know if she could finish as she was in pain. We did the last 3.1 miles together. I told stories, made jokes and did everything I could to help her forget her pain and get to the finish.

Katina finishes with a little help from a friend.
Katina finishes with a little help from a friend.

A corral is the name for the holding areas that runners wait in until the gun goes off to start the race. Corrals are labeled A,B,C,D and so on. Your corral placement depends on you finish time. The slower the time the farther you are in the alphabet. So I’m about in the middle.

It’s the perfect place to be as many runners can be anxious or scared about finishing. This allows me to give them words of encouragement.

In these running events, many runners go to a thrift store and pick up warm clothes called discard clothes. Then as a runner warms up they toss the clothes to the curb. Then RunDisney donates the discards to charity. The circle of life thus begins again.

However, on 5k day, my corral decided to go shopping. Instead of discarding clothing, they collected the clothing and put it on in the hopes of not freezing to death. The wind just cut through all your layers.

Thank goodness it was only 3.1 miles.

I have to say that you do feel really incredible once it’s over standing there with enough bling to rival Michael Phelps. Since this is the closest I’ll ever GET to Michael I’ll take it.

But wait there’s MORE…… More proof that I’m just plain loco. Last weekend I ran an additional 5k, 10k and half at the Star Wars Marathon Weekend at Disneyland. ( a total of 53.1 miles in less then a week if I have my math correct.) More on that next time.

Look at this young Star Wars fan Terri. Little did she know she’d soon be joining the Rebel Challenge.
Look at this young Star Wars fan Terri. Little did she know she’d soon be joining the Rebel Challenge.

 

Finally, Last time I mentioned I’m working on a cookbook. It’s really coming along nicely. My husband has really gotten actively involved by taking pictures of all the food while I continue to refine the recipes.

I know that many motivational speakers tell you that “your journey is your journey so live in the moment, but it is really sound advice. Because I drew a line in the sand and said I was going to do this book, my husband heard and just wouldn’t let me take the pictures with my iPhone. He got involved and now we are creating a wonderful piece of art. Without that journey, this would never have happened.

My husband wanted to help make this cookbook as unique as I am so he’s gotten creative with his photos.

Turi Ann and Keith’s Koffee Kake.
Turi Ann and Keith’s Koffee Kake, inspired by my husband’s parents.

 

I’d love for you to give me your opinion by answering these two questions:

• Does the photo make you want to eat it?
• Is this photo too artsy and distract from the subject or is it fine?

As I continue to refine my cookbook your help would be greatly appreciated. I’m hoping to have the book done by May at the very latest. If I can get it out sooner I will.

I realize that it’s become a very unique book, very different from anything I’ve ever seen before and this is exciting. My journey IS my journey and it’s a lovely ride.

FEEDBACK

Ken Goldenberg and FerretAfros –
Thanks so much for sharing your train experiences. They really sound cool. I do agree that Amtrak isn’t nearly as fun as the trains of old, but there are as you both say trains of old you can see and ride on. One of my favorites is the Silverton Train.

JungleTrekkie –
I believe you’re correct about Country Bears being one of the last animatronic mainstream films, but they aren’t dead. So many people love them and even prefer them that many animatronic puppets are still being made.

I think CG works best when combined with practical effects as this grounds the film in reality and looks more authentic. I wasn’t a fan of the last Planet of the Apes film. It came off too much like the Polar Express, and I just don’t like the look. However in Ironman there are both CG and practical costumes, making it a better film.

Shelly Valiadolid- Hi honey, Yes you were on the Country Bears. We did have a kicking good time didn’t we? Thanks for posting.

wolfsurv- No I don’t have nor have I seen what you are asking about. It does make me curious.

Finally, I hope that all of you who said you were going to make a point to watch the Country Bears again enjoyed walking down memory lane. I still play the music all the time as it’s just brightens my day.

Terri Hardin Jackson
Terri Hardin has designed attractions as a Disney Imagineer from 1987-1997. She's also a Jim Henson Puppeteer and has worked on over 42 film and TV projects including Ghostbusters & Captain EO. She currently creates Disney collectables and plays a Foster Farms Chicken.