Tuesday 20 May 2014

Rubber Balls!

Bloody hell, yet again a massive gap since the last post! And nobody gave a shit! Well fuck you, I'm going to post again anyway...

Being a massive (aka fat) fan of Spitting Image, I wondered if it was possible to create something in that spirit for our jaded online age, and to that end I decided to see if I could round up some like-minded people, as I lack many of the skills required to attempt such a project, and I need someone to kick me up the arse now and then when my energy/interest flags.

So thanks to the Twitter, I hooked up with mega-talented short film maker* extraordinaire Jon Rist, aka Jonofthesouth, and hot-shot up-&-coming improv comedy wizard Nick Brown.

But being aware of logistical limitations, in particular the length of time it takes to make a puppet, what to do? Without spending many months first making puppets, there was no way we could even hope to mount some kind of ensemble production like Spitting Image, or even the much cheaper (and admirable) Aussie puppet show, Rubbery Figures (well worth checking out on YouTube, BTW).

So what single figure could we take the piss out of? Aha, we thought, 22 May is Euro Election time! And who is flavour of the month and never off the bloody telly? Nigel Farage... That might give us time to make perhaps two puppets (if we were lucky), or (as it transpired) one.

So, allied with my old Nick Griffin puppet (to provide a foil for Nige), we decided to take the plunge, writing a script which incorporated the most feasibly filmable material we'd dreamt up.

But what to call this venture? Well, the puppets are rubber, and it's mostly going to be a load of old balls, so how about... Rubber Balls? Ace!

And this is the final result, Rubber Balls Presents Nigel Farage TV:



So how was it made? I don't hear you ask... Well you'll have to wait for another post to find that out. Or just look here.


*As in he's normal height, his films are short, rather than he's a short-arsed maker of films (regardless of length). Got that? Good.

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