Magic Drawer Workshop

Happy's Greenhouse 3.0 Trailer

2012-01-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

Happy's Greenhouse trailer 3.0 featuring "Dawg's Groove" by Tracy Bigelow Grisman & performed by the David Grisman Quintet. Thank you Tracy & David.

The Garden Cam

2011-12-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

Here's Skip at the counter of the Seed Bank in Petaluma with a selection of Heirloom Non-GMO seeds he will be planting in his garden plot at Happy's Greenhouse. Molly will be helping him, but she's moving a bit slow after eating at Blumper Burger.

The joys of filming outdoors!

2011-12-19T17:19:00.001-08:00

Filming outdoors with puppets means setting up a mobile studio. Just out of frame is the hatchback fitted with a computer, portable desk, sound deck (which we didn't use due to all the uncontrollable noises like freeway cars, surface street cars, six trains, sirens, a few jets and a partridge in a pear tree). We will do voice-overs later.

Oh, and did I mention the wind? The golfing umbrella took off a few times even though weighted down. RIP Umbrella.

This is what is on the other side of the blue fence at Happy's Greenhouse, a field full of organic crops (filmed at Petaluma Bounty Farm). We were so lucky to be able to film this in winter with such incredible weather. Yea, California!

Here is our first movie trivia moment: Happy's blue fence was originally used in what Hollywood film shot in downtown Petaluma? The answer when we return.

OK, here we are, the film was Inventing The Abbotts, 1997, produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. The fence (then white) was used as a backdrop in the display window of Lily's Apparel. I had rented my native American Indian antique arts gallery to the film company which they transformed into...Lily's Apparel. As I watched and met the different crews build and prep the sets (I maintained my office at the back of the gallery during film work) I became hooked and decided to pursue a career in film arts. I was awarded the official Lily's Apparel backdrop fence when they struck the sets. This month-long interaction with the film world led me to stop-motion animation and then to working with puppets.

Speaking of stop-frame animation, we will have one short titled "Exercising With The Couch Potato Family" within the Happy's Greenhouse lineup. Now, back to work.

Happy holidays from Magic Drawer Workshop!

2011-12-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

"Don't Be A Frookee"

The Frookees have smelly fingers,
They wipe their mouth with a paw,
All they eat is fast food,
So their breath smells like a dog.

Woof...

Filming Happy's Greenhouse

2011-11-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

Today was the final day of filming Happy's Greenhouse. It took six months to build all the sets using existing stuctures and recycled materials, and just three days to shoot it. We were filming outdoors in the afternoon and were doing fine, until the Santa Ana winds came up and started blowing the sets around. Here is a shot of Allie Fransay from her cooking show, "Cooking With Allie Fransay". Allie will show children how to prepare quick, easy, and simple meals. Snacks too! Of course she will be using organic and natural ingredients sourced locally.

Earlier in the day we filmed at the Seed Bank in Petaluma. The Seed Bank is run by the Baker Creek Seed Co headquartered in Mansfield, MO. If you are ever in Petaluma, you have to stop and take a look at their set up. It's a massive old bank building packed with Heirloom Non-Hybrid & Non-GMO Seeds!

A special thank you to Seed Bank manager Paul and his wife, and Gwen who graciously filled in at the very last minute to become an actress. Gwen played the part of the clerk at the counter when our scheduled actress couldn't make it.

Stay tuned for more.

All content on this site © 2011 Magic Drawer Workshop

Here Comes Happy Organic!!!

2011-05-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

We are getting close to filming Happy's Greenhouse, our new show about local, healthy and organic food for young children and their parents starring the Eco Beeps puppets. The format is 10 short segments within a 22 minute framework and to be available through iTunes. We will also have two eBooks to accompany the show. The sets are complete (all made from recycled materials), the scripts finished, and new puppets (again, recycled materials) are being created at the speed of light. We have assembled the crew and will film in November. Our film locations will be in Sonoma, CA and San Francisco, CA.

Getting the shelves built & stocked inside the greenhouse. Happy's Greenhouse is located on a 20 acre farm just outside of town and is a place for all the characters to meet and hang out when they want to talk and learn about healthy food.

A few of the show titles are:

Shop Local
Cooking With Allie Fransay
Fast Food-Slow Food
Veggie Wheel (game show format)
Skip & Molly Plant a Bean

After winning 1st Place in the Kids Fest! Film Festival in May for "Plastic Bags", we are all energized and ready to make this our best program so far. More info as it becomes available.

Best regards,
Charles Parker
Creator and Producer
Oct 16, 2011
All Rights Reserved for content within these pages by Magic Drawer Workshop and other parties.
© 2011

Earlier news follows:

This is one of those days that makes all the hard work worthwhile. I just received word from the Kids First Film Festival that we won 1st Place in the Independent Short Ages 2-5 category for Plastic Bags which is on our Eco Beeps With Skip & Molly DVD. Scroll down on the Kids First winners page, go past Disney, Universal, 20th Century Fox and you will see Magic Drawer Productions (that's us).

Plastic Bags is one of four episodes that introduce children to the world of green living. In this episode, Skip & Molly return plastic bags to the "Big Store" and get a reusable cloth bag. The other three episodes are "The Hat", Skip Writes a Book", and "Woodstock". Here is the IMDb trailer for "Plastic Bags"

Never one to rest on my laurels (hey, we get to use those nifty film festival laurels now), I am currently hard at work writing the pilot episode and building sets for our new show Happy's Greenhouse that takes place in Happy Organic's garden...and greenhouse. In this new show we will bring all our characters together to learn about growing, choosing, preparing, cooking, and eating good healthy food. Plus we will be introducing a few new characters to help get the message out there. Stay tuned for updates.

I would like to say a special Thank You to the puppeteers and crew that worked on the production of Plastic Bags:

Script- Elaine Smith, Jeana Efroymson
Puppeteers - Reese Rameriz, Cheryl Wagner, Tonya Marie, Anastasia Schuster
Voiceover- Cat Smith
Puppeteering Advisor - Tim Giugni
Grocery Pullers- Marliyn Jaffee, Olivia Schuster
Camera- Marcus Wardell
Theme Song Music- Tracy Bigelow-Grisman & David Grisman Quintet

To the wonderful folks at KidsFirst and all of the wonderful jurors across the country that put us at the top of the category, a huge thank you!

In closing....WHOOPIE!

Happy Earth Day from Happy's Greenhouse

2011-04-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

After a long, wet winter here in Northern California, work is getting under way for our next program, Happy's Greenhouse. If you look closely in the window of the Magic Drawer Workshop writer's cottage, you can see me typing the pilot script. Phase two will be getting the garden plots and sets ready. As with all of our programs, the sets & props are made from 95% recycled materials.
Back soon with updates.
Happy Earth Day!

Magic Drawer Workshop Announces Happy's Greenhouse

2010-09-06T18:56:00.001-07:00

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!

What better day than Labor Day to officially announce the start of pre-production for our new pilot episode on healthy food for children? Our new show Happy's Greenhouse takes place in Happy Organic's garden...and greenhouse. In this new show we will bring all our characters together to learn about growing, choosing, preparing, cooking, and eating good healthy food. Plus we will be introducing a few new characters to help get the message out there.

I am writing a number of exciting short clips 30 sec to 3 min ea. that will take place in and around the green house. The sets are being built (out of 95% reused/recycled materials) and we will begin filming this fall.

You can see Happy Organic and Chef Allie Fransay practicing their lines in the photo below. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available. You can still buy or rent Eco Beeps at Amazon. Every video or download you purchase helps to pay for the new pilot. Surprise us and help us sell 1,000 videos this month! :) Buy one as a Christmas gift, birthday gift, a help save the planet gift. Feeling generous? You can even make a Paypal donation to cvp2001@yahoo.com. Thanks for your continued support!

Eco Beeps at Rivertown Revival on Sat 24!

2010-07-23T08:53:00.001-07:00

We're all set for this weekend's Rivertown Revival here in Petaluma, CA. Happy Organic and Chef Allie Fransay will be spinning the Veggie Wheel from 11 AM - 6 PM. If you can guess the name of the veggie when the wheel stops, you win a VALUABLE healthy snack generously donated by Melissa Muller at Whole Foods, Petaluma.

........................CARROT!!!

Buy Eco Beeps on Amazon!

2010-06-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

Eco Beeps Volume #1 is available on Amazon. You can buy the DVD for $13.99, buy the forever VOD for $7.99, or rent the one week VOD for $1.99. Please help support our project by purchasing our products! It all goes right back into creating new episodes. Speaking of which, Happy Organic is busy rehearsing while we build the set for Veggie Wheel.

One more thing, remember those packs of organic Adzuki bean seeds we were giving away in April at our live shows at Whole Foods and the Butter & Eggs Day parade? Well, like the saying goes..."May showers bring June organic bean flowers..."

See you soon!

VeggieWheel

2010-05-05T15:41:00.001-07:00

I was watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution a few weeks ago and was dumbfounded when he put out an array of vegetables in front of a group of 6 year old kids and they could not identify the vegetables that he held up. The proverbial light bulb went off and I came up with Veggie Wheel© for a learning game called Wheel Of Vegetable©.

I am currently working on a few shorts featuring Happy Organic and the Veggie Wheel. More info as it becomes available.

Slideshow From "Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day"

2010-05-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

"Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day" at Whole foods 4/17/10

Everybody Loves A Parade!

2010-04-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Meet Happy Organic. Happy helped the Magic Drawer Workshop hand out hundreds of healthy organic Adzuki bean seed packs at the Butter & Eggs day parade on Saturday in Petaluma, CA. Fresh from the Eco Beeps performance "Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day" a week ago Saturday at the Petaluma Whole Foods stage, one of our puppeteers Anastasia Schuster and her son Nate donned puppets and walked the parade route with us. The parade route was about 11 miles long across some very rough terrain (cobblestone crosswalks & manhole covers). Wait, that seems a bit high. Oh right, it was 1 mile long, but when pulling an 80 pound art car made of reused materials with no steering, it seemed like 11 miles. Many thanks to everyone in the Whole Foods parade block and to Melissa Mueller for organizing.

We had a great, fun time, saw lots of friendly faces, and spread the green message to thousands.

Watch for Happy Organic to lead the fun in our upcoming Magic Drawer Workshop's DVD on healthy foods for children.

You can rent, rent to own, or buy our first Eco Beeps DVD on Amazon with prices starting at $1.99. Click to go to our Eco Beeps Amazon sales page where you can also watch a free 2 min. preview of "Skip Writes a Book".

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAPPY EARTH DAY"

2010-03-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the 3 minute video from "Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day" that we filmed at Whole Foods on Sat. Enjoy & leave us comments!

If you were at the Petaluma event and received a pack of the organic Adzuki bean seeds, please go to http://www.ecobeeps.com for planting instructions.

Happy Earth Day from all of us at the Magic Drawer Workshop!

What a blast! Yesterday's show at the Petaluma Whole Foods stage of "Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day" was a hit. Our puppeteers gave two great performances and we gave out free copies of the Eco Beeps DVD along with packets of organic Adzuki bean seeds. Above we see puppeteer Juliann Halverson on the set. Speaking of, did you know that the stage set, props, AND the puppets were made from reused and recycled materials? As an added bonus, those are real organic veggies in the bins of Happy's Organic Foods.

We were honored when one of the members from the Montessori table came over between shows and asked if we did shows for schools! Up to now, we have been concentrating on producing children's videos, but this was just so much fun being there with the other vendors and groups and the live audience, that I just automatically said, "Why, yes we do!".

Here is a photo of our wonderful puppet wrangler for the day, Samantha Gies. Samantha was backstage helping with the props and puppets and helped pass out the seed packets for the DVD drawing. A HUGE THANK YOU to our puppeteers for the event, Juliann Halverson, Kevin Saunders, Elaine Smith, Anastasia Schuster, and Jamie Waterman. A special thank you to Melissa Mueller at Whole Foods Petaluma for making everything run so smoothly.

We are editing the video we shot and will have it up in a day or so in time for Earth Day, so check back. Earth Day? Did I mention that we will be performing "Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day" at the Grand Opening of the Whole Foods in Novaoto on Earth Day Thurs/22nd? 4:00 & 4:45 on the mezzanine. I'll post more pics of the Petaluma event soon. Thanks!

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Well, today is the day! Our live show at Whole Foods. A couple of last minute substitutions to note: our writer Elaine Smith will be puppeteering Molly, and Kevin Saunders will take over as Happy Organic, mon. Our puppet wrangler (keeps the puppets in line) will be Anastasia's God-daughter Samatha. We are all excited and hope that you can come out for a fun show and pre-celebrate Earth Day.

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The Eco Beeps! puppets will be preforming “Happy Birthday, Happy Earth Day” LIVE at TWO Whole Foods northern California locations in April in honor of Earth Day. These are both FREE events. Just below we see Skip (Anastasia Schuster), Molly (Cheryl Wagner), Happy (Tim Giugni), Professor Dodo (Jamie Waterman), Mom, & Sadie (Juliann Halvorsen) rehearsing for the show.

The 1st show will be at the Whole Foods Petaluma, CA stage with shows at 12:00 and 12:45 on Sat April 17th. Whole Foods will be pre-celebrating Earth Day with product vendors and other events including a special reading of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and child craft activities. See the Petaluma Whole Foods store events calendar http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/petaluma/storecalendar.php

The second ECO BEEPS! show will be at the Grand Opening of the Whole Foods store in Novato, CA on Earth Day, Thursday, April 22. Show times are at 4:00 and 4:45.

At both shows we will have a drawing where a lucky winner will receive a FREE DVD of our ECO BEEPS! programs.

So, mark the dates on your children’s April activity calendar and come out for some great FREE entertainment and lots of yummy treats & tasty samples in the stores.

For those of you too far away to make the live shows, we will be filming the Petaluma show and posting it on YouTube on Earth Day.

We are also working behind the scenes on our next DVD all about Healthy Foods for children with Skip & Molly. Teach your children all about healthy cooking and eating with Skip & Molly from Eco Beeps!

2010-03-13T14:39:00.001-08:00

TWO Big Eco Beeps Announcements!

2010-02-20T20:29:00.001-08:00

Big Announcement #1

We have teamed up with Amazon and their eco-friendly VOD (Video on Demand) delivery service. Now you can watch all four episodes of Eco Beeps via online rental ( The Hat, Skip Writes a Book, Plastic Bags, & Woodstock) along with special features starting at just $1.99.

There are three ways to watch:

1. Rent the video download for 7 days for just $1.99 Click here to visit our Amazon store.

2. Buy the video download for $7.99. Eco friendly and saves packaging. Click here to visit our Amazon store.

3. Buy the DVD from our Eco Beeps Create Space store (a trusted Amazon partner) for $13.99 Create Space store

There is also a nifty FREE preview of "Skip Writes a Book" that you can watch...for FREE! No logging in, just hit the Play Free Preview button.

Big Announcement #2
The Eco Beeps puppets will put on a special LIVE performance at WHOLE FOODS in Petaluma, CA (our hometown) for EARTH DAY. I have written a special Earth Day script for the occasion and... we will introduce a new puppet character with a special story to tell. Details to follow when we get an exact stage time.

Do you follow us on Twitter? We are @EcoBeeps

Eco Beeps 1st Public Screening a Success!

2010-02-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hey! This really works!

I think we will be able to save the planet after all. We had our first public screening of Eco Beeps today in the activity room at the Early Work Toy Station in Petaluma, CA. There were about 35 people and the message seemed to resonate well. Lots of happy faces. They laughed when they were supposed to laugh, they cried when they were...er, wait, no one cried, but they all applauded. Here are a few pictures.

I would like to thank everyone that made this event possible, from the actual staging of the event to all of the networking that occurred leading up to it. Thank you to our puppeteers and voice artists Cheryl Wagner, Jamie Waterman, Anastasia Schuster, and Cat Smith, and Linda and Rachel at Early Work, and the fellow that helped me load in the equipment. I forgot his name but he will soon be embarking on his own puppetry career. And a special thank you to all that took time out of their busy day to come over and see what Eco Beeps! is all about.

The Eco Beeps! Volume #1 is available at Amazon for $14.99. Thank you for your support.

Follow us on Twitter @Eco Beeps.

Eco Beeps is Done!

2009-12-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Volume 1 of Eco Beeps With Skip & Molly is available for purchase at our Official Eco Beeps Create Space store (a trusted partner of Amazon). Scroll down for the Puppet Cell Phone Car Crash video.

It took almost a year to write the first four episodes, build the sets & props from 95% reused and recycled materials, locate the wonderful talent, film the episodes, edit in Final Cut and author the DVD. On the tech side, all I knew a year ago was how to press the record button on the new camera. This hands-on approach of learning all the different technical aspects of crafting and producing a program has given me a new found respect for the process.

The Puppet Cell Phone Car Crash. The inspiration for this safety message came from watching a friend's 18 month old son play in one of those big plastic toy cars. He got in the car and immediately put his hand to his ear and started driving. "Hello, hello."! It has been said that children learn from everything that is put in front of them and it made me think that some progress could be made in this area. If I can get just one parent to have a second thought about driving while talking/texting on a cell phone, I'll be a happy camper. Here it is and please send this page to as many people as you can.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

What's next? Volume 2 will include four episodes all about something near and dear to all of us...food! Yes, Skip and Molly will be extending their reach into the world of green. We'll keep you updated as we go.

To buy the Eco Beeps! With Skip & Molly DVD please go to our Official Eco Beeps Create Space store (a trusted Amazon partner). All profits go right back into producing future episodes. Thank you!

"I love your theme song... who is that?"

2009-10-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

Here is a bit of exciting news concerning our Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly theme song heard in the clips above. We are so fortunate to have permission to use a tune written by Tracy Bigelow-Grisman called Dawg's Groove for our theme music. It is a playful, upbeat and jazzy tune with acoustic mandolin, flute, guitar & bass, and, it is the perfect match to go along with the Toy Rescue eco-friendly, save the planet, green message for preschoolers. Dawg's Groove is preformed by Tracy's husband David Grisman, and his band The David Grisman Quintet. A big thank you to Tracy & Dave, and Elaine Smith, our assistant producer/head writer for making this happen.

Eco Beeps ACCEPTED at Kids First Film Festival

2009-09-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful surprise to wake up and find that our first Eco Beeps episode "Plastic Bags" is an Official Selection in the Kids First! Film Festival. Check back for festival viewing times in your area or visit the Kids First! site. A juror from the Kids First! FF had this comment "Cute, nicely done. Love the puppets and the message. Good songs..."

Here is our official trailer for Eco Beeps With Skip & Molly, Episode #1 Plastic Bags

Puppet Cell Phone Car Crash!!! & more...

2009-09-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

What a week. We filmed three more episodes of Eco Beeps AND a cell phone safety commercial. Actually, we are STILL filming a few pick up shots and some additional scenes before moving to the editing phase.

We all had the pleasure to work with veteran puppeteer Tim Giugni who "puppeted" the thrift store clerk in two episodes as well as Magic Drawer Workshop regulars Cheryl Wagner and Anastasia and Olivia Schuster. Assistant to the producer was Juliann Halvorsen who kept track of all the changes and kept things running smoothly.

A still from "Puppet Cell Phone Car Crash" is shown below. The inspiration for this safety message came from watching a friend's 18 month old son play in one of those big plastic toy cars. He got in the car and immediately put his hand to his ear and started driving. "Hello, hello." I just finished the rough edit on this and it is great!

Meet Professor Dodo from Kids Recycle TV. He is the newest member of our cast and plays slide guitar while singing songs of reuse and recycling. "Put the tin cans here, put the bottles there..."

We also had a photographer on the set. Terry Hankins was snapping pics for an article on the Magic Drawer Workshop in an upcoming issue of Petaluma Magazine.

Once all of the episodes are edited, they will be available on Amazon where you can rent, rent to own, or have a DVD mailed to you. A big THANK YOU to all that helped on this shoot!

A clip from "Plastic Bags"

2009-07-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Eco Beeps With Skip & Molly

2009-05-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Eco Beeps are short eco-stories designed exclusively for
internet download and small device delivery
(but they also look great on a TV). These 5 minute episodes
allow Toy Rescue characters Skip and Molly to introduce
young children to the world of green as they play in their room
atop the village recycle center.

Once we finish with the first four episodes, we will
release them through Amazon.com and they will be available to rent
online, download to own, or you can purchase a traditional DVD.

Puppeteers for this shoot were Reese Ramirez, Cheryl Wagner, Tonya Marie of Gypsy Cat Studios, Anastasia Schuster, and Marilyn Jaffe and Olivia Schuster as the grocery pullers. Another cat, was Cat Smith, vocals. Marcus Wardell as camera operator.
Elaine Smith and Jeana Efroymson as script advisors.

An introduction.

2009-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

•

Welcome to the Magic Drawer Workshop. We offer innovative and wholesome children's programming with a twist- all the sets, props, and puppets are made from reused & recycled materials. Founded by Charles Parker as a model shop to build the sets and props for Toy Rescue With Skip & Molly, we quickly grew into a production facility where Toy Rescue, Kids Recycle TV, and Eco Beeps are created and produced. We have a commitment to the environment that is reflected in our program content and our production process.

Magic Drawer Workshop’s first production, Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly introduces the basic concept of reuse to preschool children through something near and dear to their hearts, TOYS! While the focus is on reuse of toys and objects, they also explore recycling and gardening concepts. The seven minute episodes are a combination of puppets and Storybook Animation.

A few clips from Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly (or scroll down to view the entire pilot episode):

All Rights Reserved © 2008 Magic Drawer Workshop/Charles Parker,
"Dawg's Groove" written by Tracy Bigelow-Grisman,
Preformed by David Grisman Quintet, Courtesy Acoustic Disc

Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly is a safe & wholesome program for preschoolers and parents. Our stories incorporate empathy & compassion, learning, social skills, sharing, no unsafe behavior; in essence, all positive attributes you want your children exposed to.

"I love your theme song... who is that?"

2008-12-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a bit of exciting news concerning our Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly theme song heard in the clip above. We are so fortunate to have permission to use a tune written by Tracy Bigelow-Grisman called Dawg's Groove for our theme music. It is a playful, upbeat and jazzy tune with acoustic mandolin, flute, guitar & bass, and, it is the perfect match to go along with the Toy Rescue eco-friendly, save the planet, green message for preschoolers. Dawg's Groove is preformed by Tracy's husband David Grisman, and his band The David Grisman Quintet. :) A big thank you to Tracy & Dave, and Elaine Smith, our assistant producer/head writer for making this happen.

Important Updates!

2008-12-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

We've been busy! We recently held an audition for the narrative voice for The Toy Rescue Show which is the vintage TV show that Skip & Molly watch. Over 140 applicants made for a very difficult decision. The quality of voice talent was incredible but there was one voice that came in right at the very end of the process that made us say "That's our voice!"

We're pleased to announce that Phil Sheridan is on board as the narrative voice for The Toy Rescue Show. Here is a link to Phil's site and, if you take a moment to listen to his reading of "Goodnight Moon", you'll see why we chose him. Phil Sheridan.

And a big thank you to John A at Little Buddha Studio!

Charles turning pages.

Images In Motion (IIM) is handling the edit for the pilot and it looks incredible. Now that we have the narrative, the only thing that needs to be added is a bit of foley and music.

Stay tuned for some very important news regarding the Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly music. I think you'll be pleased.

Our TR logo has been through a few changes and we've just added the logo that has received the most favorable response. See above.

Happy Holidays!

Our Interview on Jumping Monkeys/TWIT.TV

2008-08-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

Toy Rescue with Skip and Molly had it's first interview recently. It was fun, and terrifying, and exciting all rolled into one. We were invited by Megan Marrone founder of Jumping Monkeys which is a site dedicated to parenting in the digital age. Megan does a weekly podcast in conjunction with Leo LaPorte at TWIT.TV We are interview #57.

When we (Charles Parker and head writer Elaine Smith) arrived at the studio, we thought it was to be an audio only interview. Imagine our surprise when we walked in to find it was a LIVE TV broadcast (on the internet) while recording for Jumping Monkeys. Four cameras rolling, a still photographer, lights, monitors, etc, and of course... jumping monkeys everywhere! An assistant brought out water and even a complimentary Brain Toniq to soothe the sensory overload. Can we say deer in the headlights time? Actually, Megan and Leo made the experience wonderful with their easygoing manner. It was more like a conversation with interested friends than an interview. I was still nervous but managed to get through it. Leo's (The Tech Guy) studio is incredible. I have to get some of those nifty LED lights. I've listened to his tech reports for quite a while and it was nice to meet him. Nice to meet Megan and her mom too!

What was revealing were Megan & Leo's thoughts on delivery systems for content. When I first started this, television was the end goal to head towards after production, and other methods of delivery were back burner thoughts. Now, there are so many options available, we are seriously taking a look at doing special content for release on pod/videocasts after we complete the DVD. To get Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly and Kids Recycle TV on TV is still our primary goal but we intend to take what we just learned from our visit to Megan & Leo World and incorporate that into our thinking.

So, here is the audio (an intro at two minutes and the body of the interview about 12 minutes in). Be sure and listen to all the other things they are talking about too. A great program.

Toys and Packaging and China, oh my!

2008-08-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

When you state that your program is about reuse and recycling, and that your sets and props are made from 95% reused materials, you had better have your ducks in a row on all of the decisions that impact the sales, distribution, packaging, and manufacturing of any products associated with your show. We are busy researching and formulating a master plan to honestly address and abide by, all of these points. This is a new way of doing business for the toy industry and I am thankful that there are already some companies in place who are blazing the trail as we enter the marketplace.

We want parents to be able to put their trust not only in our programs, but in the products that are associated with them as well. I had an interesting meeting with a manufacturing executive regarding Toy Rescue with Skip and Molly last year. It was right about the time the news of the massive recalls on Chinese made toys were getting started. As a parent, my immediate concern was that children were getting sick or might get sick, or worse. I had great concern over the lack of oversight and shortcuts in the Chinese production processes that were being reported. I posed a question about all of this during our meeting and almost fell out of my chair at their response: "It seems that it will be a lot more work for the toy companies and the toys will be more expensive, thus harder to sell." That was it. No compassion or empathy, just business. A shocking and candid answer about the inner workings of the toy business that reinforced the direction we are headed with Toy Rescue, and with Kids Recycle TV.

Since that time some progress has been made on this issue. As we go forward, our aim is to align ourselves with like minded companies and do business with them. I designed a complete line of toys and accessories for Toy Rescue with the underlying thought that they could be made from safe recycled materials or be totally recyclable, and be decorated with water based non-toxic paints & coatings. We'll see if it works!

Filming the show, part 2

2008-07-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

For me, the next phase was new territory as we went from filming 1/12 scale for the Toy Rescue Show to filming full size puppets for the Skip & Molly segments.

In constructing the new sets, it was a bit difficult to keep to our word of using 95% recycled/reused materials but we did. The two concessions were buying a piece of 1" thick plywood at the big store and going to the fabric store for new non-pilling fleece to construct the puppet bodies. All of Skip & Molly's clothing is reused and vintage. Molly's hand embroidered dress is blue linen and dates to the 1940's/50's.

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Now that we had completed sets, puppets, and scripts, we were ready to film. I looked around the room and asked "OK great, now does anybody know how to actually operate the puppets?" This led to a wonderful alliance with Lee Armstrong (above), Kamela Porteges-Robbins (above), Kieron Robbins, and Bill Ferguson, at Images In Motion in Sonoma, CA. http://www.imagesmedia.com/index.html

Lee & Kamela are co-owners of IIM. Lee has over 20 years experience puppeteering and worked as a puppeteer on Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraggle_Rock
Kamela has over 20 years as a production designer and puppeteer and sculpted the faces for the "BEING JOHN MALKOVICH" puppets. She also supervised the building of the marionettes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_John_Malkovich They have both won Emmys and other awards for their work.
Award winning lighting director Bill Ferguson has over twenty years of lighting experience of puppet productions like Fraggle Rock, The Jim Henson Hour, and Sesame Street Canadian inserts. http://www.imagesmedia.com/staff_bill.html
Kieron's work has been part of videos that have earned a Telly Award, Communicator's Award and more. http://www.imagesmedia.com/staff_kieron.html
Check out the IIM site and if you have a project you are contemplating, by all means give them a call. Great rates, great studio and great people to work with. This is not an ad, they were truly wonderful to work with.

Filming the Skip & Molly segments took place at the IIM studio over the course of a week. Our budget was limited and we operated with a reduced crew. This meant that everyone was doing at least two jobs. Lee and Kamela did the puppeteering which brought out the best in our puppets, Bill was set manager, did the incredible lighting, and kept everything running smoothly. Marcus Wardell was camera operator. Marcus and his wife Rosalie operate Wardell Photography in Healdsburg, CA http://www.wardellphotography.com/ The position of DP was actually four people (Bill, Lee, Kamela, Marcus). I simply relied on those collective years of experience to get the right shots. It is the first time I have ever seen an artistic committee get something right! Rosalie was assistant camera operator and ran slate. Rosalie and Marcus also shot stills for the first Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly picture book. We will finish the book when the editing for the pilot/DVD is done. Elaine Smith was script supervisor and did logging. I can't thank everyone enough. This was my first time directing and it was a blast.

It's hard to describe accurately the feeling you get when you see months and months of work come to life during the filming. OK, I'll try. It was great! Definitely got a lump in my throat when the camera first started rolling.

All Rights Reserved © 2008 Magic Drawer Workshop/Charles Parker

Filming the show, part 1

2008-07-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

There are two "worlds" within Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly. The first is the circa 1960's The Toy Rescue Show that we partially filmed with our UK partners (Mike Prince, Tim Jones, Jeremy Carroll, Hugh Edwards) in what we call Storybook Animation. This is a limited animation technique that is best described as a cross between puppeteering and stop motion animation where the props are pulled with hidden (we hope!) strings and other clever ways to mimic movement. Additional movement sequences featuring Steamer the Rescue Balloon (re-rigged for vocal delivery) were filmed here at Magic Drawer Workshop. Steamer started out as a non-talking character who found a voice during the Skip & Molly rewrite.

After we completed the 1960's vintage The Toy Rescue Show I packed up those sets and started building the sets for the Skip & Molly segments. Once again, reuse and recycle was the foundation for all of the art. The table/stool playset materials came from the recycle store at the local dump. $.50 ea for the small round cutouts and $1 for the tabletop. The bases were made from a roll of 1950's industrial corrugated packing material. I use water based paints and glues.

At this point (seven months ago), and after a few carbon free (Skype) trans-Atlantic meetings, we decided a rewrite of the scripts was necessary before going forward in order to bring out the strengths of the show.

We brought on board Elaine Smith as head writer to do just that. Working with Elaine (now assistant producer on the show) was a joy. We would have a script meeting and toss ideas back and forth, then she would disappear for a week, and then reappear with a finished script.

All Rights Reserved © 2008 Magic Drawer Workshop/Charles Parker