Puppet Kaos » Moostifer

New Video! (With New Puppets!)

Kelvin Kao — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:59:39 +0000

And… here’s the new video! I built four new puppets for this project, so together with the old ones, there are 8 total in this video. This is a music video that I made in January to enter the Brad Paisley’s “Start A Band” green screen contest (which I didn’t win, but whatever, enjoy! )

If you can’t see the embedded video, click here to see it on YouTube.

The premise of the contest was that they provided the green screen footages of Brad Paisley singing the song, and you can use the footages in your video any way you like. I was glad that I participated, because I’ve always wanted to try these things:

make a music video
purchase and learn to use a sewing machine
build more new puppets
build puppets that are humans (as opposed to “monsters” and animals)
build puppets that have shoulders made out of foam and cloth them
build puppets with hair made out of yarn
try out new lighting set-up
enter a contest
overlay several different green screen shots

And somehow making this video has all those elements! Of course, that’s also because I consciously attempt to try out a new technique every time I make a new video, but so many of them at once? That hasn’t happened before. So yeah, it was definitely a good experience. And I hope you all have as much fun watching it as I have making it!

Episode 17 – Chet for President

Kelvin Kao — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:46:38 +0000

In this episode, Bottle Monster can not decide between Barack Obama and John McCain. And that’s when he discovers another candidate – Chet.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch Chet for President on Youtube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (29MB)
mov format (10MB)

Now, why would I release a video on election day when everyone is watching news coverage of the election turn-out? Good question, I don’t intend to answer it.

Is Chet a character that I’ve recently created? The answer is no. Chet and these other characters in the Chet 2008 campaign ad are part of the Bubbleboy Films, which is another online series of puppet videos. It’s created by Paul Hokanson and is my favorite online puppet series at the moment. I’m a big fan, so thank you, Paul, for letting me use your footages. To see more of Chet and his friends, check out Bubbleboy Films. I’ll probably write more about it later.

Update: Yes, I just voted.

The background music is Eternal Hope by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.

Previous episodes:
Episode 16: Insomnia
Episode 15: Godfather Nightmares
Episode 14: Tofu

To subscribe:
By RSS
By email

Episode 12 – Daylight Saving

Kelvin Kao — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 07:55:59 +0000

Episode 12 is here! This week, Mac and Cheese is confused about daylight saving time and daylight saving accounts. Bottle Monster educates him about the importance of saving daylight.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (40MB)
mov format (15MB)

And this video used lots of graphics generously licensed by their original authors through Creative Commons licenses. There are so many that they deserve their own table:

Graphic	Usage	Author	License
Office Buildings	Bobby’s narration background	Sylvain Racicot	CC Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic
bank at night	Moostifer night vitamin background	Carsten Tolkmit	CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
A car drives by in the night	Moostifer’s solar power car	Ben Watkin	CC Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic
A discovery	Dinasaurs talking	Denise Chan	CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Comet McNaught	Comet	Steve Crane	CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

This is also the first episode filmed during day time (except the outdoor UCLA video) using natural daylight, which fits the theme, although it’s not intentional. In fact, I didn’t realize that until just now. Filming in the dark certainly has some weirdness associated with it.

Episode 11 – The Truth Behind Halloween

Kelvin Kao — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:48:59 +0000

Episode 11 is here! This week, Mac and Cheese and Bottle Monster investigate why people go trick-or-treating for candy on Halloween on Puppet Kaos’ own newsmagazine 50/50. Do ghosts even like candy? Don’t vampires want blood instead? Does this tradition even make any sense? Let Puppet Kaos tell you the truth behind Halloween!

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (80MB)
mov format (31MB)

The music is News Sting by Kevin MacLeod. It’s licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

And this video used lots of graphics generously licensed by their original authors through Creative Commons licenses. There are so many that they deserve their own table:

Graphic	Usage	Author	License
colourscapebg3.jpg	50/50 background	Jonny Baker	CC Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic
My First Jack-o’-Lantern With Ian	Truth Behind Halloween title picture	Tze-Her Su	CC Attribution 2.0 Generic
Machampane Wilderness Camp	Moostifer walking background 1	Ralph Pina	CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
San Gorgonio Wilderness	Moostifer walking background 2	Randy McEoin	CC Attribution 2.0 Generic
desert view	Bobby walking background 2	Jon Sullivan	CC Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic
A Picture Share!	Loose tooth picture	Jenny Levine	CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
At the Dentist	Dentist picture	Seth Werkheiser	CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
#4 – The Tooth Fairy	Tooth fairy picture	Kaptain Kobold	CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

I just got my new green screen from my friend Fiona, because my apartment-mate lost the mailbox key so I had to mail the greenscreen to a friend who lives nearby when I ordered it. Thanks, Fiona. I’ve been using the new greenscreen backdrop in this episode. I’m still getting used to it. Some of the focus and lighting conditions were not ideal since I’m still experimenting, but it does give me more freedom simply because it’s bigger than my good old green piece of paper.

Episode 10 – Silent Sneeze

Kelvin Kao — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:37:45 +0000

Episode 10 is here! This week, Bottle Monster keeps wanting to sneeze. Mac and Cheese, Bobby, and Moostifer try to help him find a cure through the power of… silent films.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (33MB)
mov format (11MB)

The music is Improbable by Kevin MacLeod. It’s licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

I considered using a sepia effect on the silent film part, but later decided against it. Also I tried rolling the credit for the first time instead of using still ones. It’s kinda cool. I discovered the rolling credit tool when I was editing. Otherwise I was considering possibly animating the rolling motion myself, but that proves to be unnecessary.

Oh yeah, and I was sneezing every now and then when I was making this film, but once I’m done, I stopped sneezing. Man, the human mind is powerful. Okay, maybe it’s just me.

Episode 9 – WordCraft

Kelvin Kao — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:12:29 +0000

Episode 9 is here! Last time, in Episode 8 – Nobody’s Watching, Mac and Cheese and Bottle Monster decided that they should teach English. Instead of teaching letters like Sesame Street and teaching vowels and consonants like Between the Lions, they decided to teach words with a second meaning that people don’t normally know about. The list of words include stereotype, lexicon, hamlet, listless, sidewalk and multiplication table.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (52MB)
mov format (18MB)

The background images for “stereotype” is “DAB Radios” by Salim Fadhley, for “lexicon” is “Lexus” by Der Kraken, and for “listless” is ” ‘Overflow’ effect at Shaw’s Supermarket” by happylilcoder. All three graphics are generously shared by their original author under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Speaking of Creative Commons, starting from this episode (because I’m too lazy to go back and change previous episodes), I’m going to release my videos under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, thus removing the “All rights reserved” label.

Episode 8 – Nobody’s Watching

Kelvin Kao — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:53:11 +0000

Episode 8 is here! Mac and Cheese, Bottle Monster, Bobby and Moostifer sit down to have a meeting because more people are watching Grey’s Anatomy, Law and Order: SVU, and American Idol than Puppet Kaos. They all brainstorm and come up with ideas. And finally they have a trailer for the possible new fall show line-up.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (38MB)
mov format (14MB)

The announcer for the trailer segment of the video is my friend and co-worker Alvin Lam. He’s an actor who’s been on CBS’s “The Unit”. In this podcast episode, you only hear his voice. To watch him, check out episode “Freefall” (Season 2, Episode 22) of “The Unit” where he played a spoiled Thai prince. Many thanks to his highness for voicing over our little puppet show.

The music is Welcome to the Show by Kevin MacLeod. It’s licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

The background picture used in the “Who’s Smarter than a Chair” shot was by “Sports Chair” by Jeff Kramer. It’s also licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to leave me a comment. Also remember that you can have new posts emailed to you or subscribe via iTunes.

Video special: Obscure UCLA facts you did not know

Kelvin Kao — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:41:07 +0000

This week, instead of a regular episode, we decided to do something experimental. For the first time, we didn’t write any lines before we start filming, and for the first time, we are taking this outdoors. Also this is my first collaboration with my friend Rick Lee, who is a performer / improv-er that I’ve always been a fan of. So without further ado, here’s the video:

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (78MB)
mov format (45MB)

It was a fun experience and experiment. The way this episode worked was like this: Rick and I both thought up ideas seperately beforehand, and then when we met up, we just developed the ideas a little more or went straight to filming. We did not write any lines and when we were done filming the ideas we came up with, we just walked around and looked for whatever that inspired us. Nhi joined us halfway and helped us film some scenes too.

I really enjoyed having the luxury of working with people that can just improvise. You don’t need to tell them what to say, and you don’t need to tell them where to point the camera. Also, I normally do three takes for each shot in regular episodes, but in this video, we just did one take for pretty much everything. Everything was more spontaneous. That actually made editing a lot easier. And collaborations are definitely more fun than me sitting in front of the camera talking to myself, haha. So thanks again, Rick and Nhi!

Yeah, I know some hands are showing and some heads are visible in the shots. Some shots looked a little odd, but whatever. It was fun that way.

Episode 6 – Dance, Dance, Dance

Kelvin Kao — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 07:37:47 +0000

Episode 6 is here! In the last episode, Episode 5: Amazing Grass, Bobby and Moostifer talked about the importance of having a good diet. This week, Mac and Cheese tells us how exercising is equally important. He even shows us how to dance, which is the greatest exercise of them all.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (37MB)
mov format (15MB)

The music is Ether Disco by Kevin MacLeod. It’s licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to leave me a comment. Also remember that you can have new posts emailed to you or subscribe via iTunes.

Episode 5 – Amazing Grass

Kelvin Kao — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:27:43 +0000

Episode 5 is here! This week, viewer Myha asked Mac and Cheese and Bottle Monster about the diet of her and her dog. Since it’s an important issue, we invited experts to answer the question. This is the first appearance of Bobby and Moostifer in the podcast.

If you can’t see the embedded video,
Click here to watch it on YouTube.
Or download Quicktime movies here:
m4v format (35MB)
mov format (11MB)

What’s new: Bobby and Moostifer are appearing on this podcast for the first time. It’s also the first episode to feature a song.

Music: The song is Eat Grass that’s written for this episode. The lyrics is by Kelvin Kao (me) and the melody is by Theresa “Q’ Nguyen. The melody was originally composed for LCC Theatre Company‘s “Glasses – the Musical” with a different set of lyrics.

If you have any thoughts, feel free to leave me a comment. Also remember that you can have new posts emailed to you or subscribe via iTunes.