An Animator Praises Sid the Science Kid

Keith Lango thinks the use of digital puppetry on Sid the Science Kid makes sense and I have to agree (but then you knew that, didn't you?). More and more I can see how puppets and pixels really are coming together. Check out the comments for the above-linked post to read some interesting discussion on puppetry, mo-cap and animation.

BTW, new episodes of Sid The Science Kid start the week of May 4th on PBS.

Behind the Scenes of Sid the Science Kid

The digital puppetry series Sid the Science Kid (see previous post) is now on the air and TV Guide recently went behind the scenes to see how the Jim Henson Company creates it. The Wall Street Journal has also been covering the show's unique production process.

Speaking of which, Brian Henson was in Silver Spring, MD at the AFI Silver Theatre yesterday and gave a presentation about the history of puppetry and how the Henson Co. has evolved over the years from Muppets to animatronics to it's latest work on Sid the Science kid using the Henson Digital Performance System.

TV Guide video via Puppeteers Unite.

29/09/08 Update: Brian Henson's presentation was at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD and not the Centre for Puppetry Arts as I originally reported so I've updated the post accordingly. Brian actually spoke at the Centre for Puppetry Arts on Sunday and Harvey Deneroff has some coverage on his blog.

More About New Henson/PBS Digital Puppetry Show

Sid The Science Kid is the star of a forthcoming digital puppetry series for kids.

The Muppet Newsflash reports that work is continuing on the forthcoming Jim Henson Company/PBS Kids digital puppetry series What's The Big Idea? (see previous post), but the show has been retitled Sid The Science Kid. The series' concept is using short sketches to teach children lessons about science and discovery and is being produced using the Henson Company's HDPS Digital Puppetry System. Forty half-hour episodes of the show are currently in production; there's no word whether or not it has been affected by the current writer's strike in the United States.

Look for Sid The Science Kid on PBS sometime in 2008.

Henson Announces New Digital Puppetry Series

The Jim Henson Company is partnering with PBS’ KCET to produce a new educational digital puppetry series entitled What's the Big Idea? using Henson's HDPS real-time animation/digital puppetry system. The goal of the series is to promote science readiness in preschool children. Forty-eight episodes of the series have been ordered. The show is scheduled to debut in the United States on PBS stations next year.