HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The story and journey with Monsieur George and digital puppets.
The Spark
It all might have begun in 2008, when I encountered a street performer in Colombia. The whimsical movements of the character, combined with the music, captivated me. Eager to film the show, I lost track of him. A friend and I drove around various city squares in Bogotá, trying to find him again.
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And we did!
Early R&D
That street act stayed with me, and in 2019, I became thrilled about using VR to puppeteer a virtual mannequin. The idea of being present in VR with a controllable rag doll right in front of me was incredibly exciting. So, I began programming the necessary controls and setting up for this type of performance.
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Here are a few early rigging tests I've done :)
Early acting tests
While doing some rigging test, fooling around was a given - so I started Dubbing the mannequin, even singing playfully :)
Discovering Symbolism: A Mannequin's Journey
I don't know how exactly it slipped into my systems, but I started rehearsing to "I Will Go Sailing No More" from Toy Story. It was only later I made the link that a mannequin is acting on Buzz Lightyear's moment of realization that he is a toy. Super symbolic. So, I put a hat on the mannequin and worked with Randy Newman's beautiful music!
3 YEARS LATER
As I began posting on Instagram to build my social media presence, I realized I couldn't use "Sailing No More" because it's a famous copyrighted song. So, I thought, why not create my own version of the song? I'd love to sing it myself! So I started a whole new setup, look and style.
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Monsieur George was born shortly after!
The base Mannequin: A Journey with Midjourney
After a few prompts in Midjourney I got some interesting results. I tried to get a simple yet appealing mannequin design. I took the one I loved most and made it's legs and arms longer... and walla! The base mannequin was created :)
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Here are a few excerpts of my prompt journey.
The Emergence of Initial Characters
In addition to Monsieur George, who emerged from my collaboration with Eden Hermony at DiNG - Musicbox Studio, three other characters have come to life. Each had their own twist and all found their way into existence!
Major Tom
John, MC
Monsieur George
Mutti Baba