Puppet

A puppet is any controlled character, whether formed by a shadow, strings, by the use of a glove, by direct mechanical contrivance (for example a cable-controlled figure for film or TV) or electronic guidance (such as a radio or infrared remote controller). The last method is also called animatronics. Digital animated figures, with this description, may also be described as puppets, particularly since they are often supplanted by physical puppets for closeups. However, drawn cartoons are not puppets.

Kinds of puppets

• Marionette – a puppet suspended and controlled by a number of strings held from above by a puppeteer.
• Supermarionation – an electronic variant with control wires substituted that connected internal mechanisms in the puppet.
• Hand puppet – a puppet controlled by one hand that occupies the interior of the puppet. Larger varieties of hand puppets place the puppeteer's hand in just the puppet's head, controlling the mouth and head, and the puppet's body then hangs over the entire arm; other parts of the puppet (mainly arms, but special variants exist with manipulable eyelids and other parts), may be controlled elsewise, e.g., by rods operated by the puppeteer's free hand, or strings or levers pulled from inside the head or body. Smaller hand puppets often have no significant manipulable parts at all (in particular, the mouth may not open and close); these are usually not much larger than the hand itself. A sock puppet is a particularly simple type of hand puppet made from a sock.
• Ticklebug – a four-legged puppet, similar to a hand puppet but created by drawing features on the hand itself. The puppeteer uses the thumb and forefinger as two legs on one side, lifts the middle finger as a head, and uses the ring and little fingers as the opposing legs.
• Muppet – A term referring to some of the puppets constructed by the Jim Henson Company. Often erroneously used to refer to puppets that resemble those of the Muppet Show or built by the Henson Company.
• Black light puppet – a kind of puppet that is operated on a stage lit only with black lighting with both hides the puppeteer and accentuates the colours of the puppet. For origin of black light look at Bunraku Puppetry.
• Light Curtain puppet – Puppetry is performed by puppeteers dressed all in black performing on a stage with a black background. (Most commonly the background and the clothes are made of black velvet). The lighting is specially done so that there is essentially a line on the stage, where on one side there is light and on the other is darkness. The puppeteers push the puppets over the line into the light, while they blend into the black unlit background. Puppets of all sizes and types may be categorized under this umbrella term since this form allows a wide range of puppets, controlled by one or many puppeteers. From a small bee controlled by one puppeteer to a majestic dragon controlled by ten. The original concept of this puppet form is traced to Bunraku Puppetry where the light technique was first used.
• Bunraku – Originally developed in Japan over a thousand years ago, a form of puppetry where puppets are controled by individuals dressed all in black. Originally, the puppeteers dressed all in clad would become invisible when standing against a black background, while the torches illuminated only the wood carved puppets. While the traditional Bunraku theater is found mostly in Japan, the modern use of the Bunraku would be in black light or light curtain puppet theater.
• Ventriloquist dummy – A puppet operated by a ventriloquist performer to focus the audience's attention from the performer's activities and heighten the illusions. They are called dummies because they do not speak.
• Rod puppet – A puppet with articulated joints, similar to a marionette, but operated from below by stiff rods, rather than from above by strings.
• Marotte – A simplified rod puppet that is just a head and/or body on a stick. In a marotte à main prenante, the puppeteer's other arm emerges from the body (which is just a cloth drape) to act as the puppet's arm.
• Shadow puppet – A (usually) 2-dimensional rod puppet that is operated behind a screen. A light source projected from the rear creates a shadow of the puppet on the screen that can be seen by the audience.
• Water Puppetry – A puppet form almost exclusively done in Vietnam. The puppets are built out of wood and the shows are performed in a waist high pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. The appearance is of various puppets moving over water. The origin of this form dates back seven hundred years when the rice field would flood and the villagers would entertain each other. Eventually villages would compete against each other with their puppet shows. This lead puppet societies to be secretive and exclusive, including an initiation ceremony involving drinking rooster blood. Only recently were women allowed to join the puppet troups.
• Wayang – Indonesian puppet. The Indonesian archipelego has many rich puppetry traditions.
• Human-Arm Puppet, also called a Two-Man Puppet, is similar to a hand puppet but is larger and requires two puppeteers; one puppeteer places a hand inside the puppet's head and operates its head and mouth; the other puppeteer wears gloves and special sleeves attached to the puppet in order to become the puppet's arms, so that the puppet can perform arbitrary hand gestures.
• BuDaiXi, Chinese puppet show, somewhat similiar to the japanese ones. with people in the background (or underground) and controlling the puppets. Some very experienced puppeteers can preform them with various stunts (ie summersault in the air)..