I don't really know what the word or words would be to describe the this kind of genre of puppetmaking, but I dig it 100 hundred percent. The idea behind this puppetry is that like Bunraku, the puppeteer or in this case the team of puppeteers are dressed in solid black head to toe. Also with the aid of a solid black background they are almost hidden out of view, and what you are allowed to see is only the puppets or the manipulation of props in a array of dazzling and brilliant ways.
In Japan there is a show dedicated to this called Kasou Taishou which amateur people compete with their own skits against other competitor skits. None of the skits or puppetshows I have seen can be considered weaker than the other. They are all flat out jaw dropping amazing.
Here are some of my favorites that I could find via Youtube. The last clip is a new music video from the SCISSOR SISTERS who seem to be also in love with this style of puppeteering. Also for those taking notes, this same style can be done with greenscreen and greenscreen suits to produce some wild visual effects. (via Puppetvision)
2 comments:
I am not completely sure if this is it's proper name or not, but I have heard this style of puppetry referred to as "Kuroko", which is also the Japanese word for the black-clad stagehands used in Bunraku and Kabuki Theatre.
Thanks, Andrew! I really dig your site BTW. By any chance do you know how recent this genre of puppeteering is? It seems like it just appeared out of nowhere starting with "Matrix Ping-Pong" only to progress to the newer stuff coming out in recent months.
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