Saturday, January 2, 2010

Cuppa Coffee Studios Tour, Part I

Doug's nephew, Andrew Sneyd, is a director of photography at Cuppa Coffee Studios in Toronto, and he invited Doug and me to tour Cuppa Coffee because we'd be in Toronto exhibiting at the 15th annual Fan Expo Canada August 28-30.

We saw first-hand the production of Glenn Martin DDS, a stop-motion animated television series about a traveling dentist and his family. It was created by former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner and animated by Cuppa Coffee.


August 27 Doug and I toured character, sets, and props fabrication departments at the Cuppa Coffee Studios, which - since 1992 - has won over 150 international awards in animation.


Puppets used in Glenn Martin DDS, a stop-motion animated television series produced at Cuppa Coffee Studios. It premiered on Nick at Nite in August 2009.


Andrew shows Doug the skeleton for the puppets used on Glenn Martin DDS.


Puppet body parts waiting for unwrapping of moulds.


Andrew shows Doug one of the many props painted in-house.


Heads being prepped for final painting and character customizing.


Each main character in Glenn Martin DDS has a designated storage closet. After all, no one wants to lose accessories - like Glenn's bow tie for his tuxedo or one of his many hats!


These are just a few of the many puppet heads which can be quickly and easily put on bodies for use in crowd scenes - whether Glenn Martin's at a shopping mall, restaurant, roller derby, or the White House.


Building and painting props for Glenn Martin DDS - like his motor home and trailer - require a large area in the Cuppa Coffee Studios.


The fact that the staff in the wardrobe room are making clothing and accessories for puppets used in the production of Glenn Martin DDS, doesn't mean they're any less busy than if working with humans - it's just a different scale!

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

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