Something buggin me about Steve's Kermit...

[frodis58]

BTW, those two old guys are Statler and Waldorf. Waldorf was played by Jim and Statler was played by Richard. Jerry Nelson now plays Statler, though Steve does a dead on performance of Richard's Statler and when you hear and see it it just seems right. I hope Steve takes over Statler and that Jerry does some more of his charaters like Robin, Floyd, ect.

Actually Jerry originally performed Statler ( Sex and Violence..)
I would like to see him perform his classic characters more often
especially Floyd!
I don't believe I've ever heard Steve performing Statler.....(I might have missed this )
when was this?

 

[scarecroe]

Was it ever established whether the Piggy video at Muppetfest was Frank or Eric ? I had heard it was a closet Eric performance done on video as if by Frank to see if anyone noticed but not sure if it's true or not.

Craig Shemin confirmed that it was indeed Eric on the MuppetFest videos.

 

[muppet_dk]

I don't believe I've ever heard Steve performing Statler.....(I might have missed this )
when was this?

In the music video keep fishing with Weezer it's steve who performs Statler

 

[Buck-Beaver]

This is a really neat topic. Every set is different, but generally puppeteers usually have to work together with camera people to ensure that their arms stay out of shot. When this happens, it can be for a variety of reasons (often it is not really the puppeteer's fault).

If the height of the puppet is changing through out the shot (rising or sinking) then it is probably the fault of the puppeteer. If the puppet is at a consistant height and the puppeteer's arm is visible throughout the shot it is probably the fault of the camera operator since they are ultimately responsible for framing a shot. Good directors also know to watch out for this during onset playback.

One problem I've encountered with this myself is that often times the framing you see on a monitor in the studio will not exactly match up with the framing that a viewer will see if your monitor is not set-up properly. It actually takes quite a bit of technical know-how to avoid this sort of problem. Also, during multi-camera TV shoots a puppeteer is not always able to see every camera angle being recorded in their monitor.

Another problem that occurs frequently is that because film and TV (especially TV) is done on a very tight schedule, sometimes a decision will be made to "move on" if the day is behind schedule and the director has an otherwise perfect take where the performer's arm is slightly visible.

Sometimes people just really mess up too. I heard about one show where they filmed an entire scene with the puppeteer's entire body in the shot! No one - not the puppeteers, director or crew - noticed until the episode was being edited together.

I don't think it is really fair for us to pick on Steve about this. I have noticed it too, but I've also seen Jim do it countless times as well. It's much, much harder than it looks to pull of absolute perfection in puppetry.

That said, there's still really no excuse....

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

I don't think it is really fair for us to pick on Steve about this. I have noticed it too, but I've also seen Jim to it countless times as well. No one is perfect.

Hear, hear. Heck, most of the time for me there is no "Jim's Kermit" and "Steve's Kermit." He's just Kermit.

Buck-Beaver, are you in (or have you ever considered going into) public speaking?

-Kim

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Nah, do enough of that at work.

 

[BlueFrackle]

Guys,

On the subject of Kermit, I thought he was really good in The Muppet Christmas Carol. I thought that was excellent.

But when Kermit now talks about peace and harmony and that kinda thing, I always find it forced. Whereas with Jim, it just seemed natural.

I still cant get used to Steve's Ernie. I just dont like it. Its too 'Fun'.

Dave's Waldorf and Jerry's Statler are good, I would love to hear Steve carry on with the voice that Richard gave Statler tho.

With Gonzo's voice it is natural, Peoples voices change. And as Gonzo has got older in time his voice has changed. But all the way through he has always had a terrific singing voice, I just love 'Mr. Spaceman' on the Kermit Unpigged album !


see ya

 

[BlueFrackle]

Guys,

Sorry, just to add one more thing...


It really saddens me that we will not be able to hear Piggy sing a real good song again. It seems that Eric can only do the high pitch ala 'Santa Baby'.

Remember when Piggy sung 'I Will Survive' and 'Gonna Miss Miss Piggy' ?
Those songs had heart and were sung with attitude, And i dont think Eric can reach that.


see ya

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

I'm sorry, but I don't get why everybody has to be so nitpicky. I mean, we could just not have these characters at all.

-Kim

 

[rexcrk]

Neat topic! I think I've gotten used to Steve's Kermit (heh, what time did I have to get used to? I was two when Jim died) but I noticed that in "The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson" at the end, Kermit sounds a little "off" but that's because it was his first speaking performance after Jim died, but I think Steve's doing a wonderful job with Kermit

And about how they got a new person for Frank's characters, I think he's doing great! I remember watching VMMCM and they sounded great, although I kinda remember Fozzie being a little bit "off"

I also noticed that Gonzo's voice has changed. I think I like it better in Muppet Treasure Island when he sings. It's in a lower range and it sounds like it's easier to sing with that voice in that range. Dave also does a good job with Waldorf too