Now that the cat is offically out of the bag....

Hey Kids!

No doubt you have watched the latest episode of Phantom Harbor...I've been belly-aching about it now for years so if you haven't, you owe it to yourself to see what all the grousing was about!  Please...help support the show by watching it.  I know most/all of you that read this blog do anyway, so THANKS!

Okay, now that the cat is out of the bag I can share photos of Cap'n Keller!  I sculpted him in brown plastillna clay (yes, the cheap stuff...someone gave me tons of it so why buy something else, right?)

Here is the sculpture being roughed out.

Refining shapes, clay stitching to get an idea of the final piece.

SHANNON! Put on your GLASSES!

The final sculpt!

I made a two piece Ultracal 30 mold (yes, I'm paying for that now) and cored it with aluminum-filled epoxy.  At the time, I was working at KNB EFX and I believe Derek Krout ran the foam assisted by Patricia Urias (DAMN IT! FORGOT TO THANK THEM!).

Laying up the clay wall to make the mold.

 A quick mold of the core was made with plaster bandage and I ran a thin fiberglass core.  I had contacted Henson Studios animatronic expert and friend John Criswell to ask if he could do some rudimentary mechanics.  He said he would use some left over bits and pieces and do what he could.

Meanwhile, I seamed and painted the hero skin.  When John returned with the mechanics he had OUT DONE himself!  Utilizing three old servo motors and an old, banged up radio transmitter, John had given life to the puppet. A two axis jaw mechanism (which means it moves up and down as well as side-to-side), and little eyelids to strain uncomfortably against the stitches!  He glued the hero skin down onto the mechanism and returned it to me so I could do the hair work.

During the painting process, I'd bring the skin to the set and check it in the stylized lighting to make sure that it read.

 I bought an old gray wig from a costume store, cut a small section of the wig at the crown, glued it onto Cap'n Keller's scalp and punched the rest of the hair around the hair line.  Then he was finished off by gluing stitches (rather than sewing through the skin) onto the lips and lids and then fired him up!

Casting the character of Cap'n Keller was a long process.  Originally, I had pegged long-time friend and performer Alec Gillis (co-founder of ADI Studios) to play Keller's voice.  I had always imagined Keller having a James Mason-esque quality.  But as the months wore on and schedules shifted, I approached Emmy-Award winning prosthetic make-up artist and composer of the Phantom Harbor theme, Andy Schoneberg to play Keller.  Andy has a naturally resonant voice (go watch Mike Deak's short films on youtube - somemannerof channel and you'll hear what I mean).  But alas, shifts in schedules etc. prevented this collaboration as well.

The night of the shooting, I had asked my daughter, Molly to come to the house and puppeteer.  During the evening, she was doing a very good imitation of James Mason.  So good that our director, Tracy Shea, suggested to figure out a way to use Molly's performance.  That is when Cap'n Keller REALLY came into his own.

I re-recorded Molly reading Keller's lines and in the editing program, re-pitched her voice lower and added a slight reverb to it.  A star was born!

Like the show, Keller was A LOT of work all on his own and through a series of misadventures and unexpected twists, what we finally got was so much better than we anticipated.

Keller in an early lighting test.

"Why, I oughtta!"

So, there it is!  Finally, I can truly share with all of you!  Again, thanks so much for being so patient and supportive.  PLEASE recommend the site and stories to your family and friends and...

Until next time, I'll see you at the Harbor!

Shannon Shea