Below is some additional information on Bam & Woody's character personas, as well as the capabilities of their puppets. 

BAM

CHARACTER PERSONA:

• Gender: Male
• Species: Caterpillar
• Persona: Long ago Bam was uncomfortable with his fuzzy physique. Never one to give up, this heartwarming hero turned grooming his hair into an art, and is the now the happy-go-lucky hairdresser for all of the Fiends!

PUPPET INFORMATION:

• Photos of the Bam puppet can be found HERE
• Mouth Operation: Bam's mouth can be reached through the hole on his underside. Due to the immense size of his mouth, puppeteers with larger hands may have trouble operating the puppet for longer periods of time. Within Bam's mouth are four straps - two on the top of the mouth and two on the bottom - only three are meant to be used at any one time. The two straps on the top are meant to go around the index and ring fingers of the puppeteer during any normal operation. The two straps on the bottom are only meant to be used one at a time. Depending upon the size of the puppeteer's hand, the one used during operation should be the one that is most comfortable for the user. Smaller hands may prefer the one closer to the center of the mouth. Once the hand is comfortably situated, the puppet should be able to raise above the puppeteer's head with little effort. Some practice may be required to work out the best angle for each individual puppeteer to hold their arm.
• Tail Operation: Bam's tail can be operated using the supplied rod in a side-to-side motion. To connect the rod to the puppet, the brass end of the rod is inserted into a small, square, brass port that can be found beneath a flap on the underside tip of the tail. The rod is stiffer than those supplied for Woody, due to the angle and force needed to make the tail move properly. While it is possible for one puppeteer to operate both the mouth/body and the tail simultaneously, it is a lot simpler for a second puppeteer to operate the tail movement when it is necessary. Without the rod inserted, the tail should remain in its base, upright position during most movements.

WOODY

CHARACTER PERSONA:

• Gender: Male
• Species: Woodlouse
• Persona: When danger looms, Woody the Woodlouse first thought it to curl up and hide. The others don't notice his nervousness. To them, he's a living, breathing, armor-plated cannonball!

PUPPET INFORMATION:

• Photos of the Woody puppet can be found HERE
• Mouth Operation: Woody's mouth can be reached through the hole on his underside. The depth of his mouth is relatively shallow, but because of his large head, there should be room for puppeteers with any size hands to operate him. There are three straps on Woody's mouth palette, one on the underside and two on the top. The lower strap is meant to be filled by the puppeteer's thumb, and the upper two by the puppeteer's index and ring fingers. Once the hand is comfortably situated, the puppet should be able to be raised above the puppeteer's head with little effort. Some practice may be required to work out the best angle for each individual puppeteer to hold their arm.
• Arm Operation: Woody's arms can be operated by inserting the brass ends of the supplied rods into the small brass ports on the underside of each of his hands. The rods are lighter and more flexible than the one given for use with Bam's tail, and can be used one at a time, or simultaneously, depending on the situation and the skill of the puppeteer.

Seriously, the team behind the addictively fun mobile game Best Fiends, recently created hand & rod puppets for two of its most popular characters - Bam & Woody (you can read more about the Fiends and their puppet personas in the Background/Additional Details section below). Now they are looking to find puppeteers in the Southern California area who would be interested in puppeteering & voicing these characters for social videos between 0:06-0:60 seconds long.  

Seriously would be securing the studio space & filmmaking team, as well as providing a full script - all we'd be asking you to do is come bring the puppets to life in the Los Angeles, CA area. Seriously is ultimately looking for one puppeteer per puppet - but you are welcome to submit a pitch for both characters. If you work in a team, you are also welcome to submit to this project together. There's even a possibility that you are a puppeteer and you pitch as a team with a voice actor. We welcome all submissions!

This has the potential to become a recurring work opportunity, with Seriously organizing a single day shoot approximately once every month. If the Sponsor ultimately decides they would like to work with you on a future production, you will be awarded $250 in this project, with your day or half day rate to be paid out for work on any future productions. However, please note that the Sponsor is not under any obligation to select a puppeteer to move forward. 

If you are interested in being considered, please submit an audition video of you performing the article linked in the Assets tab below utilizing a puppet of your own. 

 

TIMELINE: 

• For the full audition review timeline please see the Assets section.
• Please note that there are no concrete production dates as of yet; should you be selected to move forward, Tongal & Seriously would work with you to confirm your availability for their next production day. As stated above, this has the potential to become a recurring work opportunity, with single day shoots approximately once every month. 

 

EXPOSURE: Best Fiends social media channels

 

TONE: Think along the lines of Minions or The Simpsons; funny, but subversive and playful

 

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES: 

• Your audition video should feature your puppet "reading" the article linked in the Assets tab below as though it is a news bulletin. PLEASE NOTE: You do not have to read the full article; you can just include :30-:60 of the portions you feel are most entertaining
• You must be comfortable both puppeteering and voice acting for the puppet characters, or pitch with a voice actor
• You are welcome to demonstrate multiple voices in your audition video
• You are welcome to pitch as a team, but that must be factored into your budget/day rate costs
• You must be local to or able to easily access Los Angeles, CA

OPEN BID: 

• This is an open bid project, so you will get to set your own day rate proposal of up to $1000 for a full 8 hour day. You will also need to include your half day rate as well. 
• By participating in this open bid project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a bid. Though most open bid projects on our platform do move forward with a greenlit bid, we will notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any bids via the project forum. Regardless of the result, all open bid submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and the project team.

REFER + EARN: Are you friends with a Southern California-based puppeteer who would be perfect for this project? Refer them to Tongal for the opportunity to earn $100. Click for details.

In order to be considered for this project, you must include the below materials in your pitch submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery.

 

• TEXT (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less telling us a bit more about yourself and your background in puppeteering.
  
  
• FULL DAY & HALF DAY RATES (REQUIRED): The Sponsor would like to know your rate for an 8-hour day up to $1,000. In addition to your full day rate, you must also include your half day rate in your submission.
  
  
• AUDITION VIDEO (REQUIRED): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the Sponsor and show them what you're capable of. Your audition video must feature you puppeteering, and reading, reciting or otherwise acting out the article attached in the Assets tab below. As the puppets may ultimately be used to give updates on social media, this will give us a sense of your ability to speak directly to camera with the puppet in a fun & engaging way. Feel free to try different approaches or use multiple voices - this is your opportunity to show the Sponsor what you can do! All Pitches will remain private until after the Sponsor gives creator(s) the green light to move forward.

• LINKS (Optional, But Recommended): To your previous puppeteer work. You can also include links to any previous VO work you've done, if applicable. Please specify your role and DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS TO YOUR SHOWREEL. Please link to individual videos.

• RESUME/CREDITS (Optional, But Recommended): To your previous puppeteer work. Please specify your role.

1. BY SUBMITTING A VIDEO ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.
   
   
2. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
   
   
3. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.
    
4. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.
    
5. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
    
6. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
    
7. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.
   
   
8. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
   
   
9. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.