Editing Supermarionation (section)

====''Supercar''&thinsp; to ''Thunderbirds''====
[[File:Supermarionation logo.svg|thumb|The "Filmed in Supermarionation" logo, variations of which appeared in the title sequences and closing credits of 1960s puppet series made by [[AP Films]]]]

The puppets and puppet sets of Supermarionation were built in {{Fraction|1|3}} scale, the former being roughly {{Convert|2|ft|cm|spell=in}} tall.<ref name="Lewis&Stempel"/><ref name="LaRivière2014,245">La Rivière 2014, p.&nbsp;245.</ref><ref>Hirsch, pp.&nbsp;61; 63.</ref> Each marionette was suspended and controlled with several fine tungsten steel wires that were between {{Fraction|1|5000}} and {{Fraction|1|3000}} of an inch ({{Convert|0.0002|-|0.000333|in|mm|disp=out}}) thick, replacing the carpet thread and [[twine]] strings that had been used prior to ''Four Feather Falls''.<ref name="Bentley31"/><ref>La Rivière 2009, pp.&nbsp;28; 40.</ref><ref name="Sellers92">Sellers, p.&nbsp;92.</ref> To make the wires non-reflective, initially they were painted black; however, this made them thicker and more noticeable, so manufacturers Ormiston Wire devised a method of chemically darkening them to keep them as thin as possible.<ref name="Sellers92"/><ref>La Rivière 2009, p.&nbsp;28.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ormiston-wire.co.uk/case-studies/thunderbirds.php|title=''Thunderbirds'' Puppets Case Study|work=ormiston-wire.co.uk|publisher=Ormiston Wire|location=Isleworth, UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229043237/http://www.ormiston-wire.co.uk/case-studies/thunderbirds.php|archive-date=29 December 2016|url-status=live|access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> During filming, the wires often needed to be further concealed using "antiflare" spray (grease mist) or various colours of paint to blend in with the sets and backgrounds.<ref name="Holliss45"/><ref name="Garland70">Garland, p.&nbsp;70.</ref> Balancing the weight was crucial: puppets that were too light would be difficult to control; too heavy and their wires would not bear the load.<ref>Rogers et al., p.&nbsp;168.</ref> [[Insert (filmmaking)|Inserts]] of real human hands, arms and legs were used to show complex actions that the puppets could not perform, such as operating machinery.<ref name="Hirsch64">Hirsch, p.&nbsp;64.</ref> In a 1965 interview, Reg Hill estimated that the Supermarionation productions contained "three or four times" as much [[Film editing|cutting]] as live-action features because the puppets' lack of facial expression made it impossible to sustain the viewer's interest "for more than a few seconds" per shot.<ref>La Rivière 2014, pp.&nbsp;180–181.</ref>

The puppets' distinguishing features were their hollow fibreglass heads and the solenoids that powered the automatic mouth movements.<ref name="Percy">{{Cite journal|url=http://www.walesartsreview.org/the-work-and-legacy-of-gerry-anderson/|title=The Life and Work of Gerry Anderson: Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour!|date=5 April 2017|last1=Percy|first1=Carolyn|journal=[[Wales Arts Review]]|editor1-last=Raymond|editor1-first=Gary|editor2-last=Morris|editor2-first=Phil|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006075259/http://www.walesartsreview.org/the-work-and-legacy-of-gerry-anderson/|archive-date=6 October 2017|url-status=live|access-date=1 July 2018}}</ref> Character dialogue was recorded on two tapes.<ref name="Hirsch61"/><ref name="Holliss45">Holliss, p.&nbsp;45.</ref><ref name="Peel17">Peel, p.&nbsp;17.</ref> One of these would be played during filming, both to guide the puppeteers and provide a basis for the soundtrack; the other would be converted into a series of electrical signals.<ref name="Hirsch61"/><ref name="Holliss45"/><ref name="Peel17"/> When activated by the signals, the solenoid in the head caused the puppet's lower lip to open and close with each syllable.<ref name="Hirsch61"/><ref name="Peel17"/><ref>La Rivière 2009, p.&nbsp;29.</ref>

The heads of regular characters were entirely fibreglass; proto-heads were sculpted in clay or [[Plasticine]] and then encased in rubber (or [[silicone rubber]]) to create moulds, to which [[fibreglass resin]] was applied to create the finished shells. Guest characters were played by puppets called "revamps", whose faces were Plasticine sculpted on featureless fibreglass heads.<ref>La Rivière 2009, pp.&nbsp;32–33.</ref> This allowed the revamps to be re-modelled from one episode to the next and play a wider range of characters.<ref>Rogers et al., p.&nbsp;78.</ref> Many regulars were modelled on contemporary Hollywood actors.<ref>La Rivière 2014, p.&nbsp;241.</ref> The puppets' eyes were moved by radio control.<ref>Peel, p.&nbsp;18.</ref>

The placement of the solenoid dictated the puppets' body proportions.<ref name="LaRivière150">La Rivière 2009, p.&nbsp;150.</ref> Head-mounted solenoids made the heads oversized compared to the rest of the body; the latter could not be scaled up to match as this would have made the puppets too bulky to operate effectively, and would have required all the set elements to be enlarged.<ref name="LaRivière150"/><ref name="ToonhoundEntry">{{cite web|title=''Captain Scarlet'' (1967)|url=http://www.toonhound.com/captainscarlet.htm|work=toonhound.com|access-date=26 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503021338/http://www.toonhound.com/captainscarlet.htm|archive-date=3 May 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> According to commentator David Garland, the disproportion was influenced partly by "aesthetic considerations ... the theory being that the head carried the puppet's personality".<ref name="Garland64">Garland, p.&nbsp;64.</ref> It resulted in many puppets developing [[caricature]]d appearances, though Anderson stated that this was not intentional.<ref name="Garland64"/><ref name="Sellers105">Sellers, p.&nbsp;105.</ref>