When the episode Remote Control finally airs, I am the Shoe Tytus 6000. It’s a shoe tying machine that the character Pixel invented to tie his shoes. In order to work it, I lay on my back under the floor of the set, wedged up into the puppet by a series of apple boxes. Once I was in place, I couldn’t get out again without help. The idea of the shot is simple. Pixel puts his foot on the machine and it ties it. The reality was very hard. I was tying a shoe that was over my head, while wearing gloves with rings and wires on them, and had a choice of being blind or looking in a monitor. Not easy. But I did it, and they seemed happy with the final take.
I also spent a lot of the day being a right hand for Þor (pronounced Thor) as he worked Ziggy, or working legs for various puppets. Raymond, the producer, complimented me when I slid in to add some foot action for Pixel in a music video. He said, “I like what you are doing with the feet. Things are livelier here since you came.” Apparently no one else really worked the feet, they just let the puppet sit on the walls. I get bored, so I look for things that I can do.
