Today we’d like to introduce you to Raymond Carr.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Raymond. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I moved to GA from the west coast when I was a teenager and soon after I arrived I found a group of fantastic artists at the Center for Puppetry Arts, who introduced me to the Atlanta arts community that I know and love today. I can track my trajectory as a professional creative back to a handful of very generous people who helped me find my voice. I directed my first adult avant-grade (weird) show there as a part of their Experimental Puppetry Theater program (XPT) when I was 17, and it changed everything. All I wanted to do, from then on, was to be a part of cutting-edge creative projects. I never intended to be a content creator, but I soon realized that there wasn’t a massive market for weirdo puppet shows so if I wanted to keep doing what I loved I’d have to do it myself.
Since then I’ve had the privilege of work on several multi-million dollar state of the art puppet shows in my career. Some of the highlights include, living and working in Reykjavik Iceland for a year working for Nickelodeon Studios on a show called Lazytown, I was puppet captain for the 4th largest touring show in the world Walking with Dinosaurs which utilized live sized animatronic dinosaur puppets, I co-starred on a PBS Kids show for the Jim Henson Company called Splash and Bubbles, and worked as one of the puppet captains on an upcoming show called Moon and Me for from the creators of Teletubbies for the BBC. Despite all my traveling and opportunities, I keep Atlanta as my home base because I feel like this is a city that empowers me to do whatever the hell I want creatively. I’ve used my unique experiences to drive my company Ninja Puppet Productions.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My two of my biggest challenges are client management and creative partnerships. I’m always on the lookout to find artist and professionals who have the same passion and drive for the creative business. So when I find like-minded individuals who dream just as big as I do I hold on to them for dear life. Often a client’s imagination will be bigger than their budget, so I’ve had to learn how to translate and modify what a client might want into something that’s doable, while still making them happy with the outcome. This flexibility comes down to knowing which materials to use, the time frame the product needs to build, and how the product will be used. A tiger costume needs to be used longer at a theme park than one that is built for one scene in a movie. But at the same time, it might need to be more detailed for the camera than for the stage.
Please tell us about Ninja Puppet Productions.
There are two different but complementary parts to Ninja Puppet Productions, digital media, and fabrications. At NPP we produce theatrical experience, narrative-based experimental films, commercial and multimedia content, as well as fabricates puppets, props and set pieces for both corporate and individual clients around the country. As a creative, I’ve had almost 20 years experience in the film/tv/theater industry, and In that time I’ve worked in various roles both in front and behind the scenes, so I have a well-rounded view of the projects that come to us. And believe it or not, those weirdo puppet shows I got my start in now come in handy when I need to think out of the box in creative ways to problem solve with clients.
Throughout the years we’ve worked with companies like Ga Aquarium, Dropbox, Scoutmob, Mailchimp, Cartoon Network, FX’s Atlanta, Hartsfield Jackson Airport, and many more. But we also take the time to create our own film and digital content. Often our creative content will be used as a calling card for clients in the future. Our films have been featured and have won awards at Oscar-qualifying film festivals throughout the world and are being distributed by the Jim Henson Company.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My mother referred to me as “a strong-willed child” which basically means I was a pain in the ass. I was always making a mess by either taking things apart or putting things together in unexpected ways. I’ve never been the most talented person in the room, but I was generally the most ambitious. I was homeschooled so there was a certain level of DIY problem solving that was promoted in everything we did, which has definitely benefitted me in my career.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ninjapuppetproductions.com
- Phone: 404.717.5701
- Email: puppetninja@gmail.com
- Instagram: theninjapuppet
Image Credit:
CineBot Vide, Dorn Brothers Photography, Nate Dorn, Stacey Bode Photography
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