Two birds sit atop a gravestone and talk to one another with a kind of gallows humor. There’s a subtlety to this I like. If done properly the birds, ravens, should look fairly real. In telling jokes they should be able to react one another. After all, “Acting is reacting.”

I guess this is really the point. The only reason to use animated figures (as opposed to human actors) is to present a figure that a person can’t accurately portray. Okay, there are other reasons like cost or repeatability, but for non-commercial use, if I could fit inside a bird suit and convince anyone I could fly, I would. Likewise I do not make a good Jack Skeleton or Great Pumpkin. Maybe the Great Pumpkin is doable.

Anyway, the birds should give the spooky decorated front yard a certain feel. Clearly the birds are not going to scare anyone. I just want them to seem a bit afraid. Maybe, in turn, passers by will also feel afraid. It’s a theory.

Here are some parts:

After suggesting that Ruth learn taxidermy and my specifying the height and weight of the ravens I need her to catch, she suggested the use of hand puppets. While not as realistic as I had hoped, the puppets are ideal for the purpose of being… well… puppets.

To that we will add:

• 6 servos
• 3′ threaded rod
• 9″ steel shaft
• 12 ball linkages
• 2 plain bore sprockets
• 2 servo mount sprockets
• 4 set screw hubs
• 4 lock collars
• 2 ball bearings
• 2′ plastic chain
• 6 servo extension cables
• 2 1″ hinges
• aluminum stock
• a whole bunch of 4-40 screws, nuts and washers

Now we just need to put it all together!