(57) A deformable screen (1), e.g. of foam rubber, bears an image surface (3), e.g. a
white plastics sheet bonded to it. A TV camera (71) views the image surface (3). A
character (11) may be drawn on the image surface (3). An operator can deform the image
surface and so animate the image produced by the camera.
A slit (5) in the image surface (3) is fitted with a mitten (9) extending through
a hole (7) in the screen. By manipulation of the mitten (9) in the manner of a glove
puppet, the slit (5) can act as a mouth for the drawn character (11).
Apparent eyeball movement can be provided by mounting elements (13) for the pupils
spaced in front of the image surface (3) so that sideways movement of the image surface
(3) relative to the camera (71) results in apparent movement of the pupils relative
to the drawn character (11) as seen from the camera (71).
The screen (1) may be movably mounted in a surround unit (37) which provides an independent
light environment for the image surface (3).
The camera (71) may be a black-and-white one, and its output combined with output
from a colour camera to give a colour image signal.
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