'Sid the Science Kid' a welcome addition to PBS Kids preschool block

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- If you were to walk onto a soundstage at The Jim Henson Company studios and see performer Misty Rosas, clad in a black leotard-type outfit and wandering within a circle drawn on the floor with what looks like an inner tube around her waist, you might think she's gone 'round the bend.

But it's really just another day at the office for Rosas, who performs body movements for the title character in PBS's "Sid the Science Kid" (8:30 a.m. EDT weekdays), which premieres Monday.

The new children's series is created using the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a new system that allows performers to create movements for animated characters in real time. To accomplish this, Rosas moves around an empty soundstage. Monitors show the animated Sid mirroring her movement as he moves around his computer-animated room. If Rosas waves her arms, Sid on the monitor does likewise.

Performer Drew Massey, standing a few feet away at a computer rig, gives voice to Sid and performs the character's facial movements using a mechanical glove similar to that of a traditional puppeteer. The computer reads those movements and adjusts Sid's face accordingly.

One other thing: There are no physical cameras in use but there are virtual cameras operated by traditional camera operators. All the movements Rosas makes are tracked by motion-capture sensors in the studio. The computer records the movement. Later, the live animation is cleaned up to get it into better shape for broadcast, but the rough and final images are remarkably similar.

"We feel like we're on the cutting edge of technology, but we're also using the strength of The Jim Henson Company in that we're giving our puppeteers a chance to perform these characters," said Lisa Henson, daughter of the late Jim Henson and co-CEO of the company that bears his name. "Essentially our puppeteers (and performers) are our animators."

Henson said the company can produce a half-hour of animation in two days using this process, and the cost is "comparable to that of other animation."

This human-computer combo gives "Sid" a unique look. The character movements are far more fluid and lifelike than in other animation forms. The look of the show mirrors its production: A cross between animation and puppetry.

As fascinating as the technology behind the show is, the series itself is a welcome addition to the PBS Kids preschool block. In each episode, Sid and his friends -- with an assist from "Teacher Susie," who, unfortunately, allows the kids to call her "Susie" -- learn about science using music and humor.

In one episode sent for review, Sid learns the value of charts, "a handy scientific tool."

"Science is out front and center. We're not sugarcoating it. We don't have to because science is so exciting," says Joyce Campbell, vice president of education and children's programming for KCET, the presenting PBS station for "Sid." "It really is celebrating the fact that science learning is something that you want to start doing from a very early age."

(Contact TV editor Rob Owen at rowen(at)post-gazette.com.)