Day in the Life of the Indonesian Puppet Shoot:

It's the start of 10 whirlwind days. Over the past few weeks, the sets have been made and a little Indonesian village has come alive at the edge of a mountain range in a New York studio, rows of carrots growing in garden plots near paddy fields, and tiny palms precariously dotting hillsides on the horizon.

Assembled is a crew of some of the most experienced puppeteers in the world. Over the next week or so, they will spend their days with arms raised full in the air, eyes fixed on the floor-level monitor catching all the puppet-level action above them, twisting and manoeuvring around other artists operating separate puppets or working a right arm to match their left one.

There are nine puppets in total, carefully representing villagers from a cross section of Indonesian village life, including a baby, and a Squirrel who alerts the audience to the follies of human (usually Tolo's) behaviour

With the shoot over for the day and the director happy, the production is ready for special effects and music and the final edit. Next step, Jakarta and the dubbing process. The goal is for each film to feel like it is an entirely Indonesian creation for its Indonesian audience.

Sometimes they're in these awkward position for hours. It's challenging work, both mentally and physically, doubly tricky in crowd scenes, but energy levels are high always. This is a magical, creative little world, driven by the hope that thousands of miles away, children and their families might benefit from all this activity.

On set we have Tolo. Tolo is working in the shop of the village of Desa Wanabolo, when in comes the Little Girl who hands him a list of items to stock her emergency bag; things like a torch, water, rice, batteries, blanket, a first aid kit. "This is a quiet village," says Tolo. "We don't have emergencies." The Squirrel and Narrator know otherwise; shortly, the first earthquake tremors begin.

Heather Asch is the Little Girl. "She doesn't speak, but she's gorgeous and she's the wise one in every scene, so it's a great part," Heather says. Ron Binion is Tolo; he and his girlfriend, puppeteer Amanda Maddock, will be overseeing the dubbing sessions and taking the puppetry workshops in Indonesia in September.