Third sample

deeprivervisions — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:44:59 +0000

This sequence focuses on the changes within amphibians and insects from generation to generation. Art required would be the swimming frogs, various stages of tadpoles, and surface frogs as well as possibly the pond vegetation overlay. You might be able to try a salamander perhaps but I don’t want to mess with those eggs again if possible! Then in the middle transition, the red flowers were student art also. Finally the caterpillars, cocoon, and various adults in the red flowers would be needed, and the solo egg-laying and emerging butterflies.

steps85402@mypacks.net

Second sample

deeprivervisions — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:43:55 +0000

Although we might not live near the ocean, many of us have visited it, and it affects all life on earth. Images needed for the making another version of this sequence would include palm frond(s) maybe with hanging seeds like those that travel on currents to other places; a flying or a wading shore bird; starfish (sand dollars, other shells, or crabs); jellyfish (or sea horses); and finally big swimmers like whales, sharks, octopi or squid. Some types like turtles could go in shallow or deep water. The still backgrounds of the island in the ocean and the cliffs were also student art.

steps85402@mypacks.net

First sample

deeprivervisions — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:31:05 +0000

This represents how the earth is in the universe, and on its surface we first had life in the water, then on land (I picked a forest late enough to have some line style birds but they could be dropped), then later flowers and butterflies. Your group would furnish an earth and optional extra stars, a similar rough number of fish, the trees and flowers, and the butterfly (or a small mammal). The grass could be a new drawing I would re-wave….or even the pond background which is a “still” shot.

steps85402@mypacks.net

Some basic background

deeprivervisions — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:39:08 +0000

Above this will be more detailed comments on the films but before loading them I want to convey how I hope they can help teachers, parents, and others. I didn’t think the concept could be verbally described so I first made a series for viewing that I hope will spark interest. I did all the animation; but the figures (and a few background images) were produced by pre-college students past the preschool stage, still in that realm of learning and wonder. So the “characters” are not meant to be specific scientifically correct species, just a display of their work created in classroom projects such as on posters (in other words, originally hand drawn and not digital art).

My basic idea is that I know teachers are busy (charter, church school, public, environmental center – it doesn’t matter to me) and that kids love to draw and also be out in nature. However, they gradually drift away from both as they mature. I wanted to find a use for my interest in photography, music composition, and recollection of my own childhood to foster a move back to reinforcing that connection most of us remember (and children still demonstrate), of fascination with the world around us. You may have read “Last Child in the Woods” or seen other references to that challenge.

I am hoping that someone out there will be inspired to take this idea, which had a long gestation period I’ll add more about for those interested….and either produce something like it or just let me know if I can assist in this way, possibly making a “reward at end of semester” or special project out of variations of these first samples or new ones I hope to be coming up with over time. I’m already thinking about a woodlands and possibly coral reef theme.

The basic gist of it would be to keep it under adult guidance to ensure certain basics, such as being sure students preserve a plain background (don’t scribble a lot around the characters etc.) for scanning. In a big class, the members should produce the quantities they feel would work, like 5 of something, 6 of something, etc. and have a “contest” to pick the best….or the teacher could assign the needed characters which will become moving pieces. These would then be sent to me if you don’t have time or software for the editing, and I’ll work on it (no, this is not for profit). Most schools have a scanner, but taking outdoor or well lighted digital photos of bigger pieces could also work if not distorted. I could even send a “backgrounds only” CD to anyone who wants to take the whole thing from there.

Many variations are possible, such as putting the individual student’s name somewhere nearby the creature or plant as it appears, (such as “Henry” or “Denise”) to show who made it. Music also could take different forms. I suppose there could also be a bit of a “story” but I didn’t attempt that as I wasn’t sure what tales I might accidentally emulate out of all the books out there.

Note this is not like production from a big studio, so the hope is just that the technique just brings a little “life” to the figures. A drawing is not going to turn into a multi-positioned flashy cartoon character because that would require doing more major re-working and perhaps compromising of the original. Also, students aren’t expected to make perfect giraffes, etc. so seriously repositioned limbs might not even work well and I think shouldn’t be forced!

The main thing I’ve discovered is that while hand held media are widely accessible and a great teaching tool, they don’t mix well with genuine real life nature footage, so the context also is best done in a painting form. And since the motions of the characters are limited as mentioned above, more movement has to be furnished by the background.

These proto films were an offshoot of my final Masters in Music Technology degree project, and rely as demos on credit I would like to give to art-contest oriented or child art-display sites across the web (and a bit from my local contacts)….such as artsonia.com, whales.org.au, and frogsaregreen.com. I understand this is a ”fair use” when it consists of bits and clips that are seriously reworked and do not directly compete and are further intended for academic use. I tried to avoid anything that appeared to be a commercial web gallery or images offered for sale on a product such as watermarked displays of for-sale prints.

I was also influenced by a preliminary project filming a youth workshop on building debris huts at an environmental center; readings in phototherapy and ecotherapy; knowing of the audience participation work Hugh Sung did when he was at the Eastman School of Music; attending a Child in Nature workshop at the NC School of Design; and seeing the “moving paintings” of Takagi Masakatsu. I am not a career school teacher but have been a substitute in a junior high (7th-8th grade general science) years ago; an adjunct instructor in junior and senior colleges (music appreciation and landscape design); a “Girls, Inc.” volunteer; a citizenship camp teacher; a Communities in Schools volunteer; and lately a participant in a program at my church which provides homework assistance every week to local neighborhood children.

Portfolio including resume and earlier website and video making history: http://www.mindspring.com/~lesmuskey7/intro.html