2021 ISTE Creative Constructor Lab Conference

 
This weekend I attended the 2021 ISTE Creative Constructor Lab Conference and presented 5 workshops on topics ranging from augmented reality to animation. The event is always a great experience because it's focused on creativity and innovation allowing many hands-on learning sessions and design challenges. 

I helped close out the mainstage session on Friday evening with a design challenge using Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly known as Adobe Spark) to create a short visual story focused on social-emotional learning and mindfulness tools. Here's a look at the Padlet with a few examples of educator stories.

Thanks to everyone who attended my #ISTECCL session on #animation this morning, I'll be sharing more resources but I'd love to see what you created too! Here's an animation created in @BinaryMoon's #BrushNinja to celebrate @iste's conference weekend ! pic.twitter.com/5MBXLy1E3V

— Tim Needles (@timneedles) October 16, 2021

The next session was focused on animation and we explored a varied of tools and approaches from simple free digital 2D animation tools like Brush Ninja to experimental tools like Google's 3D Monster Mash. That session was followed my a Creativity Salon in which attendees could chat and ask questions so we discussed some fun and engaging gamification tools and new emerging media. 

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to present with my pals Jen Williams, author of Teach Boldy, and Matt Dombrowski and we shared how to create GIFs and different ways to use them in class. As mems and GIFs are always popular with kids it was an interesting session and fun sharing our work out on social media.

The final session of the weekend was on augmented reality and I showed off a new AR tool that I've been using called EyeJack which allowed me to combine the social-emotional story from the 1st session along with the animation from the 2nd session together into an augmented reality work. The image above shows how easy the process was and below you can see it in action! 

My #ISTECCL session on #AugmentedReality video poems at the AR/VR Playground starts in 30 minutes-learn tools & techniques like how to pair #AR & Animation together with the @eyejackapp to make a video poem! pic.twitter.com/7UKsbdXCuT

— Tim Needles (@timneedles) October 17, 2021

It was a fast and furious conference but always enjoyable and in addition to sharing I was able to attend some great sessions and take away some new tools and tricks. My book STEAM Power is currently on sale in the ISTE book store as part of the event along with Jen's book which is fantastic so check them out!

 

Digital Media: Final Choice Project

In Digital Media we begin work on the Final Choice Project today! Last week we reviewed the research projects and explored our final project together so you should have submitted a proposal on a Google Doc for what you would like to do and what you timeline would be for doing it. Is there something you would like to explore further? Above is an example of Angelina's animation from out OKgo animated music video which turned out amazing. 

The final project should be completed by June 15 so make sure you have ample time to finish what you are setting out to do. Below are some of the possibilities but you can propose something else as well:

• Classic Construction, Cardboard, and Upcycling
• Film, Video & Animation
• Web Design, Social Media & Podcasting
• Coding, App Design & Video Game Design
• Digital Drawing & Design 
• 3D Design, Printing and Construction
• Augmented & Virtual Reality

Remembering September 11

Today marks 14 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11 and we will begin class with two short animated films created from Storycorps recordings created to remember the victims of the attacks.  The video above tells the stories of locals Joe and John Vigiano and the story below tells the story of Michael Trinidad who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center.  We will also have a moment of silence and talk a little bit about our connections to the experience.



We will also be creating our own Storycorps stories later this year for the Great Thanksgiving Listen program which we'll talk about at the end of next month.

Studio Art: Typography

FROM PAPER TO SCREEN from Thibault de Fournas on Vimeo.

In Advanced Media and in studio art classes we are currently working with typography and the short video above gives a terrific overview of what we have been learning.  In advanced media we are in the process of creating a similar kinetic typography animation collaboratively and in studio art students are completing their first type design project which is due today.

Advanced Media: Talking Oscar Night

In Advanced Media we will begin by recapping the Oscars from last night and discuss the winners, moments, and films.  Below is one of my favorite moments from the night as Graham Moore won the Best Adapted Screenplay award for The Imitation Game.

"Stay Weird. Stay Different" a terrific #Oscar speech from #screenwriting winner #GrahamMoore #Oscars2015 #weirded pic.twitter.com/83nPSVWo7p
— Tim Needles (@timneedles) February 23, 2015

We'll also talk about the animated feature and short films that were nominated as we will soon be working on an animation ourselves- here's a great talk from the Academy about the films.

Media Arts: The Stephen Fry Collaborative Project

In Media Arts we are starting out our first collaborative animation project focusing on English actor and author Stephen Fry using a clip of his audio and our own imagination.  We talked about the audio clip and broke it down into what needs to be animated and who is responsible for each aspect.  Your 5-9 index cards will be checked and graded on Monday and we will combine our drawing and look at a rough draft!

Media Art: Begining to Animate

In media arts class we are now ending the pre-production phase of our animation and beginning to animate using 3"x5" white index cards in pencil.  The short animation above is a great example of what we're looking for because it has mostly simple backgrounds and limited color but uses a good variation of techniques and motion and the animation is neat and smooth (incorporating the hand is the difficult part but goes beyond what were doing in class).

We are going to begin with a 5 card pencil test on index cards that I provide (look at the examples below) but to save time make sure your pencil test is part of your animation so we can use it in the final film

Media Arts: Pixilation storyboards

Today is the final class before our spring break so the colored 6 frame storyboards for you pixilations are due today.  Everyone should film their pixilation which should be at least one minute long over the break, check out the demo I did in class on Vine above talong with the student example below to get an idea of what the expectation is.  You are free to use any media such as: cell phones, SLR's, ect. to shoot it as well as apps such as: Vine, iTimeLapse, or any others or simply take photos then edit them when you return using Adobe Premiere, iMovie, or Windows Movie Maker. 



Remember creativity and clean shots are the key here! When we return we will begin our hand drawn animations so take a look at the video below from Pixar's John Lasseter on his advice for students!

Media Arts: Pixilations

Yesterday in Media Arts class we began working on the fundamentals of creating an animation with a simple 8 frame hand-drawn, morphing animation and today we will learn about another way to animate called a pixilation.  There's a great short example above called You & I which shows what the final project will look like but today we'll create a short, simple pixilation in class collaboratively with each student writing their name and one adjective about themselves (quirky, funny, creative, ect).

Each student will be creating their own short pixilation in the future so think of concepts that might work well with this process when we are learning about it.  Below is a great classic example of a pixilation from Coldplay that you might have seen.

AP Art: Senior Show- Michelle

Our most recent AP Art Senior Show opened yesterday with Michelle's solo exhibit including her knockout concentration paintings and a collection of drawings.  The work is terrific and a big crowd lingered to see what she's been working on for the past 9 weeks.  Her works evoke her animation which is also fantastic and it will be up through the week so be sure to check it out while you can!

Doodles for Google Contest

Today is not only the first day of Spring but it is also the final day of the Doodles for Google contest! We worked hard on our designs in class so before we submit your work take one more look and make sure your submission is complete, signed by a parent or guardian, and sized correctly.  The drawing above by Olivia from Studio Art class is a terrific example of the kind of creative ideas that were brought to the concept while maintaining the logo design.

In the process of creating your doodle we brainstormed, sketched, collaborated, designed, and digitally manipulated our drawings to enhance our work which is the same basic process a designer goes through and it leads into our next project in Media Arts classof creating a short animation.  As I'm sure you know the Google doodles are sometimes animated so take a look at the process in the video below to get an idea of how it works.

Media Art: Frank and Ollie's Twelve Basic Principles of Animation.

Today we'll take a closer look at each at two of Disney's Nine Old Men, the team of Frank and Ollie along with their Twelve Basic Principles of Animation.  We'll also be collecting the 5 images for our upcoming look at the town we live in film.  Due to tomorrow's 10th grade Holocaust assemble the quiz will be moved to Thursday!

Media Art: Animation Basics

In Media Art this week we are going to go over the basic terms and principles of Animation including terms like: persistence of vision, stop-motion, storyboards, animatics, table reads, dailies, frames per second, pencil tests, CGI, cells, extremes, in-betweens, key frames, foley, and the Twelve Basic Principles of Animation.  We'll be looking at how animated works like Futurama and Toy Story are made and there will be a short quiz on Wednesday on the terms.

We are also going to work on out ongoing collaboration with Pakistan with out 5 photos of Smithtown due tomorrow, Tuesday 2/11

Media Arts: Animating the Alphabet

In media arts classes we are working on creating an alphabet animation using hand drawn frames. Each student will create a 50 frame animation based on a letter they are given and morph at least 3 different images that begin with that letter into their sequence (Letter A: Apples, Alligators, Andrew Jackson). All of the letter sequences will be combined into a full animation of the alphabet which can be used to teach elementary school students next year, posted online, and submitted into film festivals.

Here's an example of a finished storyboard


Here's an example of a finished name credit and below is an example of what the final individual animated segment looks like.

Media Art: Short Animation

This week in media arts class we will be creating a short black and white hand drawn animation and we'll begin by looking at Simon Tofield's short animations entitled Simon's Cat which are both simple and funny.  They were drawn in much the same style we'll be working in and when creating your own characters and below is an example of Simon drawing the character- look at the simplicity of Simon's Cat, it has all the trademarks of a cat but it something that is very easy to draw repeatedly (the frames are hand-animated in a traditional manner, frame to frame, it usually takes between 12 and 25 drawings to create 1 second of a Simon’s Cat film).  Today you'll begin sketching out ideas for your own character and tomorrow well begin assembling storyboards and character sheets in order to complete the 50 frame animation for Friday next week.

Media Art: Animation

In Media Arts class we have been looking at the history of Walt Disney animation studios and PIXAR in order to prepare for our short hand drawn animation.  Friday we'll have a short quiz on the material but check out the short clip above showing the PIXAR animators discussing their student films!

Media Art: Short digital animation

Digital Animation Winter 2012 by VoteNeedles2012 on GoAnimate

Animation Software - Powered by GoAnimate.
This weeks Media Arts assignment is to create your own short digital animation on the GoAnimate.com website. Above is a short demo of how the film works with instructions on the assignment. I'll do a short demonstration in class and go over some of the basics but you can begin by creating a free account and adding me as a contact, my user name is VoteNeedles2012 and the email chunckerthedonut@aol.com.  The animation is going to be due Thursday and it should be 2 minutes long and about 25 frames.

Media Art: Stop Motion Animation

This week in media arts class we will be creating short stop-motion animation films of the class as an introduction to the basics of film making.  Here's a terrific example of a creative stop-motion by the PEZ (aka Adam Pesapane) who used over 1500 images during the course of 6 weeks to create the short. He is now working on his first feature film but check out some of his other film on his You Tube page.

Animating the Alphabet

Mr. Needles media arts classes are working on creating an alphabet animation using hand drawn frames. Each student will create a 50 frame animation based on a letter they are given and morph images that begin with that letter into their sequence (Letter A: Apples, Alligators, Andrew Jackson). All of the letter sequences will be combined into a full animation of the alphabet which can be used to teach elementary school students next year.

Here's an example of a finished storyboard


Here's an example of a finished name credit and below is an example of what the final individual animated segment looks like.