Workshops n' Docs

Workshops, Media Tuition and Documentary Filmmaking within Communities

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Animation for Artists @ Dartmoor Arts

This summer, I was hired alongside animator Anna Aroussi to devise and run the first ever animation course at Dartmoor Arts Summer Schools.  Dartmoor arts has been running since 2006. They offer a variety of educational arts events in Devon and providing artists, educators and other individuals with a variety of courses such as metal forging, documentary filmmaking and storytelling through their annual summer school in Drewsteignton.

Our objective with this course was to provide participants with the chance to explore a variety of stop-motion techniques from traditional to experimental so that they could find ways of bringing their own aesthetic and practice into animation. We looked at claymation, 2D stop-motion, mixed media, pixilation, light painting and rotoscoping among other things. As a result, the group made this rather surreal collaborative piece. 

Due to the small number of participants, Anna and I had to split the week unfortunately. We're both very excited by the results. however, and hope to return in summer 2013 with the course. 

Here is another video which gives an idea of the variety activities that the participants took part in throughout the week and how their ideas may have developed into the final film. 

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Return to NDPLS

Recently, I was asked to return to the North Devon Personalised Learning Service in Barnstaple, where I had done a series of animation workshops for RIO last year. The service had some funding to offer some of the same work, but with a new intake of students for 2012. I was there for 3 days, working with the students to produce short animated sequences that would help lead to their i-media qualifications. I had a lot of fun working with them. Their ideas were drawn from already existing television and gaming media, so we used a collage aesthetic to make their animations, printing images from the internet and combining that with craft materials. The result is quite funny in places, similar in a way to Terry Gilliam's Monty Python's Flying Circus animations. Anyway, have a look at the work below. I think the students were pretty inspired by the end of the week, seeing their animations playing on the schools' widescreen TV for all to see. I hope to continue my work there in the future if possible, it would be great.

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The Devon Carousel Project

I have recently finished the edit for my most recent documentary covering the pilot year of The Devon Carousel Project, a family led collaborative, community and environmental studies initiative working with children under 5 and their families. This marks the accumulation of a year of work that I have done for the organisation not only as an evaluative filmmaker, but also as a workshop artist. Have a look at the documentary below to see the variety of artistic and educational things that they do within the community. 

I never thought I would have the opportunity to work with the early years community. Previously, I was always under the impression that filmmaking and animation would be too technical for children so young. Thanks to this project, however, I have been given the space and time to develop models alongside my collaborative partner Stuart (RA Projects) for working with this specific age group. Altogether, it has been inspiring working in this setting. I am surprised by just how capable early years children are when working in animation and film. There seems to be an inherent ability to comprehend the process and even if they don't understand it at first, they pick it up very quickly. I think, largely, the trick for Stuart and I has been to keep the framework for our workshops very broad in order to accommodate for the varying ability levels of children under 5 and to combine this approach with a clear aesthetic objective so that parents can collaborate and even lead alongside us. Excitingly, it seems that this has been the approach that the whole Carousel Project has taken and as a result, we have had the opportunity to work with many other artists in disciplines such as printmaking, visual art, dance and storytelling to create truly hybrid pieces of work with the local Exeter community. Have a look at some of the work below.

There are many more things that I could say about the project, so to save you an incredibly long read here, it's probably best to direct you our early years animation blog which we have used to chart and evaluate our process over the past year. Stuart has continued with the project while I have moved town, but I hope to return to it if carousel gains more momentum and the opportunity arises. Speaking of which, If you would like to support The Devon Carousel Project and all of the fantastic work that they do, please head over to their Local Giving site and consider donating. It's more than a worthy cause. 

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Freefall

Continuing to update my blog here on the new site, next up is my work with Exeter Phoenix's Freefall group.

Last summer I was hired to do a day-long animation workshop with Exeter Phoenix's youth arts club. The task was to devise and create an animated ident for the group. During a devising session we played around with the idea of mixing different styles of animation within one piece. I showed the group how to do pixilation (animating people) and they were instantly sold on the idea of incorporating it into their animation. In the end, the group decided upon making a 2d flying pig (for obvious reasons...) that would be a mixture of both drawn and cut-out animation. To add even more technical ambition to the project, the pig would interact with some of the members of the group. 

We had a really fun day putting the animation together. It was a tall order (on Fathers' day nonetheless), but we managed to finish the animation in just 6 hours. It was really intensive, but as most animation goes, entirely worth the effort in the end. Check out the video below, followed by a behind the scenes timelapse that we had running during the session.

Since this animation session I have been in touch with the group with a view to continue some film/animation work in the future. At the moment they are working towards an Exhibition at the Exeter Phoenix showcasing the creative work that they have done in the past 2 years. For this, I will be running my first 3D workshop using the Phoenix's new GOPRO 3D rig. I have also worked with the group as a photographer on their arts heroes project, where members dressed up as their idols. This too will be displayed at the exhibit. Here is member Felix's Danny Boyle tribute (a la 28 Days Later):

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Digital Training in Dorset (the end)

Now that I have my website up and running, I think it's about time to catch up with my blog. A lot of interesting projects have come and gone since the last time I posted so bear with me, I will eventually catch up. I figure the best way to do this is to do a post per project. Let's see how it goes.

First off... the Lyme Cluster Digital Training project that I co-facilitated with Stuart Dawson and Kate Green finished at the end of 2011. Before finalising the project in December with a teachers' inset day at Charmouth Primary School, we worked at Mountjoy special school in Dorset and produced two magazine-style films mixing video, animation and photography. The films aimed to address the changes that would be happening to the school in 2012 when Mountjoy moves to a new site near the town of Beaminster, Dorset. It was great to see how the students involved adapted to the different artforms throughout the year and what was most rewarding for me was their ability to not only grasp animation, filmmaking, photoshop in such a short period of time, but also their ability to remember and improve upon what they learned. Anyway, have a look at the films below. The first was made in April and incorporated a field trip to the Beaminster. 

The second film was made in July and expanded on the magazine-show structure. The participants made their own TV which was host to a variety of channels allowing them to make news stories, soap operas, adverts and more. Enjoy.

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Let's Dance with Change4Life

It's about time to update the blog don't ya think? I've been busy with a variety of projects over the past several months. One of them has been the completion of the Mini Movers DVD for Dance in Devon. An instructional dance DVD for families with children under the age of 5. Very fun. Anyway, here is a little documentary I made about the project, which will also be available on the FREE DVD that is being printed as I write this.

The first run of 250 DVDs are going to be made available for families and children centres across Devon. Mini Movers sessions have already been run locally as well by facilitator, Rob Pudner, Dance in Devon and the new Devon Carousel Project, so keep your eyes peeled for one or contact Dance in Devon at [phone] (or) [email protected] for a copy.

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NDPLS Animations

I just finished 6 weeks of work with the North Devon Personalised Learning Service in Barnstaple, teaching students who have been excluded from mainstream education how to animate. They produced some really great work throughout the project. At first, because of the nature of the sessions, we focused mainly on the subjects and images that surround the students in their daily media. I showed them the intro to Monty Python's Flying Circus which I think inspired them to use pre-existing images in their work. As the week's progressed, the participants started to apply their own artistic abilities to the animations and I think this came across rather well in the final two weeks. Anyway, it was a blast. Check them out:

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Animated Exeter 2011

Another Animated Exeter festival has just come to an end here in Devon. Unfortunately because of other duties, I missed out on most of the fun. But I did get to run a few workshops that came out quite nicely. The first was a workshop based on a one-off session that I helped run during the Big Draw in October 2009, Pavement Dreams. This year, the plan was to make a free form animated chalk drawing on the pavement in Rougemont Gardens (behind the library). Unfortunately, the weather was lousy so we had to resort to using pastels and paper on the floor of the studio space in the Phoenix. Here's what we made, I think it came out rather well don't you?:

This was also the first year that Animated Exeter has offered workshops for adults. This was quite a fun opportunity as it is rare for me to be working with adults. I would love to do this more often. I ran two introductory sessions for two hours in the evenings this week. The first was an introduction to 2-D Stop Motion and the second was an introduction to Pixilation. Both very fun. Check them out:

On a side note, all four Saturday Morning Animation Club films were screened as part of the ExAnimate competition this year and were accompanied by a mini-exhibit in the Exeter Phoenix Digital corridor. It was great to share these films with more people. We will be starting a new-and-improved club next week starting March 5th for 8-12 year olds. This time it will run for 3 hours each week and will mix 2-D Stop Motion (run by me) with Digital animation (run by Graham Hayter). Hopefully we will be coming up with some great hybrid pieces! If you have a kid who would like to get involved, call the phone number in my upcoming workshops section at the top-right of this blog.

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Digital Training in Dorset (part 3)

We returned to Dorset this month to do some more digital training at St. Michael's School in Lyme Regis. This time, there were three artists working with the participants, Stuart Dawson, Kate Green and I. It was very interesting working in this interdisciplinary manner, mixing photography, filmmaking, animation and sound recording. The result is quite an interesting, layered piece that the students and teachers in Year 5 made about their town. There will be more to come in the new year. Enjoy.

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The Playpark, Exeter

Stuart Dawson (RA Projects) and I have just finished the production of a documentary and advert for The Playpark, Exeter's all inclusive play park for disabled and able-bodied people. It is one of the first of it's kind in the UK and is not only an impressive park in terms of equipment, but also in it's grassroots vision. Established in 2008, The Playpark was made possible by the persistent endeavors of the local community, lead by project leader Miriam Guard. Find out more in our documentary, Play For All, and the subsequent advert that we made with the help of students from Countess Wear Community School and Southbrook School.

If you are around Exeter and are looking for a great place to go with the kids, make sure you check it out at King George V Playing Field. It really is a wonder to behold. More information can also be found at The Playpark website.

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Moles, Evil TVs and a Pink Octopus...

...it's another imaginative piece devised by young people at the Exeter Phoenix Saturday Morning Animation Club. Lots of crazy ideas and attention to detail went into this one...and what a crazy story it is. Also, it's not often you get young people making a political statement about media culture. Well done everyone! Check out: The Mole That Got Bored.

The next animation sessions will begin on October 30th. At the moment they are running at cost, so it depends on how many participants get involved. Here's hoping we can continue this streak of inventive, adventurous work :) Details for signing up can be found at the Exeter Phoenix Education Website or by calling the box office @ 01392 667080

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The Art Guy project finishes...

Yesterday we said our final farewell to The Art Guy, a project that I and four other facilitators have been working on for the past three years. Funded by Big Lottery through Exeter City Council, the project was designed to get people creatively involved in their local parks. This was done by introducing different models such as Park Art, which involved crass painting, sculpture and chalking, Crazy Sports, which involved the devising of games and Filmmaking, which is where I came in. Over the past few years we have made several short films in parks around Exeter, all devised by the young people who have come to our free drop-in sessions. As you can see by the work displayed on the Art Guy Youtube Channel, the themes and styles varied depending on how many young people showed up and what their influences were. Anyway, do check out the site and see the fantastic, creative work that has been done by young people and their families over the years. Yesterday's event was rather special because we managed to get a screening at the local Picturehouse cinema and a large selection of the films that were made were screened for the public, including the premiere of the final two filmmaking projects, The World Beyond the Trees and Baby Bigfoot. Check them out here.

So, farewell Art Guy, you will be missed by all involved! Note: We have also started an Art Guy Films channel on Vimeo so you can find the work there as well. Check it out: vimeo.com/channels/artguyfilms

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Saturday Morning Animation Madness...again.

Hey all. The third Saturday Morning Animation club at Exeter Phoenix finished last weekend and we have another completely mad film to show you. Well, not so mad, just a little strange. Check it out below: I think it's a great little piece, with some really interesting elements. It's fascinating what young people can pick up on even though they may not be that politically aware of what's going on in the world. There are some interesting similarities in this animation to recent news events. Is it by accident? Who knows. Anyway, the next 6 week session will start on September 11th. If you are interested in getting involved, contact the Exeter Phoenix box office at 01392 667 080.

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Digital Training in Dorset (part 2)

My digital training workshops in Dorset schools started a few weeks back. This ongoing project, which will continue in September and October, is part of a digital remit aimed at educating teachers and students in methods of creatively using digital technology in the classroom. The following two videos were produced in Mounjoy special school near Bridport over the course of two days. The videos were co-facilitated by Stuart Dawson (RA Projects) and I. I was in charge of the animation part of the project.

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I'm very much looking forward to the remainder of the project. I think there will be quite a bit of inspiring content coming out of the schools around Dorset. It will interesting to see the different ways in which the school receive the training. I imagine that the more standard schools will be more based on curriculum. More to come...

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Scenes from Wonderland at Antony House

Hey all. I just got back from the first of a series of Alice in Wonderland themed workshops being held at Antony House, Torpoint. I co-facilitated these with Tanya Morel. Last year, the National Trust site was used to film part of Tim Burton's re-imagining of the Lewis Carol classic. Check out the results of the workshop: It was really fun re-familiarizing myself with the original story and it's adaptations. We showed the participants both the Disney and Svankmajer versions and they chose iconic scenes to recreate. NOTE ADDED 08/10: Check out the results of the more recent workshop Tanya and I led in August.

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The Media Bus - Recap

Some of the work that I did with The Media Bus in Cornwall back in February & March has now been put online. Check the videos out below: The idea of the project was to engage with young people to discuss their lives, resources and social issues. Each piece was made within a few hours where the participants were shown techniques of documentary filmmaking (namely, hand-held roaming interview techniques) and editing on Final Cut Pro. As you can also see, specifically with the Porthleven doc, they also had time to engage with the more entertaining aspects of the bus!

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Saturday Morning Craziness @ Exeter Phoenix

The last 6 Saturday mornings at Exeter Phoenix have been entertaining ones to say the least. I had 8 participants all chomping at the bit to create the wackiest animation they could. With the 2 extra weeks (last year it was just 4), we attempted to bring more sound design and editing into the equation. So, here's the result...it seems they've made their own version of Tron without realising it!