• From: Edinburgh
  • Registered: 2009-10-28
  • Posts: 3

Topic: Large animation section - hidden away!!

I teach animation, often within schools in Scotland. I'm researching more into developing the way I teach so that I'm keeping everyone happy, the pupils and the teachers. I think this site is great, but perhaps the animation section, which is comprehensive, is being treated as a little sub-category within film making. Is it possible to make the animation section more prominent from the front page? I'd love to start referring teachers to the animation section of the site before we engage in workshops.

Has anyone seen this other comprehensive resourse developed by Norwich School of Art and Media Projects East? Its called SchoolToons. Theres a great pack for teachers, purely about film making using animation. its rather enormous and I'd just wonder how much time teachers have to get up to date with film studies like this. MIE site is more condensed. Anyway, heres a link to SchoolToons project, you can download the pack for teachers or order the hard copy with DVD. http://www.mediaprojectseast.co.uk/publications.html

Bye for now
Jim

Jim Stirk's Website

  • From: Glasgow, Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-09-27
  • Posts: 4

Re: Large animation section - hidden away!!

I think that's a good idea, Jim.  Are you a class teacher?  I'm a primary teacher. I think the SchoolToons resource is great but is just TOO much in one go!  Most class teachers would be put off by it.  I think the best approach is to show teachers one kind of animation process - I think 2D cut out animation is probably the easiest one to start with - and let them take it from there.  Some will fly with it and some won't.  Giving too many weblinks gets a bit overwhelming too.  Use the ones that work best for you.  Which schools have you worked in in Scotland?

  • From: Edinburgh
  • Registered: 2009-10-28
  • Posts: 3

Re: Large animation section - hidden away!!

Hi Athole....no, I'm not a class teacher....well, I go and teach in classes quite a lot but not trained. Only trained to be an animator.....I manage the workshops for Red Kite Animation in Edinburgh (a little animation production company.....making Dennis and Gnasher at the moment!) I'm really happy other primary teachers are looking into animation in the classroom, have you had some good experiences? We've veisited many schools all over Scotland, I cant even begin to remember but our website has a lot of the films made to see www.redkiteworkshops.co.uk Its still rather expensive to get a group of professional animators like us into a school for long enough to make a good impact, so I'm hoping to develop more projects that we can start....and help finish, but the class teachers can do a lot of the work themselves. It seems to make sense, especially if there is a lot of craft based activities on the go. I think any steps to get schools to develop their own projects is great, though I do appreciate that theres such a lot for the teachers to learn before they begin.......well, certainly if you want to go in depth like the SchoolToons pack.

Britta Pollmuller, who developed the schooltoons pack tells me she's still writing her thesis on the subject of film education in the curriculum and there may be a chance to produce a 2nd version (based on feedback) Perhaps some way to break into levels and more defined sections with progression. i dunno....I'm a trained teacher!! Oh dear...I'm making teachers sound like monkeys!!

Sorry Athole...i googled your name and found your Vimeo page. Some nice little aniamtions there. Let me know if you ever want any more feedback on the films the kids make...can always comment. Bye

Jim Stirk's Website

  • From: Glasgow, Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-09-27
  • Posts: 4

Re: Large animation section - hidden away!!

Great animations there, Jim.  Unfortunately, I'm no animator... just a class teacher!  I have been using lots of film education in my class for the last few years now.  I've never had any classes in animation and really just picked things up as we went along.  The kids love it.  I think the challenge can be organising a large class of 32 to contribute to a project with minimal resources and in a way which involves them all in the creative process.  This is why I prefer what I call 'craft' animation (2D or 3D) because there is so much planning and hands on designing and making that goes into the production. 
The cost thing is a problem in these times but media literacy/ digital literacy and in the case of this website, moving image education, are now seen as key strategies for teaching literacy in the classroom.
I often think that too many classes come to animation without thinking about watching and analysing films - breaking them down to appreciate them and understand more about what makes them good, or bad, or just different.  In many ways, this is what I enjoy most about film education - discussing and enthusing about films.  you get some amazing discussions!
The SchoolToons thing is an amazing resource but as a single PDF it is still a bit overwhelming, even to someone converted to the cause like myself.  The content is great but it definitely needs broken into smaller, tastier chunks!
Thanks for the offer of feedback, will definitely take you up on that!  Always looking for new ideas and approaches too.
Conversely, if you need any help with approaching teacher sessions from a teacher's perspective, then I'm happy to help out.  It would be great to get you into my school too!

  • Registered: 2009-03-02
  • Posts: 28

Re: Large animation section - hidden away!!

Hi both. What a great conversation. I hope you two do hook up in school as well as hyper-space

However back on Jim's first point

Jim Stirk wrote:

.....the animation section, which is comprehensive, is being treated as a little sub-category within film making. Is it possible to make the animation section more prominent from the front page?

Right from the start we wanted to make the way the site was ordered 'correct' in the film production process - therefore we put all the "production" stuff together on one level in the same place - and 'logically' animation therefore falls here.  However brilliant animation is, we always want people to see it as a production process that functions at the same time as sound camera etc - but before post production and so on.....

What I hope is the problem here is that we don't have enough targeted links on the front page (or anywhere for that matter) However we are now developing a quick links section for the site and I trust this will make this a whole lot better

find the animation section here:
http://www.movingimageeducation.org/cre … troduction

  • From: Edinburgh
  • Registered: 2009-10-28
  • Posts: 3

Re: Large animation section - hidden away!!

Hey...thanks jonathan. Youre right....I am probably thinking animation has bigger boots. Some targeted links sounds great.

Jim Stirk's Website