Week 6 and 7
The past two weeks we had midterm presentations. I felt that my presentation went well. I got some great feedback that I plan to incorporate into my final project. Here are some notes:
- I asked our critics, how I could get the word out to teachers about my blog. Marianne suggested Cited.org
- Don't make the blog a standalone feature....network it with existing sites that teachers use...Marianne suggested I check out ERIC (the educational resource information clearinghouse), askeric.org and thegateway.org
-More images in my slides would bring the presentation to life
-Showing footage of the claymation (other than my students work) would be exciting, it would emphasize how fun claymation really is. Some suggestions were: Mr. Bill and David and Goliath
-Incorporate a clay figure on my powerpoint template
-Stress that the site is for teachers!
-The graph I used did not display well on the projector, the graph needed a solid white background
-Talk to teachers and see what they like
-Check out Frederator, the animation site
-I also asked the critics which CMS to use. I was considering learning PHP, but all critics agreed that WordPress was the way to go.
-Keynote is the new black! I really liked everyone's presentations that used it. Mike Dory's was great!
-I liked slides that had key words in different colors.
This week I tried to get a lot done. I downloaded WordPress.org and setup my database. I also managed to find a child host that I can video demonstrating the claymation process with. Thanks to Neilson!!!
Recently I found myself going in a little bit of a different direction. After presenting, and hearing feedback that I should incorporate more claymation into my project, I realized that my project has so far been all about claymation, but not actually doing any. So, I think it would benefit my project, and also get me more interested in thesis, if I create another film. Since I am creating tutorials on how to film a movie, while I am at it, I will actually make one. I plan to make a quirky teacher armature, that will introduce the project to kids, and hopefully get them excited about doing it!
Tonight I drew sketches of an armature teacher, and did a rough, rough storyboard. I also make a quick prototype of the teacher's head, made out of sculpey. My idea is that the teacher will have a huge bun, and will pull random things (like a scroll of paper, a light bulb, a cupcake, etc. ) out of her hair/head as she is talking. The teacher goes on to explain that anything can happen in clay...and her apple turns into a cardinal, that then flies away. I did a quick flash movie as a reference.