When Sharon told us what our task was to be last week for our first animation input, I felt a great sense of nostalgia and so many happy memories came flooding back. I felt it was important to share this and reflect, because looking back it was such a significant aspect of my time at primary school.
When I was in primary seven, my teacher introduced our class to Moving Image Education (MIE) and we explored various projects and animations. Some used music or audio to tell a story, and others did not. This captured us all, as there were so many aspects to it, varying across so many curricular areas, and so it met all of our needs.
One project that has stuck in my mind, and will always stay with me as being one of the best experiences I had in primary school, was when we made a music video. It was just after Alexandra Burke had won the X-Factor and everybody was obsessed with her single ‘Hallelujah’ – and I mean Bluetooth-ing the song to all of our phones and blaring it 24/7 obsessed. Red Nose Day was coming up and we decided as a class that we wanted to raise some money, and this was what we chose – to lip-sync her song. We couldn’t believe it…we were getting to make a MUSIC VIDEO?! The excitement to try this, something that nobody in the school had every done before, was unreal. But we were all sworn to secrecy. We wanted it to be a surprise. And a surprise it was…however I do think some people began to get suspicious as to why the song was played twenty times a day.
A make-shift green screen in the corner of the classroom, hidden away so nobody visiting would see. We were each given a role in the process, whether it be organising who was miming what, helping to edit, making posters etc. Taking our turn, we stood in front of the ‘green screen’ and tried our best to match the vocals. We transformed our classroom into a cinema, and got popcorn to give out and created various trailers to play before the music video began. Honestly, I think we all felt like celebrities that day. The creativity and confidence we all gained from this project was enormous, and it was so enjoyable that we were continually motivated to get involved. I’m sitting smiling at my laptop screen as I write this, because honestly it was the best thing ever.
Our teacher noticed how well we reacted to this project and so tried something new. Like Sharon’s input with us, we were introduced to plasticine animation and how it worked. We all split into mini groups, thinking up story lines, characters, scripts, resources and so much more and created our animations. Relationships were built throughout the project, and we all learned to cooperate in such a fun, active way. My best friends and I created an animation on a granny at the hairdresser, and it was the most ridiculous thing ever but it was funny. I’ll try and see if I can upload it to this blog post. (Apologies for the bad quality, I had to record it from my phone cause the real video’s memory was too big.
Don’t judge though, I know it’s weird. We were eleven and had a thing for making people laugh…
Upon reflection on my experience in primary seven, I have begun to realise how significant this year was for me. My teacher was so enthusiastic and tried so many new and exciting things with us, and I really think my motivation to become a teacher was inspired by him.
Although animation and all things technology are not my strongest point, and the animation we made in our workshop is a reflection of this, I am so, so keen to try new things. I know how important it is to throw yourself out of your comfort zone, and I want to embrace this as much as possible. What is the point in life in sitting on the fence and never experiencing the thrill/adrenaline/dread of a new experience. Yes, it sometimes can be so daunting, but the satisfaction received after it cannot be replaced by any other feeling. I’m no animation guru, but I know with a bit of commitment, confidence and the right frame of mind I will some day be able to deliver such a fun, enjoyable and engaging lesson/project as my teacher once did.
