After months of preparations and a lot of theory and history, pupils are ready to start shooting! After all, this has already happened to one of the schools. And we are already coming to some conclusions!
Obviously there will be a lot of mistakes – and indeed there are. That it inevitable but also integrates to the educational procedure! The knowledge the kids got will apply little by little in action and though the “testing-mistaking-correction” scheme will really understand everything they’ve learned.
It is also the best way to learn the terminology. I.e. they have learned or at least heard the terms “establishing shot” zoom in/out” or “track in/out”.
Collaboration
The really important is that through this procedure pupils will learn to collaborate. Even they will learn to bypass personal oppositions – let’s not that kids have a great ego – in order to complete a common cause. They will get “taught” persistence and patience, since they will have to start over a scene, if they make mistakes!
They will also learn discipline. Not under compulsion or enforcement but under persuasion to a value and the cause of completing the short. Let us give you a characteristic example: kids are really excited and during the shooting they want to be in front of the computers, near the cameras and the lights. In brief, they want to be in front of the scenery and thus to affect unintentionally . So, the teacher will be the first to leave the field where those who must work are working and he/she should urge the rest of the kids to walk away. They do so. not with joy, but they seem to understand the need.
Lighting
In the same way, during the shooting they discovered of lighting. We do not refer tot he light the teacher brought to the studio but to those who were responsible for the lighting of the scene and contributed to create the effect of moisture needed for a shot. When they saw the “before” and “after” difference within the software (AnimaShooter) they stood and stared in awe! So, they learn that things we don not pay attention to or we think they are of no big importance turn out to play a significant part in animation, even if we may not understand it some times!
Admitting the mistake
Last but first in reality is admitting the mistake. Kids – because of the ego we’ve mentioned – would not accept the (moderate) suggestions and questions of the teacher while they were shooting. He understood that they were making mistakes but the teacher “wanted” them to make those mistakes. So when the meeting was off, he presented them a preview of what they’ve created and instantly kids saw they did several mistakes. And that is a basic step to move forward!
We keep on moving then!
