collaboration iin animation

8/10/2019 Collaboration Iin Animation

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a b o r a t i o n in A n i m a t i o n

magine growing up in a

remote mounta in v i l lage

with n o running water

where

solar batteries provide the only

electricity and only a handful of

fami l ies own te lev is ions. Af ter

completing your studies at the

local middle school you may be

one of the lucky few who travel

several hours south to attend a

boarding high school where you

have access to the Internet and

other media that was all but

nonexistent in your home town.

You discover that even this

expanded range of accessible

media typ ica l ly demonst rates

little interest or understanding of

the culture concerns or contribu-

tions of your village or its peop le.

Working Togetherto

mpower ndigenousYou

B Y M E L A N I E G . D A V E N P O R T A N D K A R I N G U N N

How do underrepresented populations,

with little exposure to global m edia

discourse, begin no t only to develop a

critical stance toward dominant messages in

the media, but also to assert their own voices

and perspectives in unfamiliar formats? How

can a school with a mission to develop

leadership skills for members of indigenous

populations empower students to honor and

preserve valued traditions, languages, and

practices while adapting to the challenges of

thriving in an increasingly media saturated

society? Perhaps through media literacy

programs like the one that my collaborator

and I have offered for the past 3 years at the

Cen tro Rural de Educacin Superior CRES)

in Estipac. Mexico. In this article, we will

describe the goals, processes, and outcom

of our animation and technology worksh

at CRES, and will offer insights into the

teamwork that is integral to this ongoing

project.

or the past severalyears, KarinGunn

and I have been working together to pres

animation workshops in a variety of setti

Since 2007, we have traveled yearly to the

campus of CRES-Estipac to work with hi

school and college level studen ts. Over 1

students are enrolled in the high school,

approximately 9 8 are indigenous,

representing nine different language gro

from throughout Mexico, although the

Eleobardo Benjamin de la Cruz de la

Cruz animates figures for the story of

W h y orn a s anyColors 2007.


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Karin and

Melanie pose on

the steps of the

school with our

participants

from 2007

The director of this school welcomed us

s mission is to prom ote a more just

ucators w ho will work to give

s is beneficial not just to

. We believe, along with T urner (1992),

ous media movement, that as

nous populations become empowered

indigenous knowledge on a more equal

footing with that of the dominant cuiture

creates opportunities for different popula-

tions to learn more about each other, directly

from each other, which is the key to

intercultural education (Rockwell, 1999).

In our Anim ation and T echnology

Workshops at CRES-Estipac, we have

encouraged participants to explore different

aspects of their own emerging identities as

young adults, students, future leaders and

teachers, global citizens, and members of

indigenous communities. We have engaged

them in production of various means of

visual communication, such as low-tech

optical devices, cut-paper,

low-relief

an d

three-dimensional animation, as well as

theories and strategies in animation

pedagogy. Three of the six work shops we

have offered at CRES focused primarily on

working with indigenous youth to record

stories from their own communities, in their

own languages, through stop-motion

animation. I he first 2 years, participants

animated stories from the Huichol tradition:

Why orn HasMany olors

(2007), and

Ihe

DrumFestival

(2008). The third year, 2009,

students animated a story from the Totonaca

culture of Puebla, about their marriage

tradition. (Eor more information and

examples, see Davenport and Gunn (2007),

and www.teachanimation.org/estipacmenu.

html.) Because we want to respect and honor

the voices of the participants, they have

complete ownership over the stories they

choose to tell. The students themselves select

the topic, write the scripts, and create the

storyhoards prior lo filming, so we are

confident that they are comfortable with the

depictions of their commu nity traditions.

h a t w e d o

To facilitate the developm ent of an

audiovisual program at CRES, we provide

equipment, m aterials, instruction, and

support for workshop participants to learn

the fundamentals of animation and produce

their own work. We have secured funding to

provide the school with a new iMac

computer; a video camera; a digital still

camera; tripods; sofiware; an external hard

drive; necessary accessories such as cables,

cliplights, and c ords; as well as art materials

and tools. We travel to E stipac for a week in

late January or early February, immediately

prior to the s tart of their regular classes, so

we can work intensively for several hours

every day with a self-selected group of

interested students. Afier viewing and

critically analyzing examples of animation

from various sources, the participants

develop the story, build scenery and

characters, animate the scene, capture it


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o l l a b o r a t i n g

Karin and Melanie work together to introcjuce workshop participants to fundamentals

o fan ima t i ona t the s ta r to f workshop 2007.

frame by frame into the computer, help edit

the footage, and record and insert sound-

track. Participants take responsibility for

every part of the process, while Karin and I

introduce and reinforce concepts and

proce.sses and provide technical support as

needed.

H o w w e d o

it

Karin and I team-teach these workshops,

with each of us taking the lead at particular

phases of production. The structure of our

workshops involving indigenous storytelling,

for example, begins with the introdu ction of

basic animation concepts and d iscussion of

several examples of three dimensional

stop-mo tion animation, especially shorts

produced by other groups of indigenous

youth (see Black Gum Mountain Productions

at www.blackgummountain.com, for

example). I demon strate simple optical

mechanisms for the students to make, while

Karin explains the concepts behind the m.

Then, Karin organizes the students to work

together to negotiate the creation of a

storyboard. The next step is building all of

the sets, characters, and p rops from

plasticene, paper, natural objects, and other

available materials. Because of yback-

ground in scenic production for television

and theatre, I enjoy working closely with the

participants on this aspect of the prod uction.

Karin takes charge during the next stage,

when we teach the students how to use the

cameras, computers, and software, so that

they can animate the story as well as

document each other during the process.

Finally. Karin assists with reco rding the

sound and editing the footage to create both

a fiiiisiied animated film and a "behind the

scenes" video. The final evening of o ur visit

features a public viewing of these shorts in

the school library Typically, about 400

people attend, and the participants take great

pride in their accomplishments Many of the

participants from previous workshops

returned during our most recent visit Eo

share with us how they have used these

videos, devices, and anim ation pedagogy

techniques with their current students or in

othe r classes. At least one of the grad uates of

CRES has gone on to University to study

visual comm unications as a result of our

workshops.

Key to ihf success of our co llaboration

the fact that both our individual skill set

our individual professional goals are

complementary, not competitive. As we

joke, I do the writing and she does the

talking; in other w ords, we each make un

contributions to our projects based upon

own experiences, interests, and capabiliti

For example, the rationale for our work w

indigenous students is informed by resea

that has been the focus of my academic w

for many years. I initiated the developme

of these workshops and arranged for acce

to this school site. However, I knew I cou

not do [hese projects alone. Realizing the

workshops required Karins ability to del

complex technical instruction in Spanish

well as her passion tor animation and

cross-cultural experiences. We coordinat

our efforts d uring the pro duction proces

and also in the preparation and follow-up

stages. Typically, I write Ihc gran ts and th

curriculum, deal with paperwork, plane

tickets, and othe r logistics, as well as take

lead on writing articles and presentation

proposals. Karin co ordinates the techno-

logical component, secures equipment,

translates correspondence and curriculum

documents the projects, and posts them

her website: www.teachanimation.org. Sh

also keeps me organized and on track

throughout the planning and writing pro

These worksho ps are helping each of u

grow professionally, in similar but distinc

ways. My goal is to gain insight into

processes for teaching media literacy and

visual culture art education to young peo

particularly indigenous youth, who may

had very limited opportunities to experie

media pro duction . I want to explore the

intersection between social justice and vi

culture, and put into practice the curricu

ideas inspired by this investigation.

As a high school art teacher, Karin eng

with each individual workshop participan

pushing them to explore their creative ta

and learn new m eans of expression. She

agrees with Buckingham (2003) that by

becoming producers of media, young peo

also become more savvy consum ers of th

media that increasingly inundates their li

We both feel strongly that the perspective

indigenous populations are underreprese

in the global media discourse and hope th


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help to empower ou r students

Vie rumFestivalwas screened at

ine las Americas Film Festival in

in the Youth C ategory, and

orn

Has Many

olors

at th e ASIFA

Collaborating on this project has been

u s

personally and

are currently in the planning

am also working on a grant

ffer animation workshops to co mm unity

anish-speaking

Another aspect of collaboration that

ing with the

use of the equipm ent we provided in the

mon ths between our visits. For us, working

with teachers at CRES provided insights into

the school's unique curriculum, as well as

into the broader priorities and objectives of

the educational system of Mexico. The

primary benefit, however, has been the

cultivation of new personal relationships

with motivated and talented teachers across

national, cultural, and linguistic borders.

We are gratified that the school adminis-

tration has a solid interest in continuing

opportunities for students and faculty to

reinforce and further develop the skills and

understandings that we have introduced.

After our workshop in 2008, the School

Director arranged for two university-level

animation studen ts from Guadalajara to

come to CRES every Saturday for several

mo nths, to work on a longer, more complex

stop-motion animation project with a group

composed mostly of students who had

participated in our workshops.

As we begin planning for CRES 2010, we

are motivated to reflect upon our experiences

and especially upon what this collaboration

has meant for each of

u s .

Karin and

1

work

together very well, but have our own views

on how and why it works. Here, each of us

shares our own reflections to better illumi-

nate the collaborative process.

W h a t d id w e e x p e c t

w h e n w e f ir s t s ta r te d

Kann

When

1

was first invited to work in Mexico

with Melanie, I was intrigued and excited by

the many possibilities. would have never

guessed we would be where we are today. I

had already vacationed in Mexico a couple of

times,

but now

had the opportunity to

actually teach there. had no doubt about my

interest in working internationally, consid-

ering was born and raised in Sao Paulo,

Brazil and love traveling. The minute Melanie

asked me to collaborate had no hesitation

and said, " Y e s Of course "

On our first "research" trip to Jalisco, we

interviewed several professional animators

from Guadalajara. On going friendships with

many of these talented individuals have

offered inspiration in the career-oriented

possibilities of this field. But, it was whe n we

first heard about the boardin g school, CRES,

in Estipac that we knew we had found our

site.

el nie

My only aspiration when we began these

workshops was to follow up on the visual

curriculum that I had begun to develop for

the middle school in the Huichol village of

San Miguel Huaxtita in

2003.

O riginally, I

thought I might be able to arrange for Karin

to travel up there with me, to work in that

same sch ool. B ut, logistically speak ing, it

seemed just too big a challenge to Iry to do

animation in a town with no electricity. It

would have required much more support

than was confident I could secure.

Fortunately, my friend at Universidad de

Guadalajara, Dr. Sarah Corona, told us about

this school in F-stipac, where ma ny of the

children from San Miguel attend high school

and college. Because of this connection, we

were in fact able to follow up with m any of

the same students I had met previously, and

build new relationships with many m ore.

CRES offered a great site, because of its

technology lab, accessibility, and support.

Workshop participant animates figures

fo r h e rumFestival 2008


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H a s t h e e x p e r ie n c e

m e t o u r

e x p e c t a t io n s

arin

I would not be the same person am today

il I hadn't been throug h these international

teaching experien ces. This collaboriUJoii has

definitely m et my exp ectations because it is

still going al full streng th, it is growing, and I

foresee m uch m ore to come

Not only are we inspiring young adults

Irom indigenous communities to tell their

stories through time-based m edia, we are

opening u p new options for them in terms of

their future vocations. We have had the

opportunity to invite several animators from

Guadalajara to present and share [informa-

tion] about their professional endeavors with

the students participating in our workshops.

I did not originally expect that these

workshops would influence the career paths

of our participants but we are finding that

visual commun ication is becoming a m ore

attractive pursuit to students at CRES

because of our workshops.

elanie

At first, was nervous about this effort,

because I didn't know the school or the

students, and so we visited the site a couple

ol mon ths before we initiated our workshops.

U has turned out to be a wonderful ongoing

collaboration, and we feel that the adminis-

tration of the school is very happy with our

efforts. So, in general, the exp erience has

exceeded my expectations. I am pleased that

we are able to continue working with

succeeding generations of students w hile

helping the school to develop an audiovisual

media curriculum and facilities. Tlie work we

have helped these students produce, in turn ,

has become a wonderful public relations tool

for the Director as she seeks further support

tor her students and the school. It is mutually

beneficial, because we too are learning so

much about the students' communities and

their traditions, as well as developing

personal relationships with wonderful

teachers and students and future leaders in

this community.

H o w h a v e o u r

e x p e c t a t i o n s e v o l v e d

arin

Since we have been teaching o ur a nim

tion workshop in the same location for t

past 3 years, I feel that my expectations h

increased each year. I have noticed that e

year the animation produced by particip

has become more sophisticated. The mos

recent one, created with a completely new

group of students, shows more detail in t

scenery and characters, compared to the

group we taught our first year there. Eith

we are getting better at teaching these

workshops, or the whole student p opulat

is getting more knowledgeable about

animation through exposure to multiple

examples of their peers work over the yea

Or maybe both Each year I want the

animation produced to improve, so hav

higher expectations of participants and

attempt to push them harder in doing the

best work possible.

elanie

I think at first I expected to work most

with the Huichol students, to continue to

develop the initial project I had started, b

this past visit, I recognized the value of

focusing upon ditferent populations, not

to document their traditions and languag

and provide more students with media

production skills, but also because it

encourages more intercultural learning

within the diverse student population at

CRES. Although these students live and

study together, they may n ot ever discuss

particular ways of life from their home

towns, so through these animated shorts,

students even within the school pop ulatio

learn something new about each other an

the varied traditions within indigenous

com mun ities from various parts of Mexic

Melanie woiks w uh tw o students to animate a scene fromMarriage in a

otonaca

Town 2009


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d o w e d i v id e u p

h e w o r k

arin

There is really no distinction in how much

do 50% and we really

As the "director," I am responsible for the

one calls, confirm dates, and

l the technological materials necessary

r 3 years visiting Estipac.

I just want to add that we have been

together for 6 years, and so it must

l Ou r capabilities and

a

H o w d o w e s o lv e p r o b le m s

arin

When problems come up, it helps a lot to

have a second person assisting and recog-

nizing or providing new ideas/solutions to

etting the job done/problem resolved.

Whenever we have a doubt, we do not

esitate to consult with each other and share

responsibilities. We also make sure that we

are communicating accurately across

languages and cultural differences, updating

contacts, and attempting to avoid having

problems. If w e come prepared and orga-

nized, we will have a better time starting and

completing an animated short on a I-week

period.

elanie

I think that we are able to communicate

with each other openly, because we know

each other well at this point, and so we can

get past some obstacles that might be

challenging to new collaborators. For

example, durin g this last visit when we

locked ourselves out of the place we were

staying, hoth of u s were agitated about time

lost that could have been spent more

productively. But, it was possible to keep

perspective and not become too annoyed

because Karin and I hoth knew that later, we

would enjoy recounting this incident as a

humorous story from our adventure. So, an

hour on the sidewalk seemed a small bother

compared to the many laughs we enjoy from

this and other anecdotes from Mexico.

W h e re d o w e g o f r o m h e re

arin

We could become a nonprofit organization

and have more access to support for this

project. Tliat w a y we could bring more

computers and cameras to the school to

expand opportunities for the students. If we

had more time on site, we could also produce

much more complex pieces, I would like for

us to be able to stay longer, perhaps if we

both will take sabbaticals there someday? In

addition, I think we should submit these

animations to more film festivals in the US,

Mexico, and abro ad, as well as find other

ways to share this work with students around

the world for intercultural education. We

need to find a sponsor

I see us continuing doing this project for at

least a few m ore years, going to Estipac and

working with different students. I hope that

within the next 2 years we will also get to

teach similar animation workshops in other

parts of Mexico, such as Oaxaca. Someday.

I would love to be able to go teach an

animation workshop in the mountain village

of San Miguel Huaxtita, where Melanie

originally planned for us to go.

elanie

I would like to continue to do w orkshops

at CRES until the y are self-sufficient in thei r

media curriculum, and even then, periodic

visits would be very gratifying. 1 would hope

that we can grow these workshops into a

program that reaches many more schools

and regions, perhaps starting in Oaxaca or

Ghana, and m oving into urban areas in the

US as well. It would be nice to do something

in Brazil, too, either together or for Karin to

develop individually. I think we are both

empowered to expand our individual reach

as well as continue to work together.

Workshop participant Norma Mndez Juarez moves flower petals

to spell out the title sequence of

arriage in a

otonaca ownin the

Totonaca language 2009


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o n lu s i o n

We hope that sharing these insights into

our ongoing collaboration will encourage

others to develop and pursue their own

projects. It isn't always easy to collaborate,

and sometimes co mpeting goals or expecta-

tions can lead to rivalry instead of mutual

support, but we have learned that the

experience can be so satisfying, it is worth

taking the risk and trying it for

yourself

As

long as everyone involved approac hes the

project w ith a positive attitude, a strong work

ethic,

respect for each other and just a touch

of fearlessness, the advantages far outweigh

the challenges.

The process of creating anim ation is so

time-

and labor-intensive, it helps tremen-

dously to have the support of a collaborator.

Karin and I recognize each other's expertise,

but also assist each other in all steps along

the way, because we both want to guarantee

successful outcomes for the students with

whom we work.

Ou r last bit of advice for others interested

in collaborating;

Make sure all members of the team are

willing to work hard to reach your

goals

Give it the best you can and enjoy it

while you're at it

Be open to new situations and be

flexible Adapt to unexpected situations.

Be patient with one another Be a good

listener. Communicate often.

Smile often and celebrate your

successes

Melanie

G.

DavenportisAssistantProfessor

of ArtEucationa tGeorgiaState

University

Atlanta. E-mail:

meldavenport

gmail.com

Karin Gunn isPhotography Teachera t

GradedIhe Am ericanSchoolof Sao

Paulo

Brazil. E-mail: karingunn@gmail.

co m

REFERENCES

Buckingham, D. (2003). Media education and

end of the critica consum erHarvard

Educational Review 73{3), 309-328,

Davenport, M., & Gunn, K. (2007). Animation

education in an indigenous context. Th e

Animation Journal

15 44-62.

Ginsburg,F.(1991). Indigenous media: Fausti

contract or global village?Cultural

Anthropology 6 1),92-112.

Rockwell, E. (1999, Octob er).Constructions

diversityand civility in Latin America and

UnitedStates.Paper presented at the 8th

Interamerican Symposium on Ethnograph

Educational Research, Bloomington, IN.

Turne r, T. (1992). Defiant image s: TTie Kayapo

appropriation of video

Anthropology

Toda

(6),5-16.

A U T H O R S N O T E

This project would not have been possible with

the support of the Florida State University

Foundation, the Fundacin Alejandro Diaz

Guerra, and the Center for Latin American and

Latino Studies at Georgia State University.

VCUarts is once again ranked the 1 public university school of arts and design in the country by

U S News S World Report

(2009).

Master of Art Education

36 credit hours

Designed for teachers who

are

already licensed

Master of Art Education

+ Teacher Licensure

49-52 credit hours

K-12 teacher certification program

Application Deadiine January 15

www.vcu.edu/arts/arteducation/dept/

art

educ tion

a n eaucai ion

{

^

vcuarts

Research Interests: VisualCulhire, Servltt-learning,Qu alitative Research, Exhibition,

Action Research, Dialogics, Museum Education, Curriculum, Assessment, H ypertext, Technology


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collaboration iin animation

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