The Game of School

I appreciate all of the valuable feedback so many people gave me regarding the initial posting of “The Game of School,” my first animation with a message.  I’ve decided to post it on the original blog article and re-date it to the present.  The original blog text follows.

As I ease into retirement (over the next five to ten years), I’m giving myself permission to learn some new skills that I always wanted to try my hand at, but never made the time.  One is learning to create animations.

Here is my first attempt at an animation with a message.  Its message is based on a blog post I wrote for Smart Blogs a few months ago but never got around to reposting here.  This is version 4.1 5.0 of the video, which has been edited and re-rendered MANY times and will likely be rendered many more times.  

I’m learning!

To create this video, I used Apple Keynote for the text flow, Poser Debut for the character animation, iMovie 11 for the video editing and iSequence on the iPad to produce the music.

Enjoy! ..and let me know what you think…

11 thoughts on “The Game of School”

  1. David,
    No expert in video but it is a lot of fun even if time consuming. Getting actual footage is tough and that is where using Poser comes in handy. Have you thought about intermixing Creative Commons footage? You might find this useful:
    http://www.sitepoint.com/30-creative-commons-sources/

    Another thought, try shaving more time off via faster transitions, I found myself waiting for the next a sign it could be faster. Some thoughts, can’t wait to see what you have next!

    1. @wyatt christman, Thanks so much for the critique. I will likely mix in some CC footage in my next project – and I appreciate the link.

      As for the transitions, you are absolutely right. My main effort in the editing was getting the action and text flow to sync with the music as much as possible. But the viewer’s convenience is certainly a consideration I need to pay more attention to.

      Thanks again!

  2. Hi David,
    I like your video. Your message is right on target. For what it’s worth, I do have a suggestion for improvement–from about the 3-3:15 minute time frame, it seems like there’s a lot of text. Almost too much to read. I don’t have an idea for how to fix it, though…
    Laura
    And btw – I really enjoyed your presentations in Storm Lake, Iowa the last couple of years. Attended all of them!

    1. @Laura Horan, Your advice is consistent with other suggestions I’ve gotten. This was my first attempt and I was, alas, focused on the technical side of things, syncing action with the music, building the character animations, etc — all new stuff for me.

      I’ll likely re-do this one at some point with your advice in mind. Now, I’ve already started working through my next project.

  3. Fantastic job David- looking forward to what else your lead up to retirement brings!
    Such fantastic food for thought. Sadly as a school leader my success is so very measured by standardised testing rather than what I’m preparing the kids for- a future not a history.

  4. Thank you for your courage in sharing something new that you are learning, along with the message that we all need to keep in mind.

    Always a pleasure to see what you are up to, David.

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