It has been too long since I last posted, I know. Especially after having promised to work more on my personal website.
Sigh.
But, in my defense, this “Farch” (February and March of school year; the hardest time of academic calendar) has been an arduous one. There were more health issues (including shoulder surgery), and my children brought their usual minor difficulties that still are time intensive to solve. And I ended up coaching soccer again, a bit to my chagrin.
But still I managed to make a movie during Spring Break. Teaching my kids how to swim, play tennis, kick a soccer ball; showing them the beauty of literature, the creative process, and how to make videos — I am not sure I have much else to teach them. But I can teach them those things.
So I taught Julia how to storyboard, and then she storyboarded out a short film during spring vacation from 3rd grade. Then we filmed, edited, and posted it. It was fun! And we were not unhappy with the final result in this first filming effort. Julia and Elizabeth acted; I shot the video on my iPhone.
I think this might be the first of many such creative ventures. I made a giant stack of storyboard forms Julia can keep in her room to work on when the creative urge strikes. Here is what Julia came up with in terms of a storyboard:
Later that night I gave Julia her first instruction on how to use iMovie for the iPad. My efforts were this simple: I showed her a few basic tips, and then I let her play around a lot with the software, interface, and camera. Kids teach themselves, I have noticed, if you give them time to play with the software. The below movie is Julia playing with iMovie.
