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For students interested in animation, ages 9-adult. In CTT's Animation I course, the student first learns to read a very simple, brief screenplay (a fun, original screenplay authored by an Emmy-Award winning writer specifically for this course!), mastering some of the basic terms used in this art form. The student then works through a series of exercises, to create a "storyboard" for a simple, fun and original script.
Storyboards are a series of drawings which act as a visual "outline" for a film, cartoon, commercial, TV show...even a live stage show. To storyboard, the artist must create characters visually, create the locations the characters are in, and artfully, convincingly express through successive drawings the story to be told. This approach forces a new animator to do several things. 1) Master the essentials of animation design, including character design and execution, and the ability to read and understand a script; 2) Improve their drawing and essential skills; and 3) Develop many drawings through a highly structured but creative process, which may eventually be used as a part of a portfolio.
Our Animation courses progressively assist the student to accomplish these goals, with projects that continue to grow more challenging. The funny, original script that serves as a part of Animation II, "The Tortoise & The Hare &...", offers several new characters, and more difficult design elements, than our Animation I course, demanding of the student a higher level of design and execution. This trend increases in Animation III. Our Animation IV course specializes in animation techniques and practice, profoundly deepening the student's skll level and understanding of this unique art. Our final course, Animation V, offers the student a full script to break down and develop, with carefully constructed exercises (many!) to help the student truly master the challenges of animation!
Focused on the art of story boarding and built around a clever, original script authored by an Emmy award-winning writer, the student incresingly develops through carefully structured exercises the skills needed to work in this fun and creative field. The perfect starter step for the student who already draws well, and who wishes to experiment and discover his or her talent in Animation, without critique or criticism!
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My daughter has been studying the Connect the Thoughts curriculum for nearly 3 years. She is nearly done with the science courses and 2/3rds of the way through the history program. For me, this curriculum is a dream come true.
As a home schooling parent, it has become obvious to me that a good curriculum is the hub around which the successful home schooling program revolves. One can be a superb teacher and have an excellent relationship and great communication with a child, but with a weak curriculum, both parent and child soon become discouraged and frustrated. For the one and one-half years of home schooling we did prior to finding the Connect the Thoughts program, I was constantly searching for good books, materials and curricula. While there is a lot on the market, the majority of it, in my opinion, is poorly written, insufficiently researched or boring.
Connect the Thoughts is a home run. Not only has my daughter gained a basic college level understanding of the sciences including geology, oceanography, meteorology, biology, chemistry and physics and the entire time line of history, geography, government, religion, philosophy and art, but she can also think on her own, form her own conclusions and research any subject imaginable. She has become an independent student.
Additionally, the curriculum is so fascinating, our entire family is learning along with my daughter, including my 91 year-old mother-in-law, who lives with us and greatly enjoys the materials. She reads everything she can get her hands on. From Homer to Shakespeare and tidal waves to black holes, no stone is left unturned for Connect the Thoughts graduates who, I believe, will make a difference because they can understand problems and envision solutions. The Connect the Thoughts curriculum is making this world a better place.
My deepest appreciation to CTT for caring enough to research and author these amazing materials.
A.B., home schooling Mom
After doing the creative writing courses, I felt I was ready to conquer the world of writing and literature! It has always been a favorite subject of mine in school, but something always pulled me back. I would have the inspiration to write a story, but I couldn't quite ever put it into words. But after I did the creative writing course, I realized how simply and utterly uncomplicated it was to JUST WRITE, without all the considerations that it wouldn't turn out well, people would think it was stupid, etc. It actually turned out nearly flawless every time!
The science course (Upper School Science I) helped me in various surprising ways as well: I never quite understood what I could study in science, and what I did learn in science would never come in handy in my daily life. But when I did this course, I realized how often we use science everyday! And I got the BASIC concepts of science, without getting into excruciating details. Now I'm extremely interested in scientific things. You have made home schooling easy, interesting and fun!
S.G., 15 year-old student
My son, who is now 15 years old, has never had much of an intention to be a student or learn. I witnessed this many, many times throughout his life and education. One factor was, he disliked Math, and constantly fought being in a “classroom”.
By the time he was 12, he announced to me that he was “done with school and ready to work”. I knew that he didn’t have many of his basics in enough to go out and work. He struggled through 2 ½ more years of school with very little success.
One other situation was his complete inability to write or express himself. He’d take a simple test and it would take literally hours. The same thing would occur with writing a short, simple letter – hours later he’d say he was done. When this occurred at his previous school, the personnel would be stunned by his pace. He’d be given timed periods in which to complete the test – to no avail. We tried remedies, but nothing changed this. This was agonizing because I knew he was bright and capable, and could be “brilliant” if he had intention.
Then, he began Creative Writing Study Guide #1, as part of his home schooling. I decided to have him do that intensively and just continue until he was actually writing. After about five hours on the study guide, he “broke through”. Suddenly he was writing, and writing them with ease!
His father and I are amazed at the change. His esteem is out through the top. Now my son wants to be educated, and started working longer hours of study on his own. He is also doing Connect the Thoughts Pre-History, and has beaten every target given him.
I can’t believe the change and resurgence. He is now truly “on the road” to a better life and future.
M.Y.H., mother
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The first in a series of courses intended to be accomplished by the student in 3-4 years; this course is set up to teach the student how to read a script for an animated project. It then develops the student’s ability to design characters, locations, and other elements needed to create a cartoon from the script. And finally, the student develops a series of drawings that show all his design work and which would lay the foundation for a fully animated work. This is called a “storyboard”. Storyboard artists are amongst the most in-demand in the area of animation.
Nearly every movie made today, including live-action films and especially special-effect driven films, is first designed in the form of a storyboard before it is shot. This is perhaps the single most “sellable” set of skills an artist can have today. The course comes with the short script, “Gummy Cat”, which the student will develop his storyboard from.
The study guide leads the student step by step through the process of reading a screenplay, defining all the important terms before being exposed to them so that the student becomes increasingly professional at being able to understand the unique language of a screenplay. The project on this first course is a very short, simple one. The characters are funny, as is the story, and your students will enjoy working on them. At the end of the course, the student shows his work to others to see if the story is clearly and entertainingly communicated.
This course and the subsequent Animation courses, do not teach a student to draw. The assumption made is that the student knows how to draw, or is learning at an art school, or in some other manner. The course will give the student a great deal of varied, specific practice, however, and drawing skills will almost certainly improve as the student works through the various exercises. This course requires materials necessary to draw. Additionally, the student should use animation paper. Research is required, and appropriate access to simple, easily found research materials.
ANIMATION COURSES OVERVIEW We discovered that the most useful (and employed) skill in animation was the ability to create a storyboard. Storyboards are a series of drawings which visually demonstrate how a film, cartoon, even a TV show or commercial will tell its story. The Connect The Thoughts program offers five sequential courses, most with an original script for increasingly long and difficult animated projects. Each course walks the student step by step through the skills and understandings needed to perform this valuable and artistic function.
THE END RESULT OF THE ANIMATION PROGRAM IS A STUDENT PREPARED TO WORK PROFESSIONALLY AS A STORYBOARD ARTIST, OR ONE WITH AN IMPRESSIVE PORTFOLIO.
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