On St. Patrick's day, a group of motivated middle school students spent their Saturday at the Museum, learning the basics of Stop Motion Animation. Led by Hal Meeks, an artist, designer, and digital consultant at NC State University, the workshop started with a high energy group animation. The kids jumped no less than 15 times in unison, then scooted around the room as if driving race cars! All while the workshop's teaching assistant, Vallyn Murphy, photographed the scene.
Hal and Vallyn then compiled the images into a short stop-motion film, demonstrating the process that each student would then use to make their own films. Hal did a short screening to present different types of stop motion animations, and then the kids got to work. They started with quick storyboards, to map out their ideas.
The kids divided into pairs, so that each student worked with a production buddy. They assist the filmmaker with the camera, prop-building, lighting and more, to efficiently make a short movie. Once their film is completed, using iStop Motion and webcams, whiteboards and an assortment of colorful objects, the students switched roles, so the production assistant becomes the filmmaker, and vice versa.
The results, all completed in about an hour and a half of working time, are nothing short of amazing: check out the films and photos from the day, on our Flickr page.
Interested in other opportunities for middle school students? Check out our Middle School Summer Studio. We have a few spaces left! More information, including the registration form, available here.
Audio Portrait: Introducing CAM Raleigh
Right-click here to download entire podcast.
This fourteen minute podcast, recorded and produced by Kelly Reid with music by James Dodgen, is an introduction to CAM Raleigh. Deftly culled from many hours of tape and many interviews, Kelly has woven together the voices of the artists, staff, board members, and student docents into an audio portrait of our museum.
It is a story of firsts: the first installation in a new space, a young artist’s first solo exhibition, and the very act of opening a museum’s doors for the first time.
Here’s what Kelly has to say about the experience:
I will openly admit that I have a crush on downtown Raleigh. The skyline, the warehouses, the railroad tracks, the people, the new and the old construction, the beer and the food– I love it all. So when I was asked by CAM Raleigh to produce a podcast for the opening of the museum I knew my crush was going to get a little more serious, and it did. The building at 409 West Martin Street is beautiful and being able to spend time there before the museum opened was truly amazing. It gave me a special viewpoint for the story. Capturing a story and bringing it to the listener is a craft that takes me down a different road every time but within each story the goal remains same–to create a moment, an experience. James Dodgen and I worked closely together to best capture and frame the excitement behind the opening of the museum but I realized something when I was wrapping up the story…CAM Raleigh is about the experience. It’s about walking in the doors and opening your mind, eyes, and ears. This is a snippet of the story and momentum behind the museum, but to fully understand who CAM Raleigh is, you have to experience for yourself.
We hope put together more stories as we grow as a museum. Listen and enjoy!
Voices: Kelly Reid, Frank Thompson (Board Member), Rosemary Wyche (Director of Development/Communications), Kate Shafer (Gallery and Exhibitions Manager), Dan Steinhilber (Artist), Naoko Ito (Artist), Nicole Welch (Curator of Education), Thomas (Student Docent), Sarah Blackmon (Camps + Workshops Coordinator), Miles Holst (Board Member)
Here’s a quick preview of a podcast produced by Kelly Reid and James Dodgen.
CAM Raleigh Preview Podcast
Right-click here to download entire clip.
It’s just a slice of the CAM Raleigh story and our inaugural exhibition. Recorded while the artworks were being created and installed in the museum, many voices come together to illustrate the transformation of a former produce warehouse into a home for contemporary art and design.
The podcast features a variety of speakers including participants in our Middle School Docent Program, museum staff, interns, board members, and of course–the artists themselves.
Stay tuned for the first full-length podcast, arriving hot-off-the-press next week!
