Jelly Jym

Blogging for the littlies

2011-12-15T16:18:00.004+08:00

This picture I took while looking around the house for interesting but commonplace textures for some design inspiration. I like to inspire...

So rather than just waiting for one of my ambitious projects to take off I have decided to just throw some inspiration out there....

I have started another blog that actually provides pictures, text and video to encourage young kids to behave scientifically. Scienceplay - is aimed at bright and curious young kids and their teachers, parents and carers. Check it out.

I'm Appy these Days

2011-11-19T18:03:00.004+08:00

I know I know everybody is turning to developing Apps as the next big thing and yes so am I. I see the ipad and other tablets as a perfect place for preschoolers and my projects to meet and I want to make it happen.

Smart phones and especially tablets with their touch screen ability have blown the new media market open to preschoolers. Preschoolers have Mummy’s mobile and they aren’t going to give it back (until the battery has run out.) Stories and play is preschooler work

in the job of growing up and they come together like magic with a tablet in their lap.

Otto Plus the Oobly Dooblies is a concept that has just found it’s time. The Oobly Dooblies will take over the world. The Oobly Dooblies are just plain fun. Importantly the learning is embedded, like the physics in games like Cut the Rope, which children as young as three years old can play. Nobody mentions gravity or angular momentum there and likewise nobody mentions three, four or even five, minus, multiply, volume or area when the Oobly Dooblies are doing their thing but it is all happening. We all enjoy play and challenges and play is how young children learn, the more engagement the more enjoyment and the more learning. Who wouldn’t want practical problem solving to be colourful, musical and funny?

Otto Plus the Oobly Dooblies has all the right ingredients for engaging pre-schoolers -story, interactivity, music, imagination, colour, movement, humour, connection to their lives and where they are at, embedded learning, explorative free play, creative opportunities, appropriate challenge.

I'm excited, how about you? Well hang on in there, I want to get it right but Otto Plus the Oobly Dooblies is on the move.

A leaf each out of two books makes a picnic

2011-02-11T21:14:00.004+08:00

I have played around as a preschooler would in order to learn. I have had an idea and conducted an experiment to test the idea. I have taken a leaf out of two of the books I preach and put them into practice.
The truth is I am not sure what I've got. Maybe you would like to judge?
I have a 16 minute trial episode for a preschool reality show of sorts. My friend Diva Donna the snail has become the Diva that picnics - Penny Picnic. And Alfie is back, older, longer, leaner and with some pals...
Picnic Time with Penny Picnic. watch the full ep her on blip.tv or just a little sample below.

Watching and writing

2010-12-02T01:22:00.007+08:00

I took my four year old to watch Tangled yesterday evening. I enjoyed the film but for him it was a traumatic event. It reminded me that not all preschoolers want life and death conflict in their media. We both loved a beautiful scene where thousands of lanterns are launched into the night sky from a picturesque island based city with castle atop (of course.)(tangled image) It was a great bit of animation but another reminder, that young children can appreciate moments of emotion and beauty. Although for my son it might have just been a break from the stress of danger and scary characters. Although in the end everyone in the film turns out to be good hearted, bought out of them by Rapunzul's glowing nature, except of course her two faced 'mother' or at least the woman she believes to be her mother - Mmmmm. Very scary concept, discovering that the woman that says 'I love you' everyday is in fact using you.
Of course Tangled is a Disney Princess movie, so a love story, rags to riches (though reversed)a finding of self etc So not really preschool themes. Well maybe finding one's self, managing to do things by ones self, developing an understanding of the world - these are as true to preschoolers, and to bigger children as to adults.
I ponder all this today as I sit down to write a short film aimed at Preschoolers. This is about a little boy who finds a strange creature and sets about trying to look after it. So yes about finding oneself and the ability to think about how to do things for another person and from a Science point of view it is about the essentials for life; food, rest, shelter... and what all living things do; eat, grow, poo...

What is treasure?

2010-10-30T05:35:00.012+08:00

Treasure has been on my mind. I have found lots of new treasure lately on account of being in new places.
It has inspired me. I have been working on a new preschool series concept about some treasure hunters of a webbed feet sort.
I have also made a book called The Treasure Hunter's Guide which you will find on blurb.com

A Treasure Hunter's Guide by Kate Vyvyan | Make Your Own Book

This book is about what I think treasure is... ie a sight, a sound, a taste, a moment, an object.... It is something a little out of the ordinary that makes you feel good and it is something that has potential.

Looking for and spotting treasure is part of being curious, observant and having a wonder for the world about us - all good science skills.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon quite a sight the other day while walking in the woods. A snake had caught a frog and before my eyes a battle was going on for the frog's life. I thought the snake had bitten off more than he could swallow and my own and my family's own nutritional needs called so I left them to it. But on returning a couple of hours later I discovered the snake had in fact managed to devour the frog. This sort of epic struggle goes on all the time but to catch it is special and the sight of it is a great reminder of what life is really all about. So it is treasure too. And now it is on YouTube for everyone to share.

Wildlife has been a big part of our treasure finding here in British Columbia. You can go looking for it but more often than not it just visits us.

My Extraordinary Little Sister

2010-08-26T01:16:00.009+08:00

Heaps of fun - View the pilot! Through Kidscreen or IMDb (see other page top right)
This project needs investors to really take flight (no special hair tricks like Spikey D.)

Tridragonal Set ...Gone! - Welcome Otto!

2010-08-09T07:30:00.004+08:00

It has been a while since I appeared to do anything, but I have had a period of change. A sabbatical of sorts. I have been separated from creative partners but walked in beautiful places and had many distractions removed. It has invigorated my creativity and ideas are starting to flow faster than I can do anything about them. (Time is always a problem.)

There once was a project called Rainbow Dragons that first appeared during a course on fantasy writing. It first took some form with the help of the Key Frame scheme and some talented animators in training. It took a slightly different with the help, enthusiasm, hard work and skill of Buddhi of Beyond Motion. But....

Right now it is reforming again.

I got some feedback from an important source, just a little with a hint of encouragement - but it was enough what with my little sabbatical and space from things too see the truth in it. And despite all the hard work in some aspects of the project (hard work is never a waste) Rainbow Dragons that was, which became Tridragonal Set Go! has been stripped back, simplified, given a dynamic boy lead and has been reborn as Otto + the Oobly Dooblies. And boy does it work.

I thought "what is at the heart of the project" - that only took a millisecond to answer - The Oobly Dooblies - fun, colourful, acrobatic number representations.

I thought "what is important about this project" - the integrated multi platform nature and the highlighting of maths in the everyday and in story.

I thought "what is the problem with this project" - too high concept, too hard to explain, some people get it and others just really don't, too much in it. But most importantly I realised I was asking preschoolers to swallow too much (make too many leaps of imagination and faith if you like.)

I suspect that underlying all this is some wisdom from the Little Airplane Academy Preschool Intensive that I attended back in February in a snowy New York.

Anyhow must get on, I have a couple of other preschool projects asking for work and a photobook idea....

What do they say? - "Don't Ever Work with Kids or Animals.."

2009-11-16T21:07:00.004+08:00

In the nick of time before jetting off once again, this time to SPAA I have quickly put together a rough and ready pilot (viewable on the blipTV jelly jym channel) of the series "Out and About with Alfie" that has been in my thoughts for quite awhile now. It is with my heart in my mouth that I put this one 'out there.' I have been filming the everyday investigations and unstructured play of my own three year old son with the plan of making a documentary series for toddlers! Now of course I think that my, Alfie is eminently watchable but what will the world think? I think young children like seeing other children in their media. I believe this is more than just somebody's home movies because I have understanding of programme making and of preschoolers. I think the relationship between myself and the subject should add to the programmes in fact. (And I hope my camera skills will be up to it.)
I was very heartened to hear that Five in the UK were making preschool documentaries, although of course it would have been great to be ground breaking too, I think that it will be easier for me to pitch my idea with the precedent of existing series.
The pilot features not only my young son but our ball and stick obsessed family dog. They were a delight to work with!

Get Set and Go! Tridragonals

2009-10-02T21:24:00.003+08:00

Rhomby, Tina and Goo are back and marching, spinning and raring to go! Now called Tridragonal Set Go! the dragons have been motion captured - faster and more lifelike this is the way to go!

So the dragons are set, next - put them together for independent play, which leads to an inevitable problem - add noisy and acrobatic Oobly Dooblies and Fijity Wiks and the Tridragonals are set to go Go GO!

An old boot, an irrepressible kid, a supersonic baby and dragons made from boxes head to Cannes

2009-10-02T20:23:00.013+08:00

In the nick of time, Rhomby, Tina and Goo made the showreel going to my very first Mipcom.You can see how they worked out being motion capture animated on the Jelly Jym channel.

Also on the Jelly Jym channel is Kit and Ker-Boot with the new look Ker-Boot getting bubbled all over and finding it all yucky.

What you won't find on the Jelly Jym channel is My Extraordinary Little Sister - which is a shame because it is looking and sounding FANTASTIC but you will be able to see Spikey Dee's hair energising and her going supersonic and Matty Pat's desperate attempts to rescue her on Nickelodeon Australia soon....

2009-08-20T12:31:00.004+08:00

This is a busy time. Not only is Ker-Boot getting a make over but so are the Rainbow Dragons! Only now they are more aptly named, Tridragonals Set Go!
Buddhi from Beyond Motion is working with me in making the dragons a little bit less primary coloured, and more suitable for motion capture!
Last week I got to put on a motion capture suit and interpret my own characters for a test. It was pretty physical work pretending to be dragons that are kids!
I am looking forward to seeing Bossy Goo, excitable Tina and cautious Rhomby strut their stuff.
Here I am all suited up opposite Buddhi Munasinghe and in the middle is Nick Lowe who came in to have a look at Buddhi's mocap set up.

New Look Ker-Boot by Alan Murphy

2009-08-07T15:49:00.004+08:00

Kit and Ker-Boot is getting developed and it is so much fun! Kit is such a 'real' kid, most of all I like the fact that she gets into trouble for all her investigative behaviour but it doesn't stop her. The episode lengths have grown to ten minutes so Kit gets to make lots of discoveries with her constant companion, comforter and hapless assistant Ker-Boot. Ker-Boot has had a makeover thanks to designer Alan Murphy and he now looks like a fuddy duddy but caring grand fatherly figure that he is.

Kit and Ker-Boot is developed with the assistance of ScreenWest and Lotterywest.

Skedaddle

2009-06-26T16:37:00.004+08:00

Coming soon... Skedaddle Games showing you how to play traditional games like hand clap, string games, jump rope, elastics, marbles.... games for on your own or with your friends, neighbours and even parents and grandparents. Games that have lasted for centuries because they are the best games ever!

Meghan Lagdon was inundated with requests by schools to come and visit them and show them how to play traditional games after she did workshops at her own kid's school. Meghan found the kids, of all ages, boys and girls loved mastering the games and it set off many a new (from old) fad in the school yard. But she couldn't get to all those schools. But she had an idea...

"These sort of games used to be passed down from generation to generation but slowly we are losing them. However these games are fun, cheap and don't require much equipment if any and they help you develop your memory, cordination and social skills. There are books on these games but it is much easier to be shown how to do them than to try and figure them out from a book."

So Meghan Lagdon wanted to create a DVD series and that's where I came in and after a few stops and starts our test pilot is almost here! The question is DVD or online or mobile or TV ...??? Put it on your Christmas list anyhow!

WAM BAM all over again

2009-06-01T22:05:00.004+08:00

Thanks to a bunch of brave WA animators (and ScreenWest and the FTI of course,) Wanimate's WAM BAM 09 speed animation competition was a great success again. Once again I was blown away by everyone's commitment and professionalism. The films were clever, funny, attractive, they had story and character and for the most part were finished! This year there was quite a range of animation styles - we had a stop motion entry, a 2 and a half D film and even motion capture!
I personally could not have picked a winner but once again it was a Flash animation Kokarokadoo! that walked away with top honours. All the entries made in just 49 hours by teams of animators can be seen on the Wanimate YouTube site.

Everyone who took part can feel proud of themselves and they should show their films off. I have to admit to feeling just a little bit pleased with myself for making the opportunity for that creativity and talent to come forth! And not for the first time I wish I could animate!

Spikey Dee gets a big brother and she is up and running

2009-03-31T14:07:00.004+08:00

Another story idea I had way back which has only recently found wings is Spikey Dee now called My Extraordinary Little Sister, and this one even predates Kit and Ker-Boot. In fact Spikey Dee started off as a set of children's stories (unpublished) I wrote after my eldest daughter was born and they were based on her - she is now Eleven. Now that she is Eleven I saw how to make the story work for bigger kids. A friend of my eldest daughter is Sam and he is the inspiration for Spikey Dee's older brother affectionately called Matty Pat by his family. Sam is a great cartoon artist and it is his great drawings that inspire me. I think one day Sam will be a film director.

In My Extraordinary Little Sister, a day dreaming eleven year old boy, Matty Pat has to look after his baby sister Spikey Dee whose unusual hair gives her enormous energy boosts when it picks up radiation from machines nearby.

I was lucky enought to score one of the small grants going in the Nick Short scheme (FTI/Screenwest/Nickelodeon Australia) so a three minute pilot is currently in production to be shown on Nickelodeon Australia. I am also lucky to be working with the very talented, very experienced (and a little bit too busy) Stephen Grant. Plus Susie Campbell has worked her magic to help me get the script into shape.

Look out for updates.

Kit and her boot tickle at Kidscreen Summit

2009-03-24T12:47:00.006+09:00

In February of this year I went to the Kidscreen Summit in New York. It was awesome! The Kidscreen magazine and online newsletters and website have been vital for me learning about the greater business of kids TV (outside of dreaming up concepts and finding ways to produce pilots or proofs of concept.) And the summit was just fantastic for me to meet people LIKE ME from all over the world, ie those that just love to make kids TV, and the people who might be able to make it possible!
Thank you to all those people that helped make it reality.. ScreenWest and Lotteries West for the funding, Susie Campbell for her fabulous mentoring, Chris Hunt for doing my marketing materials and my husband Rob for looking after the kids and the kids for looking after him and all my friends that pitched in.
Obviously New York is a buzzy place to visit whatever, but the conference really did re-energise and inspire me to keep going. I am realistic enough to know nothing is going to happen over-night (as if six years of work to get to this point would be overnight!?) but it at least feels like a really positive step.
The thing that really makes me giggle to myself whenever I think about it is, Kit and Ker-Boot. This little idea was what first drew me back to the business of TV, it led me to get into animation, but most people around here thought it was a bit odd. Because of the ways in which I have managed to develop it - it has never had proper designs or sparkly treatment and I have never quite been sure how to pitch it. But I still believed in it as a show and as a voice for my storytelling. Anyhow I decided to go for it anyhow. I pitched it at Kidscreen and quite a few people liked it and asked to see more!
You can find the Kit and Kerboot mini-pilot which was part of a Jelly Jym episode deeper in these blogs or by going to www.jellyjym.blip.tv or clicking on the "watch jelly jym" link over to the right.

Accessible Nature Programmes for Kids

2009-01-08T15:49:00.007+09:00

My daughter Demelza and I made a quick science film this time last year. We filmed it with the families digital stills camera (in an unexpected half hour due to a rock to the head which is another story....) and edited it at home. We were inspired to make it for a science film competition for students, the Sleek Geeks Science film competition run through Sydney University. It was a great opportunity for me to work with my daughter, to reinforce her 'story' and to hopefully impart some science appreciation and some understanding of film making. It is called the Fossil Hunters Story and it is self explanatory.......

This is not a professional film, although I enjoy filming and editing I was not trying to achieve professional quality and I am a believer in the additive creative value of teamwork! However the project got me thinking about how kids are very interested in the nature they observe for themselves around themselves, and it is when they are interested that you can get the most engagement and learning. An expert can rattle on about fascinating stuff but it can just fall on deaf ears unless the audience is engaged. But if the interest is there then it is taken on board. Much of the nature programming on television is beautiful and fascinating stuff about things and places most of us will never see or go to. It is nice to watch, interesting to hear about (although usually fairly superficial) and it is escapism. I think there is also a place, especially within kids programming for more accessible nature, the stuff they are able to see and experience if they want to/try to. Kids could tell their nature stories (as in the fossil hunters story) and then we could add to their experience with experts, research and specialist photography. I am working along those lines, watch this space.

Funny, innovative and educational

2008-11-10T14:55:00.003+09:00

Drama, puppetry and animation....
From babies to teens, fantasy and reality....
Kids on camera to dragons in the park.....
A showreel of my children's concepts.

Meet Boo Babbit

2008-11-10T14:30:00.003+09:00

Actually contrary to a previous blog I do have a new concept that I have worked up.....

I was inspired after the workshop I participated in earlier this year (Gracie Lou) to create a series for toddlers. I wanted to use puppets and I wanted to really hone in on what it is to be a toddler. The way they explore and suck in new concepts and language. Also how toddlers love to be surprised, and of course they love colour, movement and music. This series is designed to be played to toddlers in conjunction with their playtime (as opposed to quiet time) to inspire, extend and validate their naturally developmental habits of investigating and playing with everything they discover.

So here is Boo Babbit who has long ears that appear to have personalities of their own and behind which he can hide. He has a long nose for sticking in, around and on everything and I mean EVERYTHING. He has big eyes to take it all in and to express how funny he finds exploring. Boo plays with Mop who likes to hide and be chased. Boo also plays with the rhythmical dotty bugs who like to arrange themselves in patterns.

This Boo Babbit design has been done by Alan Murphy who is a puppet and animatronic wiz who has worked on lots of feature films such as Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I am hoping to make the pilot because I really want to see what we can get those ears to do!

Why Are the Rocks All Different

2008-09-15T20:09:00.004+08:00

I have had an intensive period of developing up some TV concepts. Nothing particularly new and nothing I can blog about yet. I have gone back over some old ones and revitalised them and got excited about them all over again.
However all these concepts will take many people and a long time to realise. I decided I wanted to create something that I could do all by myself!
I have used some of my own photos and created an early science and maths book for young children (3-8 years) through Lulu.com This was a lot of fun. These are my favourite photos from those moments when I noticed an interesting pattern or play of light and now I have been able to use them to develop children's 'looking closely and thinking' a useful pre-reading skill to say nothing of the concepts introduced through the questions. The pictures are all from nature.
The book is for sharing and discussing with children and encouraging their observation, figuring out and pattern recognition. Here is an example image and text.
Can you see the spiral, the zigzags and the stripes?

You can see a book preview here; http://www.lulu.com/content/2893610

or make my day and buy a copy...

Rainbow Dragons and Key Frame at the FTI

2008-05-19T20:59:00.004+08:00

I was able to develop the Rainbow Dragons through the FTI's Key Frame program. Although I find it hard to watch (because of listening to myself) the FTI made this little piece on me and Rainbow Dragons in which I explain the concept and the Key Frame program;
http://www.fti.asn.au/make/made/keyframe/91
The Key Frame project has just opened up to applications for projects for 2008.

The Sounds of the Rainbow Dragons

2008-05-10T15:11:00.005+08:00

The Rainbow Dragons (about whom I have often written) do not appear to have voices in the promo. But they do have them! The voices, although recorded, did not fit into the promo for one reason or other. They do not speak a known language but are expressive enough to be understood. The stories and games always have a helpful narrator who is a sensitive translator and commentator who talks to the dragons and the audience without taking the initiative away from the Dragons themselves as they seek to solve problems both practical and social in their activities. So here are the voices of excitable Tina, ponderous Rhomby and bossy Goo. There is more from the numeric Oobly Dooblies and shapely Fijity Wiks and there is also the sound of the Scatterbats - the whirling force of interruption whose arrival is often heralded by their distinctive sound and so can be acted on, if they are heard and there is some quick thinking.

David Pye put his percussive talents to the Oobly Dooblies and Fijity Wiks. The sounds of the Oobly Dooblies and Fijity Wiks provide the basis for a computer game where children can create rhythms and music by arranging Oobly Dooblies and or Fijity Wiks as David has here, albeit with a few extra instruments.

The voice of Tina and the Narrator are supplied by the multi-talented opera soprano Penny Shaw (who can also be heard in the theme tune of Jelly Jym which she and Richard Seale improvised one evening at the FTI. ) Check out her real work at the Daisy Productions website (and try to spot my work there!?) Rhomby was voiced by the guy who modelled and animated him - Dave Ronnert. The energetic voice of Goo was supplied by Eileen Glynn who has lots of voices!
To find out more about The Rainbow Dragons project see previous posts on this blog or watch the promo on the Jelly Jym on BlipTV channel linked to from this blog.

WAM BAM speed animation competition

2008-04-10T16:53:00.003+08:00

I recently organised a speed animation competition for WAnimate. Teams of animators had to create an animation from scratch drawing on three words for inspiration. The final animators blew all of us onlookers away. The films had everything, character, location, story, humour, soundscape.... It reminded us just what animation talent there is in WA. Check the vids out on the FTIs site or through WAnimate website. Here's a pic to wet your appetite.

What are your Oobly Dooblies called?

2008-03-03T16:50:00.003+09:00

The Oobly Dooblies are part of Rainbow Dragons. They are jumping, bumping, squeaking, sneaking, grooving 'things' of different colours and textures. They are a device for representing number. Without ever mentioning one, two or three young children will literally 'see' (and 'feel' if they have the toys) numbers in action solving everyday problems during Rainbow Dragons stories. The kids can manipulate these creatures with their hands or in a virtual space to get a better understanding of them and put their very own dressed up set into action for them in many different puzzles and games . The kids may even incorporate the Oobly Dooblies into their mental mathematics (ie what is worked out in their heads.) Here is my Oobly Dooblies T-shirt. (And no I don't know what an iron is. My passion for the idea gets the creases out when I wear it!) For the record MY Oobly Dooblies are called:
Bop
Squeak
Iggle
Bounce
Squiffle
Bummy
Rolley
Orange
Pearly
Long Tall Sally Yellow

To name yours watch the Rainbow Dragons promo (scroll down the posts or go to Jelly Jym at BlipTV .)

Gracie Lou

2008-03-02T20:41:00.004+09:00

Last week I contributed to a workshop for the development of a pre preschool series - Gracie Lou. Gracie Lou is originally the creation of Graphic Designers Helen and Darren Simpson. They made it for their daughters. When they teamed up with Two Camels Music in London they ended up with animated nursery rhymes which are being distributed by the ABC. Darren has now teamed up with kids TV producer Susie Campbell to develop it into a series.
The show is aimed at kids aged 0-3 years old. This is a potential new growth area, as baby TV channels spring up all over the world. Whatever you may think of children this age watching television, they are watching this young, so it would be better if what they were viewing was aimed at them. There are a number of preschool shows that arguably children grow out of, or get bored of, by the time they are three anyhow. Zero to six is a big age range for children that are going through such massive development so it is actually great to be able to focus in on the delightfulness of three year olds or two year olds or even one years olds (and having one of those myself at the moment I am particularly focused on that.) The workshop was a great excuse to explore these age groups. I am quite inspired to explore aiming younger with some series concepts myself. I was particularly impressed by our visit to Nedlands School of Early Learning and the woman behind that Sarah Lovegrove.
Gracie Lou has a very simple graphic look and animation style, check it out, I have linked to it. I will keep you updated as to it's progress but it is not up to me to tell you the great ideas we came up for for it except to say it celebrates everyday achievement moments of three year olds!

funding frustrations

2007-11-27T21:35:00.000+09:00

I have had several months now of attending courses and doing research and posting videos and blogs to develop the potential of my projects. I think I desperately need to do some writing or creating.
Last time I wrote a script it was the short film "Visious Cycle." With the help of Alan Murphy we very quickly crunched this into a cracking final draft ready for a funding application (link funding through the FTI.) Last week we were shortlisted and this week I had the interview. Unfortunately I was unable to convince them that we would be able to make this, ambitious stop mo/puppetry/flash modern re-telling of the Elves and the Shoemaker, within the allocated time and within budget. Unfortunately the animations that have gone before me for this funding have not delivered on time.
Animations are at a disadvantage with this type of funding as the funding is not enough to employ people full time and animations require full time work by several individuals or take a very long time. I will have to spend more time on the producer aspects of the application next time around (its too good a script to bin, as Alan says maybe we need to do something smaller first) Ie Full on schedules and contracts signed in blood before even a whiff of money. Ah well such is this film making life. The interviewing panel were very complimentary and encouraging about the film and concept!
So like I said it is time to do some more creating.

Back in my first post I talked about how there were only a few places that I found myself in my life in WA. Well two elements of my life here collided last night when I attended the launch of the WA animated series Dogstar at Scitech Discovery Centre. The launch was put on by Screenwest where my friend Hilary Lambert is now working. We worked together at Scitech years ago. Also at the launch were friends from the FTI and of course WAnimate and the animation community - it's a very small place WA. Check out Dogstar, it's fun and funny and its flash animation pushed to the limit - I've linked to it.

Jelly Jym on Blip TV

2007-11-09T14:41:00.000+09:00

You can now watch Jelly Jym episode bubbles in five minute installments on Blip TV, look for the link on the right of the page at the top. Part one available for viewing now! I am very excited to see if these get an audience. I think teachers and parents should find them useful for;

explaining science concepts,
showing to the kids to engage them with ideas and activities,
ideas on fun activities to try.

They are aimed at children aged between about three and eight years old. They are a mixture of puppets, presenter, kids doing stuff, all sorts of animations, stories, singing snails, grumpy rocks.....why am I describing it, just go and watch them!

Rainbow Dragons 2

2007-11-01T19:57:00.000+09:00

Here is a promo produced for showcasing Rainbow Dragons in an interactive form. I decided to use the limited time available to do animations to show how the Oobly Dooblies and Fijity Wiks would work because I thought this might be an element people would find hardest to grasp. I am now working on the script which will illustrate the potential for great stories and interaction between the three personalities...

Click To Play

Island of Wild Hope

2007-11-01T13:39:00.000+09:00

Here is a children's film I made with Ian Tregonning and the Museum of Western Australia. It is a pilot of sorts for a series where this character Jenny would always be going to the museum to find a solution to a problem or worry she had through stories inherent in the museum exhibits as revealed by her mysterious friend Gappa. What Jenny 'sees' in her head on hearing these stories is shown as animation - done here by the very talented Stephen Grant.
If you think it makes a good way to communicate history - let me know.

Kit and Kerboot to Jelly Jym

2007-10-25T21:31:00.000+08:00

I got into animation because I was looking for a way to make an animated series idea I had had while being an at home Mum with a couple of little kids. I was watching programmes like Thomas the Tank Engine, Maisy, Teletubbies and Bob the Builder and thought hey I could come up with a way of putting science concepts into a kids series. I came up with Kit and Kerboot - Kit is a little kid who likes investigating his/her surroundings and has a boot as a comforter. A boot? yeah well I had this old pair of shoes that were starting to split at the seams and started to get a face.... Anyway kids choose all sorts of things to be there go everywhere with them item and Kit chose a boot! In a Calvin and Hobbes type way Kit talks to her boot and the boot - Kerboot replies in a caring fussy grandfatherly way. But Kerboot usually ends up the fall guy when Kit needs a vital piece of equipment in some experiment she conceives.

Anyway one day I saw a small add in the local newspaper calling out for people who wanted to get involved in animation (CADSA at the FTI) and as I had experience in television production and puppets (from previously writing puppet shows) I got in. I did not get to make my Kit and Kerboot idea for almost three years when after working on the Adventures of Duncan Rat and making one episode of Jelly Jym, all as part of CADSA, I finally had the opportunity to use it. I had found people who would realise it for me, Christian Clegg, Shannon Li and Ian Tregonning. I put it in Jelly Jym episode two - Bubbles. It is now an interstitial length... hopefully inside or outside of Jelly Jym it will get more episodes!?

Whatever happens to Kit and Kerboot it was the first in the line of many ideas that relaunched my interest in making TV but now I came at it with new knowledge and passion for early childhood education and entertainment.

Jelly Jym is a half hour show which is a mixture of a presenter and two puppets, little sequences of real kids doing things and short animated stories. The show has a fresh approach to preschool programming. It uses all the tried and tested techniques of songs and activity modeling and stories but it ventures to do something little kids also love doing; investigating and experimenting. Kids that have seen it - love it and watch it time and again and ask for more.

Jelly Jym is a half hour show but second time around I also split it into five lots of five minutes as well as a half hour - so a broadcaster could (and did) show one each day of the week and the half hour on the saturday. (This episode won an Antennae award.) The five minute format also gives a handy internet sized episode. And even each 5 minutes would break down again into smaller packages like the animations, the songs and the explanations.

Science is best done for real by little kids so I want Jelly Jym to be inspirational for the kids, putting ideas of things to try and concept seeds in their head. Jelly Jym also puts science into story, so making it more accessible. Plus I want to provide something for teachers and parents to draw upon to help them do early science with kids. Would you like to see more?

Rainbow Dragons 1

2007-10-22T21:59:00.000+08:00

The project I am currently concentrating time on is The Rainbow Dragons. I think it has real potential to be a ground breaking, entertaining, educational and even commercial. The Rainbow Dragons could be many things but I think the core of the project is the interactive stories, toys and computer games. All these components I feel are inter-related and therefore should come together - but being realistic they could be developed one at a time - but which first?? I am exploring all the options like- what funding might be available, who might want to get on board and be part of it.

I had the opportunity to develop the CGi at the Animation Centre at the FTI through the Key Frame programme at the start of 2006. I got teamed up with two great guys Dave Ronnert and Bryce Jones who worked incredibly hard over just three months to realise my designs and concepts and do some awesome animations. The wonderful composer and percussion guru David Pye created sounds for the Oobly Dooblies, Fijity Wiks and Scatterbats and wrote (and sung) the theme tune.

Chris Hunt made a promo for the interactive stories and also laid out a treatment for the project. As some time has passed since then, some new ideas of how to progress it have bubbled up making this treatment a little out of date but if you want to take a look email me on rainbowdragons@jellyjym.com

The Rainbow Dragons are Goo, Rhomby and Tina. Basically equivalent to five year old kids. They do the sort of things five year old kids do, like baking cakes or playing tag and come across the same problems such as how to measure ingredients or to decide who has won a game. In the photo at the top they are being surprised by the Scatterbats which are a chaos causing whirlwind akin to baby siblings or parents on the tidy up. Rhomby is a 'steady eddy' - ponderous, cautious, sensible but also playful and determined. He occasionally accidentally breathes fire which has a tendency to get everyones attention. Rhomby has smiling and grimacing Fijity Wiks (aka shapes that tesselate) in his hands that can be called out to help deal with problems of a spatial nature.

Tina has 'ants in her pants' and is highly excitable and silly but has flashes of pure inspirational genius.

Tina has a pouch full of helpful Oobly Dooblies (aka numbers) that bounce and creep and beep and squeak into action to illustrate number in action. There are all sorts of games and programmes about counting and sums but Rainbow Dragons really tries to help kids build a strong conceptual understanding of number instead of just the abililty to count (recite words in order!) The Oobly Dooblies all have a different texture, sound, movement, colour and size to appeal to different sorts of learners. The plan is to have these for real in kids hands when they are watching stories. The kids can then choose to 'be' an Oobly Doobly and get right inside the problem solving. When the kids then hop onto the computer and get into the virtual world to play games, they can customise their own set of Oobly Dooblies (unlimited number) with hats, spines, feet, eyes, tentacles and so on.

I am going to SPAA fringe in Sydney at the end of this week and I have had a T-shirt printed up with half a customised set of Oobly Dooblies and the words "What are your Oobly Dooblies called?" There is so much snigger snigger stuff in writing for preschoolers - if you can't beat it, use it! I will let you know how it goes!

And Goo - I haven't forgotten him - he is the incisive and proactive one the plus or minus or multiplication action in a sum. Yes he is a little bossy and a bit of a trophy collector ie everything they do or make is his, but they wouldn't get anywhere without him. Here is Goo in another one of the four uncluttered locations full of space for action and problem solving.

Introduction

2007-10-22T11:48:00.001+08:00

I am starting this blog (finally after a few years of thinking about it!) to connect with others out there who may be interested in the same thing as me - that is educating and entertaining young kids about science and maths through video, TV and interactive media.
YOU, reading this, may be a teacher or parent looking for ideas to inspire and help your kids or you may want to invest (your time, energy, ideas or money) in my projects!? Either way, you are most welcome. This first blog is by way of introduction......

Here I am in the picture with my often times co-conspirator the multi talented Ian Tregonning (crouching.) We were filming at Scitech Discovery Centre in Perth, Western Australia. We were filming in a puppet set that I conceptually designed a long time ago now when I worked there writing and performing Science shows and dabbling in the exhibit planning side of things (loved that.) They are still in use at Scitech so I used them in my Jelly Jym TV programmes which present and model early science to young children using puppets, real people and animations. Behind the camera lens is my other "wouldn't have been able to do anything without" man, Chris Hunt - see picture below of us all, with our Antennae award for Best Children's Programme for Jelly Jym episode Bubbles.

Of course I have worked with heaps of really talented animators, TV crews and film makers but I can't mention everyone right now. I have made two half hour Jelly Jym episodes through the CADSA programme at the Animation Centre at the Film and Television Institute in Western Australia.

The CADSA programme is now called Key Frame which is the scheme that I developed my Rainbow Dragons project under.
I also made a short film through the FTI's Raw Nerve scheme - this is also educational entertainment, a docu-drama of sorts combining live action drama with animated docu-drama re-enactments (yeah really!) This film is probably for bigger kids (6-12 years) than what I mostly cater for which is 3-8 year olds.

I currently have a submission for a LINK grant in at the FTI and that is for a short stop motion drama for kids which centres around an Elf and a character loosely based on myself and a science centre. Hopefully I will post more on that including how a science communicator is putting elves in stories!

I didn't just jump into making TV programmes - way back I learnt production in sports TV production in England (which is where I was born and bought up along with my seven brothers!) I ended up in Western Australia when I married a Perth boy, software programmer and outdoor adventurer, Rob Wall. I have also made educational and corporate programmes for West One Television which is part of the Education and Training department in Western Australia.

I noticed lately (and you may have done too?) how my life in Western Australia seems to have certain focal points to which I keep returning; Scitech Discovery Centre, the FTI and lately the Innovation Centre. I entered my Rainbow Dragons project in the WA Inventor of the Year competition run through the Innovation centre. I didn't get into the finals but I did get the opportunity to do a business course aimed at me make the most of my innovation, which I certainly hope to do. Here are the rainbow dragons pictured below, Rhomby Tina and Goo. Young kids will be entertained as well as developing strong mental maths foundations while playing with Rainbow Dragons interactive stories, toys and computer games or at least they will be able to when I get the funding to make the project. My daughter Kira (the second of four children) said "Oh Mum I SO want you to be able to put the Rainbow Dragons on the computer." I SO agree with her.
I am working on the Rainbow Dragons pilot script which I started through an animation writing course done through Skype with writer and teacher Jymn Magon in California, which was incidentally at the Innovation centre but was in fact organised by WAnimate in association with ScreenWest and AWG. WAnimate is the West Australian Animation Association of which I am a co-founder and secretary.

So there is my first blog by way of introduction to me and what this blog might be all about. I will be back shortly to post video after I have entered the world of video sharing sites!?