Enter the "Think Tank" at Maritime Gloucester

Make a splash with Maritime Gloucester’s newest exhibit developed in collaboration with FableVision! The goal: create an interactive exhibit that teaches the complexity of the fishing industry in an engaging and intuitive way.

Played on a touch table, the "Think Tank" Fisheries Exhibit allows up to six people at a time to take the helm and command different aspects of the fishing industry. The game is designed to welcome all to the table to have a conversation about the challenges one faces when managing fisheries. Players will seek to influence the size of a fishery population based on a variety of factors including the control of fishing fleets, consumer demand, public policy, and even the temperature of the water.

Just as in reality, the table responds to changes in activity and behavior. Overfishing may tip the delicate balance of the food chain and cause deficits in production, lowering fishing populations. 

This exhibit aims to introduce the idea of the complexity of sustainable fishing, and to inform about the many factors and variables that influence fish populations. The variety of roles in the game ensures that visitors will stay engaged and interested as they explore all aspects of this multifaceted and intricate industry.

Without a winning or losing state, the Fisheries Exhibit allows for continuous play, regardless of the number of players, in order to accommodate the comings and goings of museum visitors. More details about the exhibit can be found on Maritime Gloucester's website.

FableFriday: Hannah O'Neal, Artist/Animator

Hannah O’Neal keeps things moving. For real, she’s an animator at FableVision Studios and a big part of her job is bringing still images to life. This farm girl’s journey to FableVision started in college as an intern. But we'll let her share that story! For June’s FableFriday, we talked to Hannah about her love for nature, childhood on a farm, and SCIENCE!

There’s a kind of lore surrounding you at FableVision: you’re one of the only interns-turned-full-time-FableVisionary. Can you tell us how that came to be?

While working for an animation degree at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), my good friend Heather interned at this place called FableVision in Boston. She said, “You’d probably love it.” So I applied but didn’t make it. That year I learned a lot more Flash and applied again in 2009, and got it! I stayed in my boyfriend's aunt’s basement in Waltham, so I came in full-time and made myself a valuable member of the team. I LOVED IT! I was so sad when I walked over the bridge that last day of my internship going home. I tried my best to come back and decided to stay in Boston. I got freelance at Soup2Nuts for a few months and then FableVision said they wanted to hire me. I was quietly freaking out at my desk at Soup2Nuts. I’ve been at FableVision ever since.

You grew up on a farm, right? How does that upbringing influence your work and passion surrounding FableVision?
Living on a farm has helped me in a lot of ways. But I think mostly it’s tremendous for one’s imagination. Life on a farm is deeply enriched by the amount of experiences and interactions you have handling and managing an assortment of animals on a huge chunk of land that is itself diverse. The large assortment of animals helps especially because animals are a common subject matter so I have a fundamental understanding of how they move and interact. I view animation as a medium for capturing life and showcasing it in a way that you can’t really with other art forms.
 

What’s a typical week like for you at FableVision? 
Animation at FableVision tends to be pretty straightforward. If there’s an animation need it usually takes a full day or several days to complete, so I’m not often jumping around on projects like other artists might. I would typically work with a lead artist’s direction and keyframes/designs to bring those to life as quickly and as entertainingly as possible.
 

What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on here?
It’s a tie between New York Hall of Science: Evolution-Health Connection and the Dinosaur Train Field Guide. Evolution-Health was just plain fun animation. Evolution is one of my most beloved subject matters so I always get pretty jazzed when I’m able to help educate people about it. For Dinosaur Train there wasn’t any animation for the field guide, but I really loved it because I was personally learning so much about dinosaurs.

Who is your creative inspiration?
Lots of people! Milt Kahl and Chuck Jones are some of my classic animation inspirations. I often find illustrators that are just as amazing and inspiring: Emily Carroll, Maris Wicks, Sam Bosma, Lorena Alvarez. I also get a lot of inspiration from nature. Science is also a big inspiration and there are people in different scientific fields that are inspiring like, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Carl Sagan, E.O. Wilson, Jane Goodall, as well as many others!

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More about Hannah:

Coolest scientific thing you’ve learned this year?
I’ve loved learning about the human "microbiome." Particularly the part of our microbiome that exists in our guts and how that’s being shown to be more and more important to our lives and well-being. Ya gotta love those little critters!

It’s your birthday month! Happy birthday! What are your birthday plans?
Camping! Camping is one of my, if not the most, favorite things to do!

Favorite place to camp:
Sawyer Pond in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

Least favorite place to camp:
I suppose something that was the complete opposite of all the things I love about camping... a parking lot.

Take a look, it’s in a book… and soon it will be online!

I had a pretty sheltered childhood. We didn’t have cable growing up. My mom was more of a “go play outside” kind of mom. Our TV time was limited, and when we got our first computer, screen time was carefully monitored, too. An hour total in front of a screen: that included TV time.

When it came to entertainment, the real escape was in books. Reading Rainbow was especially awesome because it combined the two things I loved the most: my precious 30 minutes of television and reading. That show got me excited about reading, exposing me to so many different things in the world I’d never seen before, like big cities or fantastical settings or kids my age from across the globe. Reading Rainbow gave me a hunger – and that’s what every form of media strives for – a connection to their audience.

In case you missed the recent collective social media freakout, LeVar Burton and the Reading Rainbow crew are back after the show’s cancellation in 2009. Some could argue Reading Rainbow never really left, considering the success of their app since it debuted two years ago.

On May 28, Burton and the Reading Rainbow team launched a Kickstarter campaign with a $1 million goal to develop a web version of Reading Rainbow, to build out a classroom version, and – here’s the fun part – to offer it for free to schools in need. This Kickstarter won’t bring the Reading Rainbow we grew up with back to the airwaves. In the face of the widespread movement toward internet streaming, the Reading Rainbow crew hopes to take the program in a new direction. Reading Rainbow’s new agenda will take the highly successful app and transform it for the web, where they hope to reach an even greater audience. Burton reported to Verge that 97 percent of children have access to the Internet, while only 33 percent have access to a tablet.

“Our goal is to cultivate a love of reading in all children, not just those that have tablets,” according to the Kickstarter page. “To reach kids everywhere, we need to be everywhere: we need to be on the web.”

From what we’ve read, the fully funded program will also provide teaching tools, “including teacher guides, leveling, and dashboards.”

If the excitement around the Studio was a reflection of the Internet buzz, it is no surprise that the Kickstarter reached its goal in under 24 hours. Today, it’s at $3.2 million raised, and steadily climbing. With such overwhelming support, Reading Rainbow has set a new goal of $5 million which will include: increasing their presence to game consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, etc.), mobile phones, and set-top boxes like AppleTV and ROKU, as well as providing the services free to 6,000 additional classrooms.

We’re eager to see what ultimately comes of this. But for now… take a look, it’s in a book, it’s Reading Rainbow.

Do you have a Reading Rainbow memory? Share it in the comment section below. 

Meet the Summer Interns

Summer is here at last! As we break out our sandals and sunblock, we also welcome new marketing and operations interns to FableVision Studios. We grilled them (love a good pun) on the important stuff: namely their work experience, their passions… and cereal preferences.

From the self-proclaimed “people-watcher” to the proud trombonist, our new interns are well-versed in marketing, journalism, educational media, and all things Netflix.

Read on and check back in a few weeks when we introduce our summer art interns.

Emma Doherty
Operations Intern
Junior at Emerson College, studying television production and marketing
Follow her on Twitter

Emma says:

I've been involved with shows on Emerson Channel and Emerson Independent Video. I've been a producer for a few shows since I started at the school this year, and I've had in-studio positions. I'm also an editor, writer, and member of the marketing team for our online entertainment magazine. When I’m not in class, I may actually spend more time in New York City than in Boston. I’ve been in the audience of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show − just to name a few − and have interviewed a producer of 30 Rock.

FableVision asks:

What is your favorite television show of all time?

Oh no… That is awful. I can't answer this, there's far too many! However, if I had to pick my top three favorite shows they would have to be Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, and The Office.  

If you could have dinner with one actor/actress, who would it be and why?

Amy Poehler! No doubt there. I adore Amy and everything she's done from SNL to Parks and Rec to her work with Smart Girls. She is so incredibly brilliant and kind. I feel like it would be so easy to talk to her.

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Griffin Quasebarth
Marketing Intern
Senior at Tufts University, studying child development and communications and media 

Griffin says:

I'm hoping to eventually make educational programming for children. I am heavily involved in the Child Development Department's research on animated television and movies and their depictions of characters, specifically the messages that are being sent to children about gender, race, and body image. While overt stereotypes are not as prevalent as they once were, there is a severe dearth of diverse representations currently on television (meaning that there are mainly white, male characters). This may have several consequences, one of which is lower self-esteem among racial minorities watching, as they begin to view their race as unimportant and not fit to be the hero of a story. I could go on about this subject for dozens of pages but I will spare you the lecture.

FableVision asks:

What's your favorite cereal?

The adult in me says Cheerios, the kid in me says, ‘Fine, but put sugar on it.’ I’ll settle for Fruit Loops.

You're really into children's media, what's your favorite cartoon and why?

Right now, it’s either Avatar: The Last Airbender or Phineas & Ferb. Avatar is great because of its consistently high quality plots and characters and rich history and lore. Phineas & Ferb is just whacky and is one of the only shows that I think stays funny no matter how old you are.

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Amy Wetzel
Marketing Intern
Junior at Eastern Nazarene College, studying journalism and writing
Follow her on Twitter

Amy says:

After a year in college with an undecided major, I decided to major in journalism/writing, though mostly for the writing part. Next year, I'll be the editor-in-chief of our school newspaper, Veritas News. When you write a piece, make sure you are proud of it and can stick by it. Sometimes journalists have to write tough articles that upset more people than it pleases them, but it’s news that's gotta get out there. I always try to make sure my research and writing is accurate and thorough to avoid any further controversy that an article may stir up.

FableVision asks:

What’s your favorite type of article to write?

Definitely profiles. I love sitting down with a person and hearing their story. If you are able to sit quietly and listen, it's amazing what you can learn from someone.

There are music notes on your FableVision nametag, is music a big part of your life? Who is your favorite musician/ band?

Along with writing, music has also been a huge part of my life since about fourth grade. I play trombone in my college's jazz band and sing in the A Cappella choir (yes, a proud music nerd). As for listening music, I love British artists: Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard.

Our Everyday Carry-ish

Since high school, chapstick has been part of my "Everyday Carry"; but at that time the EDC concept didn’t exist. Everyday Carry is kind of self explanatory, it’s a collection of items a someone carries on their person everyday – pockets or purses. Apparently the phenomenon of taking a photo of these items and sharing them on blogs and on Reddit is a thing – or so says my husband, who routinely sends me a “wish list” of items he’s found on the EDC subreddit.

This got me thinking: FableVision Studios is a team of artists, developers, animators, producers, and creative (crazy) minds, which must mean folks carry strange things everyday, right? During lunch this week we've had the team empty their pockets for the first FableVision Everday Carry-ish.

For each of us, this unloading of personal items is a small window into our lives. Some of us laid out our goods in a neat, orderly fashion. For others, it was more of a sprawl. Take a look in your own knapsack: what do your Everyday Carry items say about you? Leave a comment and tell us!