We accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge!

Yesterday was a big day: we got tapped by Getfused, Inc. for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Their video is to the right here. The rules:

1. Grab your camera.
2. Fill up a bucket of ice water.
3. Tell everyone about the challenge.
4. Challenge a few friends to "take the plunge" — if they opt out, they donate $100.
5. Then, dry off, and post the video to social media with a link to donate.

Of course, we accepted! How could we not? So this morning we came in with towels, changes of clothing, slipped our shoes off in front of the Boston Children's Museum. We're stoked to get soaked! Along with our video, FableVisionaries will be donating to The ALS Association. We're proud to give to an organization that's raising awareness around an important issue.

We pass the challenge to Zach Marks at Grom Social, Jumpstart, and Citizen Schools. You have 24 hours — GO!

FableFriday: Cecilia Lenk, Creative Strategist

It’s summer in Cecilia Lenk’s garden.

“I am a long-time organic gardener. I have a huge vegetable garden and lots of flowers everywhere,” she says.

When she’s not gardening, she’s playing games, walking their family dog, or attending a community meeting as a Town Councilor. Cecilia works as a creative strategist at FableVision – that means she writes almost all of the project proposals. It’s likely if you’ve received a proposal from us, you’ve either directly or indirectly met Cecilia.

As a creative strategist, Cecilia gets to see a project go from proposal to concept to completion, and every step in between.

“I like people and I enjoy working out with them to figure out how to bring their vision to reality,” Cecilia says. “I always feel good about the proposals [we send out]. We do our best to think through all aspects of the project, from creative to budget and schedule. And our clients agree. We have great projects and great work.”

You hold degrees in geography, environmental engineering, and biology. Considering these interests, how did you first get involved in designing and developing digital media?

Even as I was finishing my Ph.D. in biology, I knew I wanted to have a career that involved computing and the emerging Internet. And I was even luckier to get a job at TERC in Cambridge heading an educational technology project linking classrooms around the world to share data from science experiments. We had to go through incredible hurdles to do something that would be so easy now, but it was an amazing experience and started me designing and developing digital media for both education and business. I joined Tom Snyder Productions, where I first worked with Peter Reynolds, then started my own company, and eventually joined the corporate world as Vice President of Technology and Digital Design at Decision Resources.

Can you share any career highlights?

I’ve had a truly great career. Highlights –

• Working with some of the pioneers of educational technology – Bob Tinker at TERC and Tom Synder, Rick Abrams, and David Dockterman at Tom Synder Productions; and of course Peter and Paul Reynolds
• Starting my own company
• Working with clients around the world at Decision Resources
• Joining FableVision
• Being elected a Town Councilor in Watertown

What’s the process for writing a proposal?

​First, writing a proposal is truly a team effort. Usually a client provides a written request for a proposal (RFP) and we follow up with email and phone calls to better understand the goals of the project and the client’s vision. For example, National Geographic Society and Michigan State University had a fascinating lab-based curriculum, Carbon TIME, which they wanted to supplement with a video series.

After we get an RFP, I first talk with my incredible team of Andrea Calvin and Sarah Ditkoff to figure out will be needed for the proposal and the schedule for putting it together. Leigh Hallisey, our Creative Director, and I work closely on the creative approach.

For the Carbon TIME videos we needed to think through how to creatively embed science content ranging from combustion to digestion and photosynthesis. Can we weave in a story? Characters? Humor? What will appeal to both teens and teachers? How will we use live action and/or animation? The creative brainstorming can get a little wild with lots of drawing on the white board, coffee, and laughing. Leigh and I will often come to work with some new ideas we want to bounce off each other.

Then what?

We then take our solid ideas to Karen Bresnahan, FableVision’s Executive Producer, who brings her incredible experience and helps us tweak the concepts and puts together the right production team, budget, and schedule. We’ll also bring in some of our artists to help create sketches that envision what the video (or game or app) might look like.

Then it is time to actually write the proposal. Andrea, Sarah, and I not only work well together, but we really work well together under pressure – which is all of the time. Once we have conceptualized, budgeted, scheduled, illustrated, written, designed, proofed, tweaked, nuanced, and polished – off goes the proposal. And we cross our fingers! 

And then?

And then the actual project begins. For Carbon TIME, it was very hands-on. The Studio became a science lab. Everyone here loves science so the team went all in. We grew lettuce and mold, and fed mealworms. We then redid the labs in front of the cameras. With the help of the developers from Michigan State and the National Geographic team, we filmed the experiments. The Carbon TIME videos are now being tested in actual classrooms and will be available on the National Geographic website in 2015.

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More about Cecilia:

What is the hardest part of your job at FableVision?

Days when the words and sentences just won’t come, and a client proposal is due are the worst.

We’ve heard rumors that you have a pretty creative family – your husband is a musician and one of your daughters recently released a game – what else do they do?

I have an amazing family. My husband is a paleontologist and a musician. He and his band just returned from a short tour with Bonnie Raitt. We have traveled all over the world together. Sometimes I join him on his fieldwork — in the Grand Canyon, northern Scotland, Australia, France, or wherever. I’m really quite good at measuring geologic sections. And, on our trips we always manage to spend time eating fabulous food (I will eat absolutely anything), tracking down Paul Klee paintings, and hanging out with friends.

We are both immensely proud of our children. Our older daughter and our new son-in-law graduated from Tulane and are now working in Boston — she’s an accountant, he is a computer scientist. Working nights and weekends, they and three friends just released their first mobile game, Farmageddon, and are working on another game. Can I give a shout out to NerdPile Games? Our younger daughter is at UMass Amherst — double majoring in microbiology and history. She has her EMT certification and is also the most incredible baker. Her scones are the best ever.    

And you’re also a Town Councilor in Watertown, MA. What does that consist of?

I’m in my third term on the Council, which is the legislative part of the government of Watertown. We debate and pass ordinances, vote on the town and school budgets, and establish the policies that the Town Administration puts into place. I head the Public Works Committee of the Council which works on everything from street and sidewalk repair, water and sewer maintenance, walking and bike paths, parks, to energy conservation, storm water issues, and trash and recycling. I am also on the Budget and Fiscal Oversight and the Personnel Committees. As a Councilor, I’ve been very involved in expanding the Town’s use of technology, improving our park and recreation facilities, including new dog parks and a Riverfront trail, implementing new trash and recycling policies, and helping the town and residents create both an Economic Development and a Comprehensive Plan for Watertown.

Any summer vacation plans?

Italy!!! (Editorial note: please take us with you.)

Keep Cool with these FableVision-Developed Museum Exhibits

As we head deeper into the sweltering New England summer sometimes an ice cream cone just isn't enough to cool off. Whether your vacation includes travel or staying local, you can find all different kinds of museums to visit and cool off in. Here are a few FableVision-created museum exhibits to check out if you're in the area!

"Think Tank" Fisheries Exhibit

Museum: Maritime Gloucester
Location: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Website: Maritime Gloucester

Make a splash with Maritime Gloucester’s newest exhibit in collaboration with FableVision. Played on a touch table, the Think Tank allows up to six people at a time to take the helm and command different aspects of the fishing industry, like controlling the fishing fleets or consumer demand. With each change, the fish population on the table responds accordingly, teaching players about the complexities of sustainable fishing. With the Think Tank, learning about fishing can be hands-on and fun without all the mess of real fishing.

New England Aquarium Fish Identification App

Museum: New England Aquarium
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Hours: Sun. – Thurs., 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Fri. – Sat., 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Website: New England Aquarium

After a 10-month renovation, the New England Aquarium unveiled its refurbished Giant Ocean Tank, the renovation’s capstone. With the installation of an interactive and educational iPad app designed by FableVision, this classic Boston attraction offered something other aquariums haven't imagined. The aquarium mounted six iPads around the Giant Ocean Tank to encourage aquarium goers to identify the sea life in the central exhibit. The user-friendly Fish ID app allows visitors to sort through marine life by color, size, pattern, and other characteristics until they find the same fish that they see in the tank. Selecting a fish reveals a larger drawing of the animal, facts, and a map highlighting its natural habitat.

H-E-B Body Adventure

Museum: The Witte Museum
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Hours: Sun. – Thurs., 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Fri. – Sat., 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Website: Witte Museum 
Learn all about your healthy habits at the brand new H-E-B Body Exhibit. Starting at the FableVision-developed All About You stop, visitors choose an avatar or take a picture, then answer some basic health questions: diet, exercise, habits, and more. At the second FableVision-developed station, Build a Balanced Meal, players must create a balanced meal to fuel their virtual journey along San Antonio's historic River Walk to the Witte Museum. During the game, players learn that if a plate is unbalanced they might not make it to the museum. At the end of the day, visitors can print out all of their exhibit results from their own personal PowerPASS.

Discovery Zone

Museum: Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS)
Location: Denver, Colorado
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Website: DMNS
 FableVision created a few sets of animation to enhance DMNS's exhibits. First, we created different kinds of illustrated animals and dinosaurs that accurately portray their movements. After watching the animations, visitors then have to identify the footprints and see how they line up with the physical movements of the animals. Visitors can then go on to explore the hands-on excavation site and or climb life-size dinosaurs.

Most recently, FableVision created a short animation displayed right outside the new hands-on Discovery Zone. Drawing inspiration from the logo, we created a cute and colorful cartoon that shows everything you might find in the Discovery Zone: flying pterodactyls, leaping water, new friends, and more!

Snappz

Museum: Vancouver Aquarium
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Website: Vancouver Aquarium
FableVision Studios partnered with The Vancouver Aquarium and Sparkbridge Interactive to create Snappz. Using a smartphone, Snappz allows participants to explore their surroundings, locate Snappz Tagz (QR codes placed at various exhibits), and earn virtual coins to unlock fun interactive challenges that enhance the visiting experience. The app can be populated by challenges created by the staff to highlight specific animals, exhibits, and attractions. Once the game is completed, the player can use Snappz to access special online content, such as blogs, videos, exhibit cams, and more. 

Want to add some spice to your informal learning space? FableVision can help!

Hey hey hey: We love UMIGO!

Ninety eight percent of the world’s population has been or is currently afflicted by earworm. Don’t worry, it’s not as weird and scary as it sounds! Earworm also goes by the name of musical imagery repetition, stuck song syndrome, and involuntary musical imagery. Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for days on end, driving yourself (and whomever is around you) crazy with constant and repetitive singing of that one part of the chorus you remember? That’s earworm. Now imagine if it wasn’t some pop tune currently topping the iTunes charts, but was instead a song that taught you the difference between height and length or what numbers add up to 10. That has been my life with UMIGO, because I’ve got earworm and I’ve got it bad.

An educational program that features a wacky cast of characters and insanely catchy music videos, UMIGO partnered with FableVision to revamp their website. With content created exclusively for UMIGO.com, this DHX Media-based website is a place for kids to learn, explore, and play. Told in a series of narrative-driven “appisodes,” early elementary-school-aged students interact with the UMIGO crew -- Bit, Dizzy, and Bean -- through math games, music videos, and of course, animation.

In one appisode entitled “Nobody Rides the Soakster,” the user meets the characters in a quick intro animation and “ride the soakster” to the next adventure.

When the ride stops, kids can click on icons to replay the story, jump into the game, watch the music video, or move to the next appisode. Aligned to Common Core State Standards, the UMIGO site is filled with games and interactive content to encourage children to get excited about areas such as addition and measurements. FableVision also created a section of the website dedicated specifically to grown ups. This area allows parents and educators to learn more about the site, the company, and the pedagogy, and encourage both online and off-line iterations of the content.

Featuring beautifully rendered animations and UMIGO’s trademark humor, FableVision has created a website that lives and breathes edutainment. From their interactive games to their wacky music videos, FableVision and DHX Media have collaborated to make a truly fun and engaging experience. That is, as long as you don’t mind earworm.

FableFriday: Bill Gonzalez, Producer

Okay, it’s time to meet one of the minds behind much of FableVision’s creative madness on our project management team: Bill Gonzalez, mustache-io extraordinaire.

Here’s the thing about producers: they have to understand what each member on their team does, and work to those strengths. Bill is no exception.

“Being a producer allows me to learn something new everyday,” he said. “I truly enjoy understanding the nuances of the jobs of our writers, artists and developers and that helps me manage projects in the long run.”

We chatted with Bill about his unique path to FableVision, how he manages so many different projects, and his hobbies outside the Studio.

Let’s talk briefly about the pink elephant in the room: you have a ’stache. It’s great. Anything you want to say about it? Have you ever not had a mustache?

1. I’ve had a mustache since age five.
2. There is one known image of me on the internet without a mustache that I am still trying to have eliminated.
3. Do not be deceived by theBillGonzalez® imposters!
4. Mustaches sense danger.
5. My wife will divorce me if I cut it off.

You are our first producer featured in the monthly FableFridays, so you get the big question: What does a producer actually do?

A producer manages all the people who do the actual work (writers, artists, developers, etc.) and then we take ALL the credit for a project’s success! (There are no failures at FableVision but of course if there were it would not be the producer’s fault. Wink, wink.) Actually, producers serve as the main point of contact for the client, we create and manage the schedule based on the budget and scope, we gather the teams to brainstorm ideas and solve problems.

It seems like you are managing a ton of projects at one time, how do you keep them all straight?

I’m old school for the most part when it comes to keeping track of things. I have a notebook made of paper that I use to write “to do lists.” I constantly write things down and check them off when they are done (very satisfying tactile event). For my techie side, I use our various management tools like FastTrack (for project scheduling) and Basecamp (for project communication with both the client and the FableVision team). And I could not manage all these projects without the great support from our Associate Producer, Katie Tusch.

But the main thing is that I use a vast array of skills that I have gained over the years in a variety of jobs (actor, videographer, editor, director, producer) that all come to bear on the work I do at FableVision. I’ve morphed from one to the other and I may yet still have one more to come.

You’ve had a strange FableVision journey. When did you first start, leave, and then return? Tell us a bit about this journey.

It was after my second downsizing from a major technology provider that I first connected with FableVision. I love math and card games and was able to score a job dealing blackjack at Foxwoods Casino – admittedly something that I would never have tried but had contemplated doing. At about the same time I landed a freelance project manager gig for Maryland Public Television. I worked at Foxwoods at night and freelanced during the day. It was also at this time that I was completing my PMI certification. This was all very nice but I still needed a fulltime job so I sent an email to FableVision’s executive producer, Karen Bresnahan, after I saw an ad on Craigslist for a producer. Back then, FableVision was located in Watertown in a very cool environment like I was used to at Foxwoods.

After that, I spent a few years working at a company that created strategies, new architecture and design and an integrated CMS for higher education institutions. That company, although Big and Bad, eventually went out of business, but fortunately I had discovered that FableVision had moved to the Boston Children’s Museum. I called Karen and she was kind enough to welcome me back.

What are some of the daily challenges?

My biggest challenge is making sure I spend enough time with all the team members to keep them on track and energized. I’m thinking of installing a numbering system at my desk to manage the line that forms there.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on at FableVision? Why?

I really love all the projects that I work on for different reasons but it’s not the actual project that I end up falling in love with, it’s the process. I think most recently one of the most amazing sessions was when one of our senior developers, Matt Bargar, and I brainstormed a solution for an app we’re building for Smithsonian. I was pumped for a week!

You worked for MTV in the 1989-1990, right? Tell us about this time. What did you do? Any crazy stories?

The job was an outgrowth from a stand-up comedy program I was producing in Boston with a college buddy, comedian Mike McDonald. On that program, I met a lot of really great comics that have gone on to do really big things in the world. Mike and I were hired to create interstitial material for the MTV Half Hour Comedy Hour. One of our pieces had a fictitious “800” number – or so we thought. The first time it ran people were actually dialing 1-800-DEAD-PETS. It turned out that was the number for a car dealership in New Jersey and they were not amused. We shot video in a lot of crazy places but the craziest part was being in an edit suite for 10 straight hours with stacks and stacks of videotape. Today the same work could be done in 20 minutes with current technologies.

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More about Bill:

You’re our resident brewer. So, tell us what’s your favorite type of beer to brew? Anything new this year?

Brewing beer is both exhilarating and a giant time suck. It’s very satisfying to sip on a bottle or hand out to friends as gifts. The newest brew is an organic ESB. But my favorite style is IPA. Feel free to bring a case by the Studio any Friday at 4:30 p.m.

We know you’re a big Red Sox fan, what are your Boston sports predictions for this year?

In 2013, I had resigned myself to a last place finish for the Red Sox and you know how that turned out. I’ve never been one to predict sports and, to paraphrase Woody Allen, sports are the perfect drama. You don’t know how it’s going to end so I prefer to just let the experience wash over me.

And you garden too? Any tips for folks who might not have embraced their green thumb yet?

There are very few things more satisfying than harvesting your own organic vegetables. You know where it’s been and it will be some of the tastiest food you ever ate. There are no green thumbs, just hard work.