Comment

Meet FableVision's 2015 Extra Life team!

Gamers, start your consoles! Team FableVision is gearing up our fundraising efforts for the Children’s Miracle Network through Extra Life. What’s Extra Life? It’s a 24 hour game-a-thon fundraiser for any Children’s Miracle Network Hospital of your choice, and Boston Children’s Hospital, we choose you!

Folks can sponsor a member of our team starting at $1 per hour (a total of $24), or support FableVision as a whole by visiting our team page here. Every member of our team has been training for this since we were kids; from Super Mario to Tag, from Dungeons and Dragons to Scrabble, we are truly an Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A-Team! Introducing Team FableVision!

Name: Gary Goldberger
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I remember after school on winter days a group of six to seven kids would come over and bounce between playing epic games of M.U.L.E. on the Commodore 64 and Risk (board game) at the same time. 
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? One of the most exciting parts of the Extra Life event is that you never know what new game you will learn. 
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Boston Children's Hospital was there when my child was in need of an emergency operation that saved his life. I am hoping that this support will allow them to help others in the same way they helped me and my family. 
Fun fact about yourself: I am a collector of hobbies...lately it's been bee keeping and origami.

Name: Matt Brelsford
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: Playing Dungeons and Dragons with my older sister and her friend from up the road. It's really the perfect game for a kid; it's all about imagination, creativity, cooperation, and there are no limits to what you can do.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Any of the social games, like Resistance or Two Rooms and a Boom.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Get to do something I love with people I love, all for a good cause. Doesn't get better than that!
Fun fact about yourself: I wrote a computer program that, given enough time and space, would eventually generate every possible picture. Most of them would just be noise, but there would be pictures of you riding on a dragon through every city in the world, past or present.

Name: Adam Landry
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: Not necessarily my favorite, but I very distinctly remember playing Decathlon on the Atari 2600 for hours on end - trying to wiggle that darn black joystick with the red button back and forth faster than any of my friends. Everyone had a different take on how to do it. Of course, finding the little "glitches" were always a treat. I think at one point I pole vaulted a couple hundred feet in the air.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? I love the mix of board games, card games, video games and the occasional wheelbarrow race.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? It is such a great way to raise money for a wonderful cause. And, by participating with my children, they are learning all the fun ways to do good in the world.
Fun fact about yourself: Mr. Troy, my 6th grade teacher, required that we be able to recite 150 prepositions in under a minute. I can still do it. Give or take a couple seconds.

Name: Sonnye Lim
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I used to play Super Mario World and Raiden on the SNES with my dad.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Any game that involves competition and teamwork. I'd love to play Mario Kart!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? This will be my first time participating. It just sounds like a lot of fun and It'll be for a good cause.
Fun fact about yourself: I have a pet albino crayfish.

Name: Michael Fogarasi
Favorite Game Memory: Growing up, one of the houses I lived in had a great rec room in the basement. We were able to black out the windows and make it completely dark. Then we would have one person guard the light switch at one end of the room. Everyone else, armed with pillows, would have to fight their way across the room to see who could switch the light on first. It was a little dangerous, but I'm pretty sure it's the most fun I ever had.
What am I looking forward to playing: New games! I love finding a new game that I really enjoy.
Why am I participating: It's a great way to raise money for a very important cause that I am passionate about!
Fun Fact About Myself: I finally won the kick the shoe contest at our local fair this summer after coming in second for almost five years in a row.

Name: Sarah Ditkoff
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I played flashlight tag with my whole neighborhood. I had two favorite hiding places: behind my house in the wild blueberry bushes, or in my mom's vegetable patch.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Two Rooms and a Boom
Why are you participating in Extra Life? It's the right thing to do. Boston Children's Hospital does incredible work and whatever I can do to help that along is worth it -- especially when it's this fun!
Fun fact about yourself: I'm in the process of learning calligraphy.

Name: Hannah O'Neal
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: I've always loved playing video games. As a kid, I would play with my siblings so it was super fun. We would use our Sega Genesis to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Earthworm Jim. I LOVE those games!
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? I pretty much love any game where you get to work collaboratively with other players.
Why are you participating in Extra Life? I get to do something I love with people whom I love, and help raise money for sick children in the Boston area and beyond.
Fun fact about yourself: I can make a whistle out of an acorn top.

Name: Isabella Boettcher
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: My family is extremely passionate about Scrabble. At least once a week after dinner, we would clear the table to make room for our limited edition Scrabble board. It got very competitive.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? All the games! I'm not sure which one's we have...
Why are you participating in Extra Life? I love Boston, and therefore I love Boston Children's Hospital. To be able to help them out in any way is an opportunity I wasn't about to pass up!
Fun fact about yourself: I have over twenty different allergies.

Name: Karina Kolb
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: Playing Dominos and Old Maid with my grandparents, huge game nights with my family and neighbors, and playing Zoombinis on the family computer.
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? I’m not sure what games are on the table (figuratively and literally), but I’m bring my 20-sided dice ;)
Why are you participating in Extra Life? Many people in my life have been touched by cancer. The Children's Miracle Network truly helps kids and their families, deciding to participate was not a hard decision.
Fun fact about yourself: My favorite animal is the majestic Gopher Tortoise

Name: Brian Grossman
Favorite game memory from when you were a kid: The Atari 2600. I spent way too much time with the Atari 2600. Hmmm… in retrospect… maybe I should be a little more understanding when I find my 13-year-old son playing video games into the wee hours of the morning...
What are you looking forward to playing this year at Extra Life? Hanging out with all my friends from work spending an entire day doing nothing but fun stuff!
Why are you participating in Extra Life? To raise money for Boston Children’s Hospital, of course! … and maybe to have some fun, too...
Fun fact about yourself: I am clinically addicted to sugar.

Comment

Comment

October FableFriday: Bob Flynn, Director of Art & Animation

Bob Flynn is obsessed with creating. That obsession landed him at FableVision Studios, where he’s been our Director of Art & Animation for the past decade. Bob guides character and background design, storyboarding, and the look and feel for all our projects.

“I’m genuinely obsessed with this stuff—writing and creating. I start feeling weird if I idle for too long,” Bob says.  

Bob’s passion for writing and creating is translated in his signature style, which is present both in and out of FableVision. In his spare time, Bob flexes his talents on notable freelance projects such as SpongeBob Comics, Bravest Warriors, and Heeby Jeeby Comix, to name a few.

This month, Bob shares how he came to land at FableVision—it all started with a serendipitous run in with a lunch box—his character-creation process, inner science nerd, and how innovation and story make him tick.

What is your journey to FableVision story?
I was still living in St. Louis (2004), working at my first design job at a small studio called Schwartz & Associates Creative, when I noticed a red lunch box high on a shelf. I picked it up, read the name ‘FableVision’ in an orange star burst, opened it, and there were all these trading cards of various team members. My wife Loren [Lee-Flynn, FableVision UX/UI Designer) and I had already been talking about future plans beyond St. Louis. I’m originally from Maine, she’s from New York, so Boston seemed like the ideal middle-ground city to venture off to.

Within weeks of settling in to our new apartment, I called FableVision, after sending an email, to make sure they received it. I went about my morning. And then an hour later they called me back and asked if I could drop by the studio that afternoon—good sign! I showed up with my work at the then Watertown office at 44 Pleasant Street. As I opened the office door outside, I remember distinctly saying to myself—audibly—“Don’t blow this…”

I was later fortunate that the studio was looking to hire a new staff artist. So began my decade-plus career at FableVision.

What has been your favorite project here at FableVision and why?
So many! I’ll go with the brain-in-my-gut and say Lure of the Labyrinth, which we developed with Maryland Public Television and the MIT Education Arcade. That was back in my early days with the studio, and we had an incredible collaborative rhythm going on that game—development and art working seamlessly together. I got to draw a lot of monsters and comics. Labyrinth was also the reason we brought on Keith Zulawnik, FableVision’s Lead Artist (and my partner in monster-making). It was a pretty key project in establishing the Studio’s growth into gaming.

A very close collective second would have to be all the projects (including Evolution-Health Connection) we’ve worked on with Marjorie Prager at Jeff Kennedy Associates for various museums (Denver Museum of Nature & Science, New York Hall of Science), because they all perfectly combine my love of science with animation. And we got to make them all cartoony, weird, and funny.

A close third would be the animations I designed and directed for The Powder & the Glory documentary that aired on American Experience on PBS. Standout projects always come back to the team. Working with filmmakers Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman was a delight. I was still a kid, and I learned a lot about what would become my animation process on that project.

You take a particular interest in the projects related to science. Why are you drawn to these in particular?
Science has long been a deep interest, just short of what I’d call a true passion…or I’d be a scientist right now. I initially planned to double major in physics and art (at Washington University), but the math started getting pretty abstract and I quickly found myself much more at home in the art classes. People often get intimidated by equations, terminology, and complicated theories. You only need to know all that stuff if you’re in a particular field. Any idea can be explained and understood, and what better a medium to do that in than an animated cartoon?

We’re doing that right now collaborating with the Smithsonian Science Education Center on our Good Thinking! The Science of Teaching Science animated series for science educators. It’s just the right blend of humor, storytelling, and zeroes in on really specific content—addressing the kinds of misconceptions folks have.

What draws you to FableVision’s mission?
I really connect on story and people. Inspiring folks to learn, laugh, smile, create. Kids especially. Kids rule.

What is the process of creating a character at FableVision like?
It differs from project to project, but usually it starts with me drawing a mess of them on sheets of paper until I find the right character for the role. We like to send our clients a bunch of options, so it doesn’t hurt that I like coming up with tons of characters.

How do you balance your work at FableVision with the other projects you take on (such as the SpongeBob comics, other freelance projects, and of course, your website work)?
The company has always afforded us a stable studio culture that is passion-friendly and family-friendly. Because of how teams are structured and projects are scheduled, I’m able to accomplish what I need to do for FableVision during the day. I put in the bulk of the time required to complete the extra work I take on during nights and weekends. I do sleep! Sleep is the one thing I never let slide because that’s how you get into a mess. I really think this is my natural state. I mixed comics into my homework when I was a kid and in college, too.

What is your preferred software to use when working?
Manga Studio for inking/drawing. It’s great! I do all of my coloring in Photoshop. I’m long done with Flash. Toon Boom creates much better software for animation and storyboarding, so that’s what I prefer to use when I can.

You began as an illustrator and have evolved into an animator. What has been your greatest challenge with this? Any old illustration habits that are hard to break as an animator?
My background in illustration makes me a better animator, I think. Or, I come at animation with a focus on composition, color, form—considering the staging and the framing of every shot. The look of it. I have no formal training in animation besides decades of watching cartoons and learning from peers and books. But I’d say that counts toward something. Besides…Didi Hatcher (Lead Animator), Hannah O’Neal (Artist and Animator), and Sonnye Lim (Artist and Animator) deserve the real animation credit at FableVision.

Bob Flynn and Dan Moynihan show off Heeby Jeeby Comix at MICE.

You began Heeby Jeeby Comix after Nick Mag ended in 2009. What advice do you have for people wanting to begin an independent venture such as that, especially when working with collaborators as you did?
Heeby Jeeby was a very natural thing for me to take on, and infinitely more interesting because there were four of us pushing each other (myself, Chris Houghton, David DeGrand, and Dan Moynihan). It was all self-funded, self-published. We just wanted to keep making funny weird comics for kids to bring to comics festivals to sell. Like any venture, it had a passionate start which helped carry us through four books. We’ve all moved on to other things, but I think of Heeby Jeeby as an important launching off point. And we’re closer friends, connected through these books, because of it.

What inspires you?
Everything. Things when I least expect them. One time a kid on a bus tossed her pacifier on the floor and that inspired me. Liquid dish soap has inspired me. I’m partial to natural forms, rocks and flowers. I steal from nature all the time.

What’s your creative workspace at home like?
I snapped this pic the other day when I got home from work (getting ready to begin a night of work).

Which one of your creations would you want to take to lunch (you’re paying)?
He’s a co-creation, but it would have to be Impossibear. 100%.


Favorites!
Cartoon: Adventure Time (current)
Comic book: Impossible to pick a favorite, but I will say that I’ve been reading Carl Barks’ Donald Duck comics lately.
Kids story book: Charlotte’s Web
Medium to doodle in: Marker or pencil
Snack: Hard to deny the Cheez-It. French feta on pita or crackers is very good, too.
Spot to vacation: Hawaii (though, more practically based on proximity: Acadia)
Experience or memory at a comic con or animation convention: Ah, too many favorites here. Probably when a couple kids up in Toronto proudly paid together for a Heeby Jeeby with all the change they had in their pockets.
Toy of a character you’ve made: The first Catbug plush is pretty special (photo at right)
Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — Kanye West (though I’ve probably listened to 808s & Heartbreak more)
Album to listen to while working: Changes every week. I will say I work to a lot of hip-hop, probably because it’s often so high-energy, bold, and built on bravado. Once I was powering through to finish a mini-comic in time for a festival—after working a week straight on it…day and night. My tank was on empty, I was bleary-eyed… panicking. On the final night, Watch the Throne carried me home.

Comment

Comment

Lulu Jr. makes an AWESOME mark on Dot Day 2015!

This post was originally published on FableVision Learning's blog.

What happens when two organizations championing creativity and self-expression “connect the dots”? Something AWESOME!  Lulu Jr. and FableVision, after their award-winning My Awesome Book kids’ bookmaking kit collaboration, partnered to create My Awesome Publishing Company, an innovative online writing/design platform that gives teacher the tools they need to turn their classroom into a publishing company. 

Designed and hosted by FableVision’s Founder and New York Times bestselling illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, My Awesome Publishing Company guides K-6 students through writing, illustrating, publishing, and promoting their very own book. Currently being piloted in schools across the country, My Awesome Publishing Company encourages kids to make their mark. 

Which is why we were delighted to see the team at Raleigh, NC-based Lulu make their own AWESOME mark for International Dot Day 2015, which is now celebrated in by over 4 million people in 116 countries. Check out Lulu Jr.’s video!

It’s not too late to celebrate Dot Day. If you, your company or school are planning something awesome, let us know – and we’ll share it with the Dot Day community.  

Comment

Comment

Happy International Dot Day!

12 years ago, Dot Day began with a celebration of the messages found in Peter H. Reynolds’ book, The Dot. In the book, a dedicated teacher helps an unsure student learn to trust herself and “make her mark.”  

Today, almost four million people (3.9 million this morning and counting!) around the world (in 115 countries) are celebrating creativity, courage, and collaboration – and you can be one of them! Here’s how:

  • Step One: Make a dot. Anything you want! Big or small, no matter what, it will be unique to you.

  • Step Two: Sign your name. Dot Day is about having the confidence and courage to make your mark and be proud of what you’ve made.

  • Step Three: Share it with us! We want to see all of your wonderful creations. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, just use the hashtag #DotDay15 and let the world know you stand for creativity.

Need some inspiration? Check out some of the dots made by the people here at FableVision Studios. To learn more about International Dot Day and how you can get involved, sing the song and visit the official website.

Want even more Dot Day? Participate in World Education's #Pages4Progress campaign, an official International Dot Day partner! Read more on our blog. 

Comment

Comment

Animated professional development? Now that’s some “Good Thinking!”

Marjee Chmiel is a curious person. She’s curious about stories and science and where the two cross paths. Marjee is the Associate Director for Curriculum and Communications at Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC). Earlier this year, SSEC and FableVision Studios unveiled a new free animated (yep, we said animated!) professional development series, entitled Good Thinking!: The Science of Teaching Science. Explaining science can be tricky, and explaining “the ideas we build in our mind to make sense of the world” – as Marjee calls it – required a non-limited visual medium. FableVision talked with Marjee about the Good Thinking! series, the subject matters we tackle, and how this research-based series is providing a one-of-a-kind resource to science educators everywhere. And be sure to watch the entire Good Thinking! series on YouTube here. 

What is the Good Thinking! The Science of Teaching Science origin story?
A few things came together. I was in Johnston County in North Carolina to see some of the teacher professional development going on as part of our Investing in Innovation Grant from Department of Education. I was amazed by how in-depth and fantastic the content was that the teachers were getting. While most teachers were working at the elementary level, they were learning things about science pedagogy that I didn’t learn until I was in a doctoral program for science education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (which is considered one of the top programs in the country). I was really impressed and thrilled with this training and the teachers seemed to love it, too.

The down side was that the training takes place during the summer, which means that a lot of teachers miss it, or teachers are not hired on yet, or get transferred to different grades or schools by the time the school year starts. So teachers and principals were asking us to come up with a way to provide some of this training. But what I saw in the face-to-face training was so collaborative. Teachers were learning from other teachers. How do you capture that dynamic while making it accessible and flexible to accommodate hectic schedules?

Good Thinking! certainly can’t replicate that sort of experience, but I felt like the videos and their format started to get at some of the needs that had emerged.

My doctoral dissertation was a content analysis of science education web video, so I had a mental catalog of what was out there and what we were lacking. The thing I saw was that there was a lot of content out there on the sort of the “just the facts ma’am” parts of science. But the finer points of how humans understand their world and what it means to shepherd developing brains into scientific inquiry were locked up in research journals. Unless you were lucky enough to take a world-class doctoral course or participate in our professional development, it would be a challenge to get your hands on that knowledge.

I discussed the feedback we had gotten from our teachers and administrators with people back at Smithsonian Science Education Center and the idea for these brief videos that address common misconceptions about science and how science is taught began to emerge. The title “Good Thinking” seemed obvious and catchy.

Who’s the Good Thinking! audience? How do you imagine accessing and utilizing the information in these videos?
Our primary audience is elementary school teachers who are teaching science. In elementary school, you have to be quick and nimble with the content you teach and it isn’t uncommon to move through the grade levels and teach different grades. Accessible content refreshers are critical for this type of work and online web video has been an amazing resource to that end. But instead of offering a general science lesson, we wanted to couch the science in a way that matters most to educators. We wanted to tie into the types of questions that might arise in your students. Furthermore, we thought there was a need for providing this type of information from a trusted resource such as Smithsonian. That is why we were careful to provide citations with each video. This is a research-based resource that is accessible and available for any teacher anywhere, anytime.

In addition to teachers, we imagine the series will appeal to science nerds everywhere.

Some might say it is unusual to create an animated professional development resource for adults. Why did you choose to animate Good Thinking! vs. a live action instructional video?
At the heart of this video series are mental models: the ideas we build in our mind to make sense of the world. We wanted to explore mental models that people have about cells, atoms and rain clouds. Live action felt too restrictive. We wanted to go places that cameras can’t go. Animation was a logical choice. It allows us to convey multiple ideas at once and construct actual mental models, watch the water cycle take place, or see the total energy of a system. I honestly don’t see how this would have worked as a live series.

What’s your favorite way that a science topic has woven into an episode?
I love the way we talk about what it is that scientists actually do in the Learning Styles video. I get sad when I hear people talking about things like “dancing mitosis” or making a rap about the rock cycle as a way to “engage multiple learning styles” in order to learn science. All that does is have kids memorize facts. When people go into the voting booth or make health decisions for their family, I don’t care if they know the difference between prophase and anaphase. We don’t need people in congress who know the difference between metamorphic and sedimentary rock (though it would be nice)! And that’s all that stuff does, it is a disguise for rote, decontextualized recall knowledge.

How do the Good Thinking! characters explain or personify the science topics being communicated?
All of the characters in the series are curious people. Ms. Reyes wants to learn more about her profession. The children want to learn more about their world. Those curious humans are at the center of the series and they are at the center of science.

We’re asking you to play favorites – who’s your favorite classroom character on Good Thinking?
Definitely Bunsen. My undergrad is in chemistry and I taught chemistry, so we’ve already got that connection. He cracks me up.

Marjee Chmiel is the Associate Director for Curriculum and Communications at Smithsonian Science Education Center. In this role, she oversees print and digital product development for the unit. Marjee is a former high school chemistry and physics teacher who has also worked as a technology administrator at the elementary and high school level. Marjee has lead development on numerous award-winning projects at Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) and National Geographic's The JASON Project. Marjee holds a doctorate in educational research and evaluation with a special focus on the intersection of science education and educational technology. Her publications on education range from the practical to the theoretical with articles ranging from The Science Teacher to the Oxford Handbook on Mixed Methods research. As a hobby, Marjee has her own micro-press which was nominated for best new small press and best book design in 2012. Marjee resides in Maryland with her husband and their two small, yippy dogs, but she retains the pizza snobbery of her native Chicago.

Comment