From The Principal – Partnership with Flinders University
Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Friends of Nativity School,
I am very excited to announce School of the Nativity’s partnership with Flinders University. This partnership allows our students and staff to learn about and use digital technologies to co-construct learning.
The students in Year 5, 6 and 7 will be working with Dan Thorsland and Cameron Mackness, Flinders University Lecturers, to co-construct stories for the screen in the form of a movie trailer in “The Void.” The Void is a multipurpose screen production stage and collaboration space for any artist or researcher wishing to use motion capture, game engines and other digital imaging and visualisation technologies to empower their projects. Our students will have access to over one million dollars of equipment and the expertise to assist them in communicating the power of story.
Both Dan and Cameron have extensive experience in motion capture and virtual production to share with our staff and students.
Dan Thorsland is Business Development Manager, and his role is to build Flinders motion capture and virtual production stage. He has 35 years in the industry as a creative practitioner, first as a comic book writer/editor at DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics in the U.S., From 2001 to 2019, he has produced a large portfolio of video games and other digital projects for major brand partners such as Disney, Lucasfilm and LEGO.
Cameron is a cinematographer/editor/director who began his journey studying Screen at Flinders University. His credits include “The Bill”, “Family Affairs”, “Grange Hill”, and various projects for the BBC and Channel 5. His current role is in the Drama Centre at Flinders University.
On Monday, Dan and Cameron visited the students to begin the creative process.
They talked to the students about how a story is built and how to create the world within it.
Students learnt about – making a window and then creating everything behind it. They thought about what is the society in the story? When is the story? What is the power in the story? What is at risk for the characters? And how to develop characters.
Here are some of the responses from our students following the session:
Ryder- I thought it was amazing. I am looking forward to making a movie trailer, making a window and creating everything behind it.
Jayce- I found it cool that Dan and Cameron achieved their goals of being a comic, writer, game maker and movie maker. They have met a lot of famous people in their jobs.
Sienna- I think it is great that Dan achieved his goal of writing a Star Wars Comic. It was interesting to learn that a script is shorter than a book and that 1 animated movie frame can take up to 38 hours to create.
Gemma- Dan, and Cameron have really cool jobs, and it is great they are sharing their experiences with us. I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s ideas for creating their story.
Over the next 3 terms, the students will have workshops with Dan and Cameron at Nativity school and in the Void at Flinders University.
We look forward to sharing the students’ learning and stories with you across the year.
God Bless,
Erika
