Why name-drop Spielberg and Lucas?
2005. We screen 4th grader animations for a Media Literacy Summit sponsored by George Lucas.
We listened to his vision for media education.
We showed the collected experts a few 4th Grade student films - and the experts were in awe.
No one at the summit had taught kids how to make movies.
We were WAY ahead of the curve 17 YEARS AGO!
2011. Steven Spielberg observed our process in action at a film center in NY and said:
“I have not heard of anything like this...happening anywhere else in the world. What makes this different...is to give kids a chance to find themselves (expressing with film) early on and before it’s too late, because that’s all the kids really want…”
(edited for brevity - full statement here)
Spielberg then joined their board based on the strength of our 10-Step process in action.
(Ron Howard was already on the board, a huge booster of media education for kids and that is Janet Maslin, NYTimes Film Critic between them in the image above, former Pres. of JBFC.)
Even with the validation from these Hollywood heavyweights, 17 years later this type of education has not worked its way into mainstream literacy curriculum.
This should not surprise us.
It costs around $500,000 to inititate science-based validations of visual literacy instructional modalities of the caliber government and BigEd will heed.
Nobody is stepping up to that plate. It is still considered a “nice extra”.
But you know it is vital.
Video is the coin of the realm for kids today.
There is still time to be ahead of the curve.
Have them produce their own movies and grow media making superpowers!
Have them experience it with their hands and minds!
We show you how.
Bon Animate!
The Entire Team at Animating Kids