You are here:
DISTRICT | HIGH SCHOOL |

   
New and Notable:

Three Scenes "In The Can"
Posted Thursday, April 06, 2000
Three scenes of the "My Avatar" movie are now "in the can," as they say, including one featuring Dave Girtz, technology integrationist at Little Falls Community Middle School.

Videography Begins
Posted Tuesday, March 28, 2000
The first "Avatar" footage to include live actors/actresses was recorded today, shot on location in the Business Computer Lab at LFCHS.

Animation, Establishing Footage, and the Neverending Script
Posted Friday, March 17, 2000
Just a quick update that yes, the Avatar project is still in progress! We have two animation scenes in development (i.e., actual rendering and design is happening), we have begun to get some establishing footage on video, and we are trying our best to hammer the script into submission.

Videography begins next week . . . yippee!

More Experiments in Streaming Coming
Posted Thursday, March 02, 2000
The previous link to the RealPlayer version of the Avatar video has been pulled because I have installed an open-source version of the Quicktime Streaming Server (called the Darwin Streaming Server) and am setting up the video for QuickTime streaming instead. More to follow!

Scriptwriting Software Arrives
Posted Tuesday, January 25, 2000
The software which will be used to assemble the final "My Avatar" script has finally arrived, and the script segments written so far have been imported and formatted according to official "Hollywood" styles.

The software is called "Final Draft," and you can see the details of its capabilities (and read testimonials from many Hollywood greats, including Tom Hanks), by checking the official Final Draft Web Site.

Discussion Board Created
Posted Tuesday, January 04, 2000
An online discussion board has been created for students who are working on the "Avatar" project. The address is http://www.lfalls.k12.mn.us/discus

Anyone may browse through the items posted on the My Avatar discussion, but only students and teachers who have contacted Mr. Norwood can post messages and responses. Send me an e-mail or give me a call at (320) 616-2308 if you want to participate in the discussion!

New Recruits!
Posted Wednesday, December 22, 1999
I've got quite a list of students who have "registered" with me to participate in the Avatar project, including a group of writers from Mr. Goodrich's Advanced Creative Writing class, and quite a few prospective computer animators as well.

If you are a student or faculty member who wants to be involved and you have not yet talked to me or to Greg Beck, please e-mail me or give me a call (616-2308) or stop by and speak with me in the high school media center.

I've almost got an online bulletin board ready to go for project participants (and innocent bystanders) to use to exchange information during the course of the project.

Online Trailer Posted
Posted Thursday, December 16, 1999
A low-resolution online version of the concept trailer has been posted. Check the links to the right to see it! It is a 4652k download, and requires the QuickTime plugin (which is probably already installed on your machine). The trailer will begin playing automatically after enough of the whole thing has downloaded to your machine.

Concept Trailer Airs on LFCHS Morning Report
Posted Thursday, December 16, 1999
The "My Avatar" concept trailer aired this morning on the Little Falls Community High School Morning Report, a daily morning news show. For those students who saw the trailer and are interested in participating, keep watching this web page for updates! Also, please feel free to stop by the Media Center and talk with Mr. Norwood about the project.

An online form will be created soon for teachers and students to indicate areas in which they are interested in participating and answer questions about their existing skills and schedules.

An online link to downloadable versions of the trailer is also in the works!

Progress Report
Posted Thursday, December 09, 1999
Story outlining, storyboarding, and script writing are on the agenda until mid January. Coming soon on this site: links to the four minute "concept trailer" featuring an original song, computer animation, and live action.

My Avatar Goes to TIES '99
Posted Friday, November 19, 1999
Jim Norwood and Greg Beck will be presenting a session about the "My Avatar" project at the TIES '99 - Creating the Vision conference in Minneapolis. We will be presenting at the Hyatt Regency on Monday, Nov. 22, from 10:30am to 11:20am in Room Greenway B/C. On the right hand side of this page you will find links to the pages of our conference handout.

"Hamlet," one of the "stars" of My Avatar:

"My Avatar" Project Update
Posted Tuesday, November 16, 1999
Some of you may be wondering about the "Avatar" project I spoke about earlier in the year, in which we are embarking on a year-long quest to make a movie for classroom use (complete with curriculum materials) . . . a movie that raises the issue of personal responsibility in a digital world.

Greg Beck and I will be presenting a session about this project at the TIES conference in Minneapolis at 10:30 a.m. next Monday, November 22. A small "skunkworks" team of students has been working on creating a 3 1/2 minute "pre-trailer," a digital music video combining an original song with student vocals (and co-written by students) with computer animation and live action shots.

This music video will be presented on the Morning Report early in December, as we kick off a recruiting drive for students and teachers who want to be deeply involved in the creation of the actual "My Avatar" movie. Script completion and casting needs to occur in December and early January, with principal videography taking place from late January through February and into March. Editing the rough cut will take place from March through May.

Final editing will take place during the summer months, with a "world premier" to be held sometime next Fall!