The Southend United Study Support Centre greeted Futures Community College when fourteen students from their Year 7 Double Club spent the morning at Roots Hall, working on a variety of creative projects.
Double Club works on the basis that academic activities are repackaged with a sports, specifically football, focus. The session was a little different, as this time the emphasis was on creativity and design.
The Double Club students entered the Centre in high spirits. Nigel, 12, couldn't wait, "I really look forward to coming here. It's really special to see the old stadium and get the chance to go behind the scenes." Jared, 12, was equally excited, "I like to go on the computers. We've worked hard all year and this is a nice reward."
Each student had a variety of tasks to complete over the morning. Firstly, students had to design a 2-D animation of a stickman celebrating a Southend United goal. Using some specific animation software, the Double Club group worked on some experimental ideas, before progressing through to a short film clip.
Building on this introduction to animation, students then had to progress to 3-D animation. Again, using specific software, the Futures team got the opportunity to use Lego and other toys to produce a short animation based on a series of scenarios. The budding animators learnt about lighting, camera positioning and an appreciation for just how complicated 'Wallace and Gromit' must have been!
Utilising the Centre's Apple Macs, the group then had to produce some music to accompany their animation. The Garageband program allows users to sample various tunes and beats and then compose a final music piece. As you can see from the pictures, it requires some in-depth concentration!
By the end of the morning the students got to showcase their work and celebrate their creativity with their finished projects.
On behalf of the Centre, we would all like to thank the club who have kindly donated some tickets for the Futures students for the home game against Stockport County - ahead of plenty of good animation in the stands.
