Thursday, December 18, 2014

Orna-"Mental"

Take a look at our ornaments!

Some of them certainly printed better than others.  Not all of them were perfect, but a great first attempt!



But those were just templates that we printed.  Check out what the kids made today on their own!




Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Ornamental

Today in Project Next Generation we got a quick primer on how 3D printing works and what all is entailed in designing and printing a 3D file.

In the spirit of the holidays we then visited Cubify.com and used their Merry Maker web app to create our first 3D designs.  We downloaded the files after we were finished and hopefully they'll be printed out by the time the next class on Thursday rolls around!



Thursday, December 11, 2014

Hour of Code

Today we concluded our Hour of Code activities!

To try them on your own visit Code.org and get started!  It's a lot of fun!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Hour of Code

This week is Computer Science Education week! In honor of that our PNG students are dipping a toe into the world of coding thanks to the super cool website code.org!

Today we went through the very basics of coding in a guided fun game-like activity with an Angry Birds theme!

The kids probably don't even realize that they're learning the very basics of coding because it's a lot of fun just to set and play.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Two Upcoming December Programs!

Project Next Generation is proud to announce two upcoming programs for the month of December!



The Hour of Code - Dec. 9th & 11th (must attend both classes)

4pm - 5pm Sign Up Online!

Let's learn how to code! This two-part class is a fun introduction to coding basics. Don't know anything about coding? Great! This class is for you!



3D Holiday Ornaments - Dec. 16th & 18th (must attend both classes)

4pm - 5pm Sign Up Online!

 Let's use the computer to create 3D models of holiday ornaments and then print them out on the Makerbot Replicator! This 2-part class will teach you the basics of 3D design and how to use Tinkercad.com to create 3D objects that can be printed on any 3D printer!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Show Time!

OK, with PNG's Fall Movie Making Class drawing to a close it's time for the big premiere of our awesome project!

A couple things to note: The beginning and the end of our movie weren't able to be filmed because we ran out of time and people.

Also worth noting there's a scene that triggers the flashback toward the beginning that we straight-up forgot to shoot, so the end result is probably pretty darn confusing.

Anyway, here we have the story of Bob Beckham, mild mannered TV news reporter who, unbeknownst to himself goes into a Coca-Cola-fueled murderous rage whenever he as a sip of the tasty beverage.

Fortunately he's brought to justice, but who knows.  Maybe he'll strike again!


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Coca-Killer

That's the tentative title for our movie.  We are hard at work editing our movies today.  We have one student already obsessed with the blooper real, but the rest of us are working diligently on editing together our murder mystery about a Coca-Cola fueled killer brought to justice by our heroic Detective Lucia.

We'll hopefully have some clips up soon!

Angie says hi.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

ACTION!

It's go time!

With only 3 classes left and a camera malfunction last time around we have to zoom through our entire shot list and get all the footage in the can so we can spend the next two classes editing!

How well will we do?  Will we get all the shots we need?  Will all of our actors show up?!

Find out in the comments below!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

First Day of Shooting

Today was our first day of shooting.  After making meticulous storyboards and writing a stellar script it's time to put our plan into action.

Will we have enough actors? Will the script have to be cut for content? Who will play the dead body?!

Find out in the comments!














Tuesday, November 11, 2014

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Today was all about storyboarding.  The story is set, the script is in and now it's time to translate these words into a visual medium. First up, before we start filming, storyboards!

Storyboards are like comics that tell the story of your script using pictures. They help to pre-plan shots and angles and even if you can't draw very well they are a big help!



Thursday, November 6, 2014

From Script to Screen

With our epic brainstorming session from Tuesday behind us it's now time to take our amazing idea for a movie and start writing a script!

The students don't have write it in screenplay format, but at least determine a cast of characters and write out the dialog.  It's going to be tough today but the more effort we put into it the easier it will be when we start shooting footage on Tuesday!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Movie Making Magic

We started making movie magic today with an epic brainstorming session.

We watched some YouTube videos about making movies and then got started coming up with a great idea for a movie.




This time around we're doing a murder mystery!  We're working on a script and next up is storyboards and then we'll start filming!


Thursday, October 30, 2014

LED Ghosts!

Today we made decorative ghosts in anticipation of Halloween tomorrow!

We got the idea from the nice folks at Evil Mad Scientists.

We used LEDs and small coin batteries, pop bottles, string and cloth!

Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Face Full of Photoshop

Today was the last day of face painting.  Unfortunately only Angie showed up today, so she got full attention from the class.

Check out her awesome handywork!

P.S.
angie rocks!
ahren does not!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

In Living Color

Today, we opened our photos in Photoshop and the students got their first introduction to the program.

We started adding color to our photos and some even got as far as adding in a new background to their photo.


The results are looking great!




Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Paint Your Face!

Today was the first day of PNG's Paint Your Face program!

This is a classic PNG program where we take self-portrait photographs, then print them, trace them, scan them, and colorize them.

Can't wait to see how they turn out!





Tuesday, September 9, 2014

The Soldering Finish Line is in Sight!

Most of our group is finishing up their soldering projects today!  It's the moment of truth, who's will work and who's will burst into a puff of smoke?!

We'll find out in the comments!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Soldering Light Spiders: Day 2

Today we continued working on our Light Spiders.  Soon they will be ready to rock!


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Fall into Soldering!

PNG is back to kick off the Fall season with a quick 4-part class about Soldering!

Today we met for the first time and immediately got a crash course in how to solder electronics.  We're off to a good start and some of these songs will be stuck in our heads forever.

The students elected to solder "Light Spiders" which you may have seen in a previous class's blog post.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

PNG Fall Is Almost Here!

This year we're changing things up and offering individual PNG lessons as individual PNG program!  So sign up for the one that interests you the most or sign up for all of them!

Here's what's going on in PNG this fall:

PNG: Soldering - Tuesdays & Thursdays, Sept. 2-11th (2nd, 4th, 9th, 11th) 4pm - 6pm

Join this Project Next Generation class if you want to learn how to solder!  We've got cool electronics kits that light up, drive and scurry.  When you're finished you can take your creation home with you and you'll be an expert in circuitry and soldering!

PNG: Photoshop "Face Paint" - Tuesdays & Thursdays, Oct. 7-16 (7th, 9th, 14th , 16th) 4pm - 5pm

Join this Project Next Generation class if you want to learn Adobe Photoshop basics.  We'll use a combination of cameras, tracing on paper, and photoshop to produce a one-of-a-kind self portrait!

PNG: Halloween L.E.D. Ghosties! - Thursday Oct 30th 4pm - 5pm 

Join this PNG class to make some spooky D.I.Y. "ghosts" using ordinary items and some simple L.E.D.'s (light emitting diodes), batteries and magnets!

PNG: Movie Making - Tuesdays & Thursdays, Nov. 4-25th (4th, 6th, 11th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 25th) 4pm - 5:30pm


Join this PNG program if you want to learn how to shoot and edit your own movie using top-notch HD cameras and Adobe Premiere Elements!  Use our green screen to transport your actors almost anywhere and post your finished videos on your YouTube channel when you're done.  Bring a friend and some ideas and have a blast!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Final Day of Summer or Follow The Money or Mistaken RHCP Song Title Discussion or "Elephants" Intro Is Pretty Good, Rest Of The Song, Not So Much...


So today was the final day of the Summer session of PNG 2014. The students who continued through the end of this session have all been working on different projects based on all the skills they learned in the first half of class.

There's a Kodu game lab world:


::Video Pending::


A Light Spider:





and a Learn To Solder Electric Piano Kit:





Its been a great session! Remember to look for registration for the next session in the Fall!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Solder Spiders, Kodu and music

Today David started another solder creation. This time it's a "spider" bot that can move around using vibrating motors.

Meanwhile, Alex was hard at work putting the finishing touches on his Kodu level and can't wait to show it off.

 Christian worked a bit in Kodu and then switched it up to make music in Mixcraft while our mentors had a Mixcraft jam session and tried out some Makey Makeys.
 





Thursday, July 17, 2014

Auto Shop

Today we helped David finish building his car.  He was the only one who showed up today so he got a lot of attention from the mentors.

He's got a pretty sweet ride.  You can check it out in the video clip below.



Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Electric Kodu Anime

Today we had 4 students.  2 worked on Kodu and made some interactive worlds.  They programmed Kodu and Rover to shoot missiles, chase enemies and score points!

We had another student do some more soldering.  He's working on a kit that will eventually build a car with an electric motor powered by a 9v battery!

And finally, we had a student making a stop-motion animation by drawing step-by-step pictures on our white board.




Thursday, July 10, 2014

Solder Music

We had another small group today.  It seems that our class has officially dwindled to about 3 students on any given day.

Today, Alex and Christian continued work on their songs in Mixcraft while David learned to solder!


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Freedom!

Today we started letting the students choose their own projects.  They will be able to work on whatever they please from now on, so we already have a few great projects in progress and finished!



Thursday, July 3, 2014

ReMixcraft II

Today we had a skeleton crew for students so we continued our remix work.  We had a few more options to choose from for songs to remix, mostly from the mid-nineties.  Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana.  It's basically 1994 up in here.







 

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

ReMixcraft

We shifted from producing movies to music production and our budding producers took a shot at remixing Nine Inch Nails' song "Me, I'm Not".  The students took to this project pretty well and re-arranged the original in all kinds of ways!

We'll upload the results just as soon as they start to finalize their mixes.

Here's the original:












Thursday, June 26, 2014

Multimedia Encyclopedia









We had a small group today but we got a lot of work done!  Really proud of everyone's creations!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Movie Time!




Here's the first batch of finished video clips we got from our editors today!

More to come in the coming weeks, but our video project is primarily over.  We'll have to wait until later next month our editors will have a chance to get back into their projects.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Post Production Reduction

We had a big reduction in numbers today.  Less than half the class decided to show up, but luckily everyone who was making a movie had their footage already in the can.

So editing continued to go and some of our editors almost have a finished product to showcase!