Preliminary activity #1:
Learning about animated film
The workshop leader can use the links to create open-ended questions that let the children explore the topic of animated film.
To know more about the animated film:
What is Animation?
Group discussion
• Have you ever seen an animated film?
• Do you know how a short animated film is made?
• What about the sound?
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The workshop leader shows the children Illusion? with the sound off, omitting the ending.
Group discussion
• Do you understand the film’s meaning?
• Can you explain what it means?
• How did the film make you feel? Can you identify these feelings?
• Do you know what a ‘soundtrack’ is?
• Do you think that the film’s author already had the sounds and music in his head
when he created the animation?
Example : a page from the storyboard used to make the film ¿Illusion?
• Can you identify the sounds you hear in the soundtrack?
• Are words always needed to understand a film?
• Online interview: Frédéric Back on the importance on music
• Do you think that sound can help us feel and understand things?
Let’s look at this pictures:
Click to enlarge 
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• What kind of sound do you think would go with this images?
• How does this images make you feel?
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Activity #1A: Making the soundtrack for one minute of ¿Illusion?
Group discussion
• What could you use to create sound?
(objects, instruments, voices)
• Could you find 10 objects that make interesting
sounds?
Now that you have a collection of 10 possible sound, could you create a sound environment for one minute of animation?
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The entire film can be divided into 60-second sequences that can be allocated to different children or groups, who then proceed to make the ‘soundtrack’ for their sequence. They record and store the sequence using Audacity (a free software) or another recording application.
To download Audacity:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
The sequences are then assembled in the correct order to obtain a complete soundtrack for the film.
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Activity #1B: Making a musical instrument from recycled materials and creating a short musical sequence
There are plenty of things in the garbage that could be recycled to make interesting sounds. Take a look around you and see if you can’t find the materials needed to created your own musical instrument from among the following:
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• Now that you have the recycled materials you need, make your musical instrument.
• When you’re done, do you think you can create a sound environment for one minute
of animation?
The entire film can be divided into 60-second sequences that can be allocated to different children or groups, who then proceed to make the ‘soundtrack’ for their sequence. They record and store the sequence using Audacity (a free software) or another recording application.
To download Audacity:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
The sequences are then assembled in the correct order to obtain a complete soundtrack for the film.
Group discussion
Watch the film with the soundtrack you created. Now watch it with the original soundtrack.
Compare the two, and identify your soundtrack’s strengths and weaknesses.
Does your soundtrack change the meaning of the film? Describe any changes of meaning observed.
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Follow-up
Visit the Frédéric Back website, where you can get to know the film’s author and the topics he liked to address in his work.
Web search:
Biography of Frédéric Back
Frédéric
Back, filmaker
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