With the Dare Cycle Education project, I teach middle school students filmmaking, at Saint Joseph Catholic School, with the help of English principles, to make an animated film. The arts integration curriculum is developed from my years of using my Creative Writing degree as a journalist, photographer, designer, and filmmaker.
The class does everything but the animation, so we handle all of the pre-production aspects. We also extended the project to include the universe of the story, everything from designing the cover art for the original soundtrack and to writing the histories of the neighborhood where the characters live.
The project is being unveiled across multiple platforms and assets, including public exhibitions, digital newsletters, and merchandising, in addition to the film that’s currently at the fundraising stage.
One of the goals for the project is to show the students where their talent can take them, so we partner with professionals in the community to act as consultants for their work and contract with artists to professionally draw their rough drafts. (Concept art: Aaron Minier; cover art: Michael D. Johnson.)
The reference photography is taken by the students.
Website: DareCycle.com.
Recognition: Gold Award Elements of Advertising: Illustration for “Dare Cycle” Concept Art American Advertising Federation (AAF) Fort Wayne 2022
