Animation & Design Initiative from Ireland

On Tuesdays we look for new initiatives in animation and film, related to kids' education and or entertainment.  Sometimes we will be talking about large corporate endeavors like last week, but today we are looking across the pond to a smaller project from Ireland, focused on DESIGN and opening the eyes of kids to new possibilities.

We are talking about MAKESHAPECHANGE from Dublin Ireland.  

This innovative group created a film last year that helps young people think about shapes and how to change those shapes into functional designs forms to improve our world.  Animation plays a huge role in this of course, as it is one of the fundamental creative forces that allows people to see their world from a new and unlimited perspective.

"MAKESHAPECHANGE IS A PROJECT TO GET YOUNG PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT HOW THE WORLD IS MADE AROUND THEM AND WHERE DESIGN FITS IN. AT ITS HEART IS A SHORT FILM THAT SHOWS CHANGES HAPPENING BEFORE OUR EYES THAT WE MIGHT NOT NORMALLY NOTICE, AND HOW THESE AFFECT US.THE PROJECT WAS COMMISSIONED BY PIVOT DUBLIN TO PROMOTE WIDER ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR POSITIVE CHANGE."

http://www.makeshapechange.com/about

In the words of the creators...

"A cave worked as somewhere to live many, many years ago. Then someone saw the possibility in stretching animal hides over branches to make a more mobile home. Eventually someone realised they could stack stones together to build walls, and so get the strength of a cave but built where you wanted it. Zip forward a few thousand years and a man is launched into space in a sort of house made from metal, propelled by a rocket.
Design is a simple thing that we can all use. Creative thinking for a practical purpose. Being able to imagine a stone as a spearhead, a cave as a house or a rock as part of a wall. It's a bridge between what something is and what it could be. Between the things we make and how we use them. It's not the whole story of the world we make around us, but it's an important part. It's always been there, helping us progress, and making things work better."

Check out their trailer here:  

https://vimeo.com/90208216

In a world that demands new solutions to new problems daily, it's vital that young people think outside the box, stretch the box to include new realities and generally see beyond form and function and imagine new ways to live, breathe, share and love our world.

​Enjoy!