HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina

Tiny Circus, rolling on... landed at HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after driving from our lovely stay at the Elsewhere Collaborative in Greensboro. We went straight to work on our first community animation featuring the characters of the Tiny Tiny Circus. Billy, the 17-year old strongman, and Sid, the human cannonball, have an antagonistic relationship, and this was Billy’s chance to get Sid.

Here we are working on the scene with the sheep chasing the gumballs, which we shot from above.

Eager animators of all ages!

 

There were lots of sheep sound effects to be made and recorded. We learned that sheep bleats most of the time sound like some variation of “bah,” but sometimes sound like “meh.” The sounds of the gumballs rolling through the hills was made from empty bottles rolling across the wooden floor.

Sweeping up the remnants of the workshop in the HUB-BUB Showroom. Now, we’re off to Columbia, Missouri to create a bumper for the Citizen Jane Film Festival with students from Stephens College, trap a Ghost with students at EEE school and, of course, dance.

We’ve taken to calling the airstream Silver Pelican. What do you think?

Elsewhere Winding Down...and Beyond!

It’s our last week at Elsewhere Collaborative in Greensboro, NC. We’re still clicking away on the History of Dust, brainstorming Traps with students in Columbia, Missouri and Mount Vernon, Iowa, and, it must be noted, completed a short research mission at the sea.

 

Here we are having a little fun with a Jack-in-the-box while talking remotely with students at EEE school in Columbia, MO. We will be creating a Trap animation with them in two weeks.

Sometimes during our remote conversations the students looked like pixelated waving sea creatures. We had a great time introducing them to Tiny Circus and listening to them respond to the animations. Their enthusiasm was bursting through the screen.

 

Let's not forget the most important thing: Ice Cream!  A walk down the street from Elsewhere is an important part of our days here - coffee espresso, mint chocolate chip, strawberry cheesecake - it's the Dari Barn of the south!

 

 Elsewhere has a six-person bike called the "Surrey" - here TC members and other residents of Elsewhere take the Surrey for a spin around town.  

 

Sound editing in the sun, on the couch, on the porch.   The doors open to the street and passers-by often peer in to see what we are up to. 

Up next: Spartanburg, South Carolina, where we’ll be doing a workshop with the community at HUB-BUB, an art space and residency. Check out the HUB-BUB blog for a short history of the Tiny Tiny Circus and plans for our workshop and show. The characters are ready for lights, camera, and action via lots of Spartanburg hands!

Chugging Along

Day 11 of Circus, and we’re staying eager. We’ve tapped into a scenario that will encase the existing animations of Histories and have room for future Histories, too. You could call us a narrative-creating machine. We’re asking questions like: “How do portals work?” And, “How are they discovered?” As Tiny Circus builds the members of the Tiny Tiny Circus (we are actually creating a very small animatable circus), we’re wondering, “What is Firebreather’s greatest vulnerability?” “Does Baby Drummer have a favorite song?” “What will unhinge Strongman?” "Is Contortionist mint-chocolate chip green, or M&M green?" "What does Ringleader's laugh sound like?" "What makes her laugh?" Still much to unearth as we create complex characters and absorbing stories. The summer, it feels young.

Wait! There’s more. Last night we rounded a few corners to return to the Grinnell Railway Express, a railroad model club that has created a tiny scale model of Grinnell. A vibrant test animation with the small trains and cars and Jewel Box Bank set our imaginations in motion. What will unfold in this little world?