Middle Tennessee State University

Tiny Circus spent the week at Middle Tennessee University, creating an animation with a group of about 15 college students. The group decided to make an animation that doesn’t fit neatly into the History or Trap categories. We centered in on the topic of fear, and the first day we recorded interviews asking people about their childhood and adult fears. After we listened to the hours of raw audio gathered, we discussed what we heard – themes and words that stood out – and created a short audio piece to be our film’s soundtrack, and guide the conversation of our visual story.

Figuring out what visual story to tell alongside the audio piece, and coalescing around the finer points of how each of us imagined it took many hours of discussion and hard collaboration sitting around a table – about 18 hours if you really want to know.

On Day 4, the animating began. Childhood object selection, shadow tracing, then shadow cutting, followed by animating the shadow movement required patience and precision, and at 11 pm when we finished the first half of the film, we decided to remake (i.e. simplify) our ideas for the second part. Throughout the epic day of animation, there was an exciting collective energy. We were working together, making something. 

Day 5 we brought the sound and images together. Editing as a group with the Final Cut file projected on a screen, we talked through various ways of arranging the images and how many moments of looking felt necessary. Sometimes it was hard to find words for why we liked one arrangement more than another, but striving for those words feels like a necessary challenge. 

Fear debuted at the MTSU Student Film Festival. 

[A special thanks to David Kamp, our documentarian for the week, who took many of the photos above. Keep an eye out for a short documentary of our week that David is creating.]

The Brentwood Boys and Girls Club

Tiny Circus lifted off from New Orleans last week, rolling to Raleigh, North Carolina for a week of animation-making with the Brentwood Boys and Girls Club through Artspace, an art center in Raleigh.

In one week we created two animations. An enthusiastic group of second and third graders in the club decided to tell the story of The History of Vampires. Biting off a topic that has been a dark and thrilling fascination for storytellers for ages, this is not an animation for the faint of heart (or tomatoes).

With the fourth and fifth grade group, an animation about bullying was created that developed out of two days of serious and thoughtful conversations. It was striking to be around a table with fifteen fourth and fifth graders and a handful of adults, with differences of age, race, religion, and a whole lot else – all of us drawing from personal experiences and observations with bullying. We reflected on questions about what bullying is, why a person may bully, and the many ways we all respond to the act. All the while, the conversation was driving towards creating an animation: how do we visualize this? How do we craft this story?

Once we decided to use fruits as our characters, a discussion about how the fruits could reflect certain feelings and actions to our audience became important. And there was even room for laughter with the enticing possibility of eating our animated objects. (Note to animators: complete shooting before eating, or the project may involve extra trips to the grocery store.)

We distilled our story to The History of A Bully and we know it can’t tell a complete story of a complicated behavior and it’s devastating impact. Our small film is what we collaboratively jostled out of a big matter. We hope that the animation that emerged from the conversation in the art room of the Brentwood Boys and Girls Club will resonate with those outside of it, sparking more fruitful conversation and action.

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!

Tiny Circus Joins U.A.Y. in Iowa City

What does a circus produce after spending a couple of days in Iowa City? If you've guessed a workshop with United Action for Youth, The History of Soap, and a marvelous outdoor show, then you would be on the right track.


During the 9th and 10th of July, Tiny Circus joined forces with United Action for Youth. Our very talented workshop participants collaborated in brainstorming, creating, and shooting a brand new animation.

The first day began with an introduction to our entire process. Jason shares the History of Popcorn with Max and Grace. Was this perhaps a source for some musical inspiration?

U.A.Y. participants could also experiment with stop motion in other venues. At our portable Animation Station, Alex shows how nearly everything has the potential to be made into an animated short.

After brainstorming and storyboarding, Carlos lays out the proper scale for this new world. Within those blocks rests the yet to be created Gertrude, super sniffer dog, and a few pink flowers.
Time to break out the card stock. Wherever the circus travels, we bring along a smorgasbord of supplies.


Just as before, it's with attention to detail and patience that every element of the animation is made.


From snail slime to flower smells, The History of Soap came into being with the help of many hands.

Thank you to everyone that helped out in creating this new animation!