Multi-Age Project Collaboration with Parker Jacobs!
/Students from IHS IMPACT, Jefferson Middle School, and Palm Desert High School with Parker Jacobs and his wife Jennifer.
On February 23rd and 24th IMPACT hosted designer, artist, writer, musician, and all around good guy Parker Jacobs, who lead a Film/Animation/Storytelling workshop with 50 students from IHS IMPACT, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and Palm Desert High School. The two day workshop gave students a firsthand look into the Arts, Media, and Entertainment industry as Jacobs guided them through the development of an original project that combines live action and animation.
Jacobs may be best known for his role as Art Director for the hit Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba! (which ran 4 seasons and several national live show tours), but his lifelong career spans nearly every side of the Arts, Media, and Entertainment industry– through a variety of film/television studios, Paul Frank Industries, The Aquabats!, Vans, Goon Holler, and many many more.
Jacobs began the workshop by giving students a brief history of a not-so-brief career, including the many ups and downs that come with the territory, and the challenges they may face when entering a creative field. Through it all, Jacobs made it clear that success comes not only from talent and hard work, but from pursuing passion and surrounding yourself with the best possible people.
The rest of day one was spent brainstorming and developing concepts for a multi-faceted short film project. By the end of the day, notebooks and whiteboards were overflowing with ideas. Day two saw those ideas get pared down into a streamlined concept as students defined roles and entered into the preproduction phase. With Jacobs' guidance, students were able to develop a concept that spans a variety of styles while still retaining meaning and a focus on purpose.
And now, after two days of hard-thinking, all 50+ students and three teachers from three different DSUSD school sites will collaborate to create an ambitious short film project with elements of live action and animation! Stay tuned...
