Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative

After tonight's successful public premiere of the Virtual Video Project's 2009 film "Discovered" at the Sony Wonder Theater, we are proud to announce the online release of this serious issue machinima. Created by 15 Global Kids teen leaders over the course of the school year, they decided on the subject matter, wrote the script, created the avatars, recorded the voices, shot the footage, and edited the final cut you see here.

We are so proud of our GK filmmakers for their amazing work, creativity, and commitment on this project! Read more about "Discovered" and the Virtual Video Project here.

Posted by Rik at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a reminder that tomorrow, July 1, fifteen New York public high school students will premiere their film Discovered. Discovered is a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager. This is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc in NYC. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.

Come to the premiere of Discovered to meet the youth filmmakers and discover how digital film can be used for global issue awareness and civic engagement.

Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students

For more information, see http://www.DiscoveredMovie.com or please contact Shawna at 212-226-0130 x 143 or email: shawna@globalkids.org.

The full text of the News Release follows....

Continue reading "[vvp] Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere Second Life Machinima "Discovered" Tomorrow in NYC!" »

Posted by Rik at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

GK's own youth leader Nafiza was chosen to be part of Edutopia's online Youth Portraits series, in which they feature the digital worlds of various teens.

Digital Youth Portrait: Nafiza

Edutopia's portrait includes an interview of Nafiza along with short video pieces on her, her work in GK's OLP programs and what it is like to have digital media play a close relationship in her day to day life.

There are also sections, within Edutopia's feature on Nafiza, where other videos spotlight using digital media to learn world affairs and highlight the work Nafiza and other youth leaders put in within the VVP program to produce the 2007 and 2008 program short films "A Child's War" and "Race to Equality".

Learning World Affairs Through Digital Media

To visit Edutopia's full youth profile on Nafiza, click here.

Posted by joyce at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On July 1, 2009, 15 New York City public high school students will premiere their film Discovered --a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager. Discovered is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc in NYC. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.

Come to the premiere of Discovered to meet the youth filmmakers and discover how digital film can be used for global issue awareness and civic engagement.

Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students

For more information, see http://www.DiscoveredMovie.com or please contact Shawna at 212-226-0130 x 143 or email: shawna@globalkids.org.

The full text of the News Release follows....

Continue reading "[vvp] Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere VVP Machinima "Discovered" on July 1 in NYC" »

Posted by Rik at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've finally finished filming and editing the film! It took us several months to make it, but we're officially done! I think we've done a good job. The film is loaded with facts and research. We'll be screening it officially next month, and I can't wait to show the world our hard work! :D

Posted by VVP Megan at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow... who knew that the word I used in a brainstorm would turn out to be the title of our whole video project! I'm really excited to get some publicity and I'm really proud of all the work we all got done.

WarriorGal

Posted by vvp JessyJo at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

hi ^_^
Guess what!!! We're done with the movie; after all of the hard work we have done we finally finished. Everything is put together and looks great, we have music in some scenes which put those scenes together very nicely. The music being used is very catchy and the story is easy to follow, which makes me think that people are going to like the movie. OUR HARD WORK IS FINALLY GONNA BE SEEN!!! =]

Posted by VVP Linette at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Up to now we have been furiously working on the finishing touches on the video, reviewing it every session, we are making our way to the perfection we seek. Getting ever closer to the premiere of the movie at the Sony Center. I am very excited to see the showing, and I cannot wait to see how the audience will react to it.

Posted by VVP Yuzo at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't believe how far we've gotten. All this time we've spent on this movie. I just can't wait to show the world. I really hope it puts a strong message on sex trafficking. I'm really glad to have entered the program and for all of these times are great =]. I can't wait to see the expressions on everyone's face.

Posted by VVP Evin at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finishing the movie was a great experience. It has been even better than before and believe the movie will be the best one yet. Every time coming to GK has been great and meeting people from different schools, working together for the finale result has proven that teens can work together with technology without getting distracted by things like music, videos and games.

Posted by VVP Christopher at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I want the movie at Sony to be real fun. I want for my friends to enjoy it and have a good time. I'm looking forward to the next movie and I want the whole world to see the movie.

Posted by VVP Luis at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today we watched the movie again :) The edits made the movie look more wonderful. Next Thursday we don't have school but I have to come to the office to go to a rally. Racing rally? I cant run to save myself XD I hope it's some contest instead... like a drawing contest! *_*
july 1st is the day when the movie is being shown in the cinemas. :) Very exciting.

Posted by VVP Helen at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So VVP is done with the movie. We still need to edit some minor things but for the most part we're done!! The screening will be July 1st. I think the movie overall is pretty great. I think the experience was great. I can't believe it's June 2. I wish I could do another movie with VVP next year!

Posted by VVP Kimberly at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YAY! We're finally done with the movie.
I'm pleased that even though we rushed, the message of the movie was not disrupted.
I was kind of worried that in a large group, we might not get as much done, but I was wrong.
I really think that this movie, while it is not too serious, document-like, it still sends a clear message to the viewers.
Hopefully, in the next four sessions that we have left (T.T), the footage will become clearer.
So all of you should watch our movie, "Discovered". It's about child-sex trafficking victim, Thalia, and her journey and unfortunate experience in the child-sex trafficking industry that is worldwide.

Posted by VVP Christine at 5:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With all my time here I've met tons of people. People I've come close with and worked with also. With all the time we have spent on this program it's been fun. When we leave from this program I will truly miss everyone here =]

Posted by VVP Evin at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When you're making a movie you have different sections of different things you need to get done. Since we are almost done with our movie, people are editing scenes or doing some promotional stuff. In the promotional team, you record a little clip about what the movie is about and a few facts about our topic, child sex trafficking. Me and two other girls are making fliers to distribute to our friends and family, to make sure people know about the screening of our movie. The movie will be screened at the Sony Wonder Lab.

Posted by VVP Kimberly at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello Everyone,

During the last couple of weeks I have been on the filming crew. The filming process is intense, the main reason is because people become very frustrated when Second Life has lag (even though it didn't bother me much ^_^). There is one scene in particular where we had so much lag that everyone was just laughing, it was the scene when the swat team was invading the brothel.
I prefer to film because I get to see how everything would look in a rough copy and like to see the ending result after people finish editing it. I consider it hard work but I actually don't mind it because it is worth the end result (also someone has to do it =]).

Posted by VVP Linette at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't believe the VVP movie is almost done. It feels like yesterday that we were just discussing the topics. Time definitely flies by very fast. The movie is going to come out absolutely amazing; I can't wait until July 1st to see the final outcome. The issue of human trafficking isn't very publicized; I want to see if our movie actually has an effect and whether or not people will actually do something about it.
Not only has VVP been amazing but the what Global Kids has given me throughout the year, has been, too. The National Service Learning Conference in Nashville, Tennessee was awesome. It was one of my favorite trips. Because of the annual conference and retreat, I met a lot of new people. I plan on continuing with Global Kids next year!

Posted by VVP Janet at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're almost done with our movie on child sex trafficking! Basically, we're done with the intense editing and right now we're just tweaking whatever we've got. It's a little frustrating when we've got to redo some audio or re-shoot some scene in Second Life, but all-in-all, it's totally worth it! This has been the greatest experience of my life, like... ever!

WarriorGal

Posted by vvp JessyJo at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This new movie we're working on is turning out to be really fun. We were each able to have our own part in the creation of the movie. From editing the scenes to being the actors themselves, we all have a hand in the process. The filming was a complex process even though it might look simple on the outside.

I had quite an experience with the movie making process. The editing was a hard part because of the amount of work needed to make the scene as perfect as possible. The filming was also a great experience, as I was able to get into a position where I had to cue the various actors to do their parts in my scene. Also being the actor is very fun, being able to watch your character be filmed then see them from a different angle in a more cinematic view is quite a pleasure.

Overall the movie making process is quickly coming to a close, and hopefully our premiere of the movie will generate many positive views on our movie. It is a little bit of a shame that the many viewers of our movie will not see the large amount of work behind the scenes that we have done, but it is still a pleasure to see that our movie is coming together.

Posted by VVP Yuzo at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)