As part of the project “Developing a Technology for Overcoming the Risks of Adolescence: School Theatre Based on Role Experimentation” implemented at Secondary School No. 4 under the auspices of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Contemporary Childhood (MSUPE), 7th- and 8th-grade students began multimedia classes. This year, the 7th graders are working on creating animated films, while the 8th graders are learning the art of producing and recording interviews and video films.
The animation course is taught by animator Daniil Leonovich Kostevich. In their first lesson, the 7th graders were introduced to the basics of animation: they watched short films, learned about key techniques and materials, and then split into groups to begin work under Kostevich’s guidance. The foundation for their future animated films was drawn from Dmitry Likhachyov’s Letters on Kindness. Much of the session focused on analyzing the texts: students read excerpts, identified central ideas, selected artistic images to illustrate them, and created script outlines. The animation classes continued in art lessons, where students explored metaphor and the use of stable associations to create accessible images for viewers, and began storyboarding and designing backgrounds and characters.

For 8th graders, professional journalist Ivan Dmitrievich Dubrov began classes on video production and editing. The first session introduced students to the basics of journalism and the interview genre. Dubrov explained how to properly set up lighting, position interviewer and interviewee, and choose camera angles, analyzing well-known interviews as examples. Students were particularly interested in techniques for making material engaging for viewers, the technology of editing interviews, and interview strategies, including effective communication methods and ways of eliciting meaningful responses from interviewees. In the second part of the session, students practiced as interviewers, speakers, and camera operators, applying their new skills in practice.
Multimedia classes within the project serve several functions: career guidance, correction, and methodology. By trying themselves as scriptwriters, directors, operators, animators, editors, or journalists, some students may find direction in their future careers. For those too shy to take part in acting or training exercises, animation and video provide an alternative way to express emotions, practice communication skills, and feel successful and valued within the group. Moreover, the multimedia products will be integrated into final theatrical performances, helping young actors expand and deepen the themes explored on stage.

Source — Secondary School No. 4