How do you turn a creature into a character?

Students will study character development using literature from the sci fi genre. They will make choices about the persona, role and other relevant aspects of character development for the creature they will create, and develop a written piece describing their creature as a dynamic character. The appropriateness of their creature to these selections will be incorporated into the critique phase of the project.

How do the decisions a screenwriter makes affect the development and realism of a sci fi movie?

Students will read science fiction books that have been made into movies and analyze how various elements differ in their representation between the two media. Students will create a written movie review, to be published on the class website, discussing the decisions screenwriters made in making the screen adaptation, and whether those changes were better or worse than the original.

How can we enhance a storyline with the physical appearance of the creature we create?

Students will learn about visual design languages, and how Pixar and other animators use shape and color to convey particular character traits. They will design physical representations of their creatures using a variety of media, and articulate how their design decisions relate to the choices they have made throughout the project about the biome, role in the food chain and persona of their creature.