From a selection of 29 individual storyboards, we drew two scenes randomly and made a short screenplay from them. Then, using resources immediately available to us, we made this short film in one day on location @ Tinkering School in Montara, California:

Go cart design, assembly and testing by the inimitable Team Tinker with snippets of boat model design and other moments of singular, whimsical tinkering mastery. Thanks to Moby for his song, Porcelain.

Think, Make, Tinker: Theo, Isaac, Leo, Max, Hannah, Nik, Sam, Jacob, Julie and Gever set off to test their inventions on Day 6 of Tinkering School. Nods to King of Hawaii for the groovy surf vibe.

thanks to @kurt_vega for reminding us of this beautiful film by Cristóbal Vila:

(1879-1953)

Who is Neil Postman?

Wanna watch more? I sure did. Click here.

thinfilms is pleased to have the honor of working with Gever Tulley this summer in San Francisco.

Gever is a gifted, self-taught computer scientist and developer, having started his professional career at age 16. He is an inspiration to me and to many, many others. His work with the Tinkering School enables children as both learners and teachers, working towards the goal of bringing the next generations back into touch with play, discovery and the other whimsical tools that put our minds in closer natural proximity to innovation.

Here’s Gever’s most recent talk at TED, worth watching because he explains this like no one else can:

If you wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or a feature film I could tell you the steps to take to do that, but every working documentary filmmaker I know has gotten there through their own unique path. There is no career path.

Last night in the car, the radio began to play this tune by Dave Loggins. By some fate of radio potluck, up until that moment, Pollee hadn’t heard it and imagine her surprise when I started singing along like a seasoned Dave Loggins groupie.

Now, there is quite a bit of back story here but I’ll keep it short. It’s rare that I know a song from the 70’s era that my wife doesn’t, owing to our different experiences growing up. As a kid, her life revolved around popular music and mine was devoid of any music deemed “secular” and therefore, there are still many songs and musicians out there that I’ve not ever heard of – the upside being that I get to “discover” bands and musicians that the rest of you have known about for, like, ever. Used to bother me but now I consider it the way one would consider finding money in an old coat.

So, that explains why we pulled the car off the road, into a huge parking lot, opened the doors, turned it up, got out and stood there under the light of the moon together listening, laughing and simply being thankful for music, music we’ve heard, music we haven’t heard, music we’re hearing for the first time, music we may never hear – all kinds of music – in our lives. What would we do without music? What could replace these moments, even such an odd song as this?

““Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid” – Frank Zappa

Thanks, Frank and thanks, Dave Loggins:

Audience, the latest media installation from rAndom International, is outta sight – as the viewer walks through it, the mirror-fellows track them, making each viewer the “focus” of the piece as they are reflected in each little mirror: