Ten years ago, in the summer of 2011, Charlie Rose attended his first Classroom Antics camp. Little did he and his family know that this week was the seed of his future career.
Charlie, who was just a young teenager at the time, came to camp to design video games, produce stop-motion animation videos, and build robots. He was going to learn new and interesting things during his summer vacation that would transform his life.
Charlie would work with Mr. Taylor on something called stop-motion animation, which is the process of making videos out of still-photography pictures. Through a series of pictures, Charlie learned how to tell a story using Play-Doh and LEGO minifigure characters.
First, he would set up his scene. Then, he would take a picture, move his characters slightly, and then take another picture. He’d repeat the process of moving the characters and taking pictures, over and over. When it was time to see what he created, Charlie said, “It felt like magic just happened.” He was able to make inanimate objects move on their own, like having his very own Toy Story moment. His toys became alive.
From Camp…
Charlie’s first stop-motion animation video from camp was made using LEGO blocks, mini-figures, and Play-Doh. While it may not be a Hollywood movie, it is a vision of creative play through the eyes of a child. This video was his first. (And so were these.)
…to Career
Charlie found something he loved, making stop-motion movies. He loved it all along, he just was never exposed to it until he experienced it at camp. He played with LEGOs, Play-Doh, and stick figures before, but he never had the opportunity to use them in a way to tell a story. With the help of his summer camp teachers and supportive parents, a new world opened for him.
Through high school and college, Charlie continued following his passion with stop-motion animation — taking classes at Excel TECC in high school and attaining a fine arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art — learning industry-standard practices of animation production, and specializing in character expression, action, direction, and storytelling.
For his college thesis project, Charlie wanted to break out of his comfort zone, and his film The Sky Below was the result of that self-assignment, receiving several national awards for the film.
Charlie has gone on to produce content for Hasbro on their Power Rangers franchise; and just this past spring, he worked on season 11 of Robot Chicken. Videos on his mootroidXproductions YouTube channel.
Students like Charlie find their passion and purpose through enrichment programs like Classroom Antics. And we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of his journey!
Get Your Child Started on Their Career
Your child’s future is important. Give them the opportunity to find their passion and purpose. Find a summer camp they’d enjoy. For stop-motion animation like what Charlie learned, check out our weeklong Brick Flicks summer camp.
