Media and Materials

About: 

"Carrot Crazy" is a short animation film created by Dylan Vanwormer and Logan Scelina as a Senior Thesis film project for  Ringling College of Art and Design. Vanwormer and Scelina created this animation in 2011. This short film has won the "Best of Ringling- Animated Short" award in 2011.

This animation short is about one rabbit and two men trying to lore in the rabbit. The first man tries to catch the rabbit by using a small trap. Before two long, the second rabbit hunter comes along. He tries to catch the rabbit using a steel foot trap. Each hunter has a different technique that reflects their character. Each time the hunters try to out do each other. The first hunter bakes a cake, the second hunter brings a truck load of carrots, the first a backpack full of carrots, the second a ginormous carrot. At this point, the rabbit is confused on which way to go. He is back and forth back and forth. By reading the facial expressions on the rabbit, you as a viewer would think that he would choice the lumber jack looking second rabbit hunter because he was the one with the big carrot. The two hunters become so involved with out doing each other that by the end their motives have changed. They no longer want to lore in the rabbit, but rather they want to be better than the other. While the hunters are going at it with the carrot guns, the rabbit is in heaven on top of  the ginormous carrot. Out of no where a bird swoops down and takes the rabbit away. 

Due to the ending of this clip, I would recommend it to an older age group. I have set this lesson plan for the fifth grade level. At this point, students have learned about the life cycle, so they will not be as shocked when the rabbit is swooped away by a bird. 

For this lesson, students will need to analysis the difference between two characters. They will also interpret what they think is going to happen before seeing the ending. To do this, the teacher showing the clip will need to use the "play and pause" technique. Students will be able to use their sixth sense of "media analysis" to visually see the difference through facial expression, clothing choices, sound, and character actions. 

Carrot Crazy Clip link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V7MOk0FZrg

To view this clip and for this lesson some of the materials needed are internet access and a projector. The teacher showing the clip will need to access the internet to view this clip on youtube, they will also need a projector or smart board to project the video, so that students can view the material. For the activity, students will need access to a smartboard notebook file, blackboard, or whiteboard to compare and contrast the two characters. Most of this lesson will be a class discussion through higher order thinking questions provided in the activity. For the assessment activity, teachers will need to provide or have students supply their own paper to write a dialogue or story from the rabbits point of view.