MAPS kicks off 2022 with drones, music, animation, and film …

 What stories will you tell in 2022?

MAPS Media Institute’s afterschool media arts classes continue in 2022 with exciting selections in design, film, music, and new technologies.

“Ravalli County 8th to 12th graders will have incredible creative opportunities in the new year,” says Clare Ann Harff, MAPS Executive Director. “From building drones and character drawing for animation, to creating music from scratch and a promotional video for the Ravalli DUI Task Force, MAPS studios will be hopping this winter!”

MAPS instructors aren’t the only ones excited to launch into new media art platforms. MAPS students are also looking forward to the new classes, like “Sky Robots,” taught by local tech wizard John Springer. “Almost every film you watch these days has drone work in it. In addition to learning to fly them, race them, and build them, I’m excited to learn about all the jobs available for drone pilots,” said MAPS teaching assistant and Corvallis High School student Jacob Domsalla.”

In addition to the drone building class, students can explore the art of digital animation and how to bring characters to life. While many students enjoy digital drawing on iPads and tablets, learning how to make illustrations move in realistic ways is an entirely different art form. Amanda Estrada, the instructor of “It’s a Moving World: Character Drawing for Animation” class, is a professional 3D prop and environment artist who works with design teams all over the world.

Janna Williams, MAPS Communications & Marketing Director, said, “I am excited to see how the students make the shift from still form to movement. Many love the world of anime and video games. An opportunity to work with an established artist in this field is not something always available to young artists. Showing them how to make their artwork in mediums like those will be very exciting.”

For the musicians and those interested in learning about music production, local musician Cove Jasmin is teaching “Songs from Scratch”. As Cove explains, “Not only will students learn the fundamentals of song creation and create original pieces, but they’ll also learn how to plan and organize a studio session – a chance to hone their production chops.”

Filmmaker Dan Molloy will be back in the MAPS studio in 2022. Molloy’s experience as an independent filmmaker and creative consultant with a history of working in the motion pictures and film industry has not only placed him on film sets of popular shows such as “Yellowstone” but has also honed his ability to inspire young filmmakers in a professional setting. In the “Making a Difference Through Film” class, students will produce a short promo video for the Ravalli DUI Task Force, a long-time supporter of MAPS.

Take a quick trip to mapsmediainstitute.com for class overviews and to learn more about its statewide programming. “At a big picture level, MAPS is all about using media arts to teach and encourage communication skills. Skills which help students express themselves articulately and effectively, no matter what their interest, no matter what their career path,” said Harff. “Knowing that, MAPS just has one question – what stories will you tell?”

• All abilities welcome!
• Students may enroll at any time.
• Afterschool Classes run January – May 2022.
• All classes are free-of-charge for 8-12th grade students.
• MAPS is open 3:00pm – 7:00pm Monday thru Thursday.

For more information about MAPS, or to enroll, please visit mapsmediainstitute.com