Canvas (2014)

The Canvas project was a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and ICT. The overarching goal was to provide the Smithsonian with a system which rapidly allows them to create brief educational movies which can be shared through their educational portals. It consists of two interlocking parts; the authoring tool itself and the assets framework it drives. The tool is non-linear editor similar to After Effects or Final Cut but with a focus on simplicity and speed of creation. The asset framework consist of the Ada character and her treehouse environment. Within this setting authors can create short vignettes including among many features; moving to various shooting locations, displaying their own custom content, playing animations, and interacting with various props. Ideally a short piece containing material related to current events and present in a format appealing to young children can be created in under 48 hours.