Activities
We are expecting to offer the activities listed below. Places on all activities are limited due to equipment availability and the number of team with skills in each area, so book early to avoid disappointment! Once you have booked onto Transformers we will send you a questionnaire asking which activity(ies) you'd like to do. Please fill in as much detail as you can regarding your level of experience, and any particular projects you'd like to do, or skills you'd like to learn.
Music
Whether your ambition is to be in front of the microphone, in music technology or to be the songwriting genius behind it all, this is your opportunity to create your own pop, rock, dance, worship etc song.
- Working with other young people and the team, either write your own song or choose a cover version.
- Record the vocals and instruments - if you play an instrument, please do bring it along if you can.
- Work on sound processing and editing to create one or more remixes.
- Take your finished project home on CD.
There may also be the opportunity to work in Video to create a music video for your song for inclusion on a DVD.
Click here to visit the music activity page from the Transformers 2007 website where you can download MP3 versions of the songs produced.
Video
Come with a cast, a script and a storyboard and we'll help you turn your dream into a reality with cameras, non-linear editing and some special effects! Alternatively, just bring your enthusiasm for acting or being part of the crew, and we'll teach you about planning a short movie, newsreel, music video or advertisement, camera-work, sound, composition and editing. There may also be the opportunity to produce material for the praise and worship sessions on the holiday.
The school grounds provide scenic settings for anything from Dickensian drama to sci-fi adventures, so let your imagination go wild!
Click here for the video activity page from the Transformers 2007 website where you can dowload Quicktime versions of last year's video productions.
Graphics
Computers are great for being creative. In this activity you can create projects using media such as web pages, 3D graphics or digital photography in any combination you can imagine. If you've got ideas but not the skills, or skills but no ideas, don't worry - there'll be plenty of people at Transformers with both, who can get you started.
Computers are capable of producing dazzling graphics. But how do you generate cool images and animations? We've got the software and know-how you need to create stunning two-, three-, and four-dimensional graphics. If you've got the ideas and the enthusiasm, we can show you how to create gorgeous results. You can manipulate existing two dimensional images like photos and video stills, create intricate 3D models or use a video editing and post production software to put everything together.
- Join in a group project to create an animated short film.
- Add particle effects to images and video sequences (a common technique used in the media).
- Enhance digital photos by adding special effects. See what you'd look like with bright pink hair and three glowing eyes...!
- Design an amazing new logo for your band, web site etc
- Render a dramatic image of anything you can imagine, designing all the objects and textures and lighting in the scene yourself.
Click here to visit the graphics activity page from the Transformers 2007 website, where you can dowload a Quicktime of the film that was produced
Programming
a) Introductory Programming
If you've ever wondered how to get a computer to do what you want it to, or you've got a great idea for a new computer game, then you'll need to know how to program a computer. Let it do far more than just write e-mails or letters. Let it do what you want (well, hopefully!) Learn how programs work inside, how they interact, and the challenges and possibilities facing the programmer. What steps do you need to carry out to take a design, say for a game of Pacman, and translate it into a playable program? What decisions do you have to make, and how do you get your ideas across to the computer? And what makes a program a good one anyway? If you'd like to find out, choose Introductory Programming!
We'll be continuing to use the Python programming language, and our own module that will help you in creating impressive games with graphics and sound effects.
b) Advanced Programming
If you've already written some programs and want to learn more, then you may be interested in our advanced programming group. For example, you can learn how to build scripted web pages, which can change each time they're viewed or when someone fills in a form, or just make web site maintenance easier. If you've got your own programming projects or aspirations, bring them along and our experienced team will help in whatever way we can. When completing your activity questionnaire, please give us as many details as possible bout any languages or technologies you are interested in using.
Click here for the home page of the programming activity on the Transformers 2007 website.
Electronics
In the current age electronics is changing - when you used to take anything electronic apart you would find masses of large, separate components taking up a lot of space. That doesn't tend to be the case any more as most things are run using small printed circuit boards and black chips. To keep up with this trend the Transformers electronics activity is changing to look at the black chips - or one in particular - a PIC Microcontroller. Such chips are complete computers that are able to run surprisingly sophisticated programs: reacting to inputs such as buttons and controlling outputs such as displays and motors. A typical mid-range car has over 50 microcontrollers, and nearly all devices such as washing machines, microwaves and telephones have a microcontroller at their heart.
The new part of electronics is now linked in with the programming activity - we've prepared a practice board based around a PIC18F4550 micro-controller that connects to the USB port of your computer. We can teach you to program it using the C language, and get it to do something interesting - we'll help you figure out some ideas. At the end of the holiday you can take the whole thing home and keep programming it to get it to do new and different things.
Some projects will take all week, others only half the time, giving you the opportunity to do another activity as well. If you've never done anything like this before, we suggest you try one of the easier ones; it really isn't that complicated, and we're here to help you every step of the way. If you're already a dab hand at soldering then maybe go for something more challenging, and we will try to help you to understand more about how the circuit works. If you have your own project that you're working on, you can bring it along to the holiday, but let us know in advance so we can make sure we can provide the facilities you need.
If you decide to do Electronics, we'll ask you to pay for your project when you arrive at Transformers. We'll provide all tools and testing equipment, but if you have tools of your own (cutters, soldering iron, etc.) you might like to bring them along. The basic Transformers PIC kit will cost around £30 and let you do many things, but you may want to want add extra parts to it for particular applications, and we'll help you work on this and can order extra parts on your behalf. If you sign up for this activity before we get an exact price then we'll charge you at most £30 even if the kit works out a little more expensive.
Click here for the home page of the electronics activity on the Transformers 2007 website.