More Craft – Less Mining

However depressing it must have been for our parents, seeing us all transfixed to Cheggers Plays Pop or Runaround on a sunny day I think they got off lightly when I see my son and his friends, sat on the same sofa individually glued to a tablet or smart phone.

True they talk a bit more when they play Minecraft but it’s not really a language I can understand so it’s not that easy to feign interest.

I love technology. I love having a computer in my pocket and knowledge at the touch of a button. But I hate the way it isolates us and very often stops us being creative. Going somewhere with your kids and making a short review is really good fun. Before KidRated, a trip to a museum or gallery would be little more than a mad dash past the exhibits stopping only for food and then to spend the same amount of time browsing the gift shop. Very often on the way home we’d discuss everything but what we’d just seen. Basically, an experience that had taken up most of the day had no lasting effect and forgotten in an instant.

Making reviews for KidRated has changed all that. Now if we’re going somewhere, planning the shoot is nearly as much fun as visiting the attraction. Once we’re there we take it in turns to shoot bits of footage and the journey home is often spent discussing what we saw, what will be included in the review and how we’ll put it together.

I used to do the editing but now that’s my son’s job. Instead of building, killing or running away from things on the computer he’ll spend a couple of hours actually creating something. And because he has a kid’s fearless approach to technology he’s really good at it – much better than I am.

The other day I took him and a friend to The London Dungeon where cameras aren’t allowed. So they made their review with the built in green screen effect on the computer. He found some pictures on Google, used them as a background and then they filmed themselves via the webcam. The green screen effect was a bit ropey but they loved it and even managed to produce a moment that genuinely made me jump when I was finally allowed to watch the end result.

Yes, they spent a morning in front of a screen but they actually spoke to each other as they argued over their favourite bits from the trip and for me the end result was so much more creative than another house in Minecraft.

I’m sure they’ll disagree but I think the film will last longer then the house… probably because I’m going to blow it up when I play Minecraft later tonight.