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gamerbearmira · 1 year

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BATB THE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

I don’t care if it isn’t Christmas. I love them and I say they be happy. I say that they get presents.

LETS GET IT RAHHHHHHHHHH 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅

idea by @unabashedtheoristflower this is actually their AU and they are so cool everyone say hi

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Mirabel beamed with joy at her family’s excitement. She had been planning this whole thing for over a month now, and was glad she could pull it off with success. She had learned pretty early on (mainly from Antonio and Luisa, but also Dolores), that they didn’t really celebrate…anything. Holidays, birthdays, events, nothing. Since Mirabel’s birthday, they had virtually done nothing, and it made Mrabel’s heart break. They had tried to celebrate Antonio's birth but...it wasn't has joyful as it could've been.

It explained a lot too. When she first came to Casita there was this kind of glum atmosphere around. Mirabel had taken notice of it, and fast. If she and Antonio weren’t bouncing around, playing, talking and interacting with everyone, they were just there. Meandering around doing very mundane things. Hence why Mirabel set out to help them get back on their feet again.

Thankfully Antonio was on board. And while he really only knew the family for as long as Mirabel had, he was very observant. He watched them do stuff and listened to everyone talk about certain things, expect their Abuela of course, but that was obvious. For 2 weeks the two had managed to gather enough info for Mirabel to get gifts. Come the 6th she had went out to the things she needed or just buy the gifts. And she was almost caught! Had Antonio and Casita not covered for her, she would’ve been caught. But, it was worth it. She got their gifts, wrapped them and hid them.

And come Christmas, she finally was able to give them the presents! It was completely unexpected, but they were more than excited. Mirabel had even gotten up extra early to decorate with some things she picked up when she went into town. At first, they didn’t even believe it. They thought it was a trick, something the candle had done in order to torment them. But, given Mirabel’s explanation, they were more than excited. A holiday, finally after a decade!

They were shocked at the gifts to say the least. A few of them, like Julieta, Luisa and Dolores tried to refuse them, saying that they didn't get anything for her. But Mirabel had said she never did expect anything back; she just wanted them to be happy. That was enough to make her happy. And looking around, they were happy. And so she was happy.

The only person left was Abuela. She was sitting silently in the corner in a chair, watching them all. She didn't look excited and happy, but then again, she didn't look upset. Mirabel was a bit surprised by that, considering she had practically begged her to come out and Casita pretty much forced her out of her room. She was still a bit awkward around the family, but she was doing way better than when she first came (in which Alma and someone of someones would always end up in an argument).

Picking up the last box, she walked over to the elderly woman, still smiling. She looked down at her, and the flame on her head flicked for a moment as the grandmother looked up at her. Alma had noticed the box, but didn't say anything. Mirabel looked at the box, and then held it out for Alma to take.

She didn't, though. Though it was clear it wasn't because she didn't want it---she actually just looked...confused. Mirabel giggled, gesturing for her to take it.

"It's for you," Mirabel said, and Alma blinked.

"But...I didn't...I don't..." She couldn't really find the words to speak. The one time she actually wanted to say something to her granddaughter that might help, she was stuttering.

"I don't expect anything. Just take it, I got it just for you," Mirabel said, still grinning. Alma raised her hands, carefully taking the box from Mirabel's hand, doing her best not to the wax drip and possibly burn her (not that it would, Mirabel seemed to be completely unaffected by any of the family and any harm they may accidentally cause her).

She looked down at it, staring. She noticed the room went quiet, the family was definitely looking in their direction. Mirabel patiently waited for her to open the box. Alma wouldn't lie, she was curious as to what her youngest granddaughter had gotten her. Hesitantly, the pulled the makeshift yarn ribbon, and pulled the the top off, looking inside.

"A...camera?" Alma asked quietly. She hadn't had a camera since..well since Mirabel left. She had destroyed the one they had. She didn't think anyone should have been photographed, and in her frustration at being cursed, she smashed it.

"Yup! I noticed you don't have a lot of photos around Casita—but now you can take a ton! I even got film!” Mirabel smiled, excitedly bouncing in place. Alma stared at it, shocked. Mirabel started to get worried, was there something wrong? “Do…do you like it?”

Alma seems to snap out of her trance and she alternated between the camera and Mirabel before settling on the camera. She was glad she was incapable of carrying, because had she been able, she probably would have started bawling right then and there. The family watched, waiting for her response, her reaction.

Alma’s face softened greatly and she had a small, gentle smile on her face. “Yes, I do. Muchos gracias.” The family all gaped, she petty never reacted like that. Ever. But it seemed like since Mirabel came back she had been doing more of that (not that it was a problem).

Mirabel looked happier than ever, excited even. It was a success! She planned out Christmas and executed it perfectly. Now she just had to do the last phase.

“Casita, come on!” Mirabel said excitedly, practical bouncing out of the room. The family was confused, but before anyone could asked, Casita pushed them all towards the center courtyard, much to their bewilderment. The house moved them around, putting the taller ones like Luisa and Bruno towards the back and the smaller ones like Antonio to the front. Mirabel came running back in, almost sliding into a wall, but thankfully Casita stopped her; she some sort of stand in her hand. Pushing the gift box Alma had previously dropped, she pulled the camera out, quickly loading the film and putting it on top of the stand, positioning it in front of her family.

“Mirabel?” Luisa asked, looking at her sister as she set the camera up, cranking the timer. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a family photo of course!” Mirabel exclaimed, smiling widely. The family all stared at her in shock, unsure of what to do or say. “Ok smile!” Mirabel said, pulling her face into a smile, gesturing them to follow. The family collectively wavered, but upon seeing Mirabel’s literal excitement, the complied.

Mirabel quickly rushed over, standing next to her abuela, who was looking rather uncomfortable. Mirabel grabbed her hand, looking at the camera lens. Alma blinked, and looked at Mirabel, then her hand. Usually none of the family members would touch her, mainly because her wax body was too hot to touch for too long. But Mirabel didn’t even seem phased. No one bit. She swore her heart, if it was still there, softened, and she turned towards the camera and did her best to smile.

The camera flashed and Mirabel was somehow already next to the camera once the family recovered from the bright flash p. Sure, Felíx was a constant source, but this was quick and sudden, at when he was nearby they had some kind of way to brace themselves. Mirabel was smiling down at the picture which had developed and she ran over to show them.

“Look! It looks awesome, right?” Mirabel said. Alma had gotten a closer look, and…well she just stared. Looking at the photo. They actually looked like a normal family again. For once the curses weren’t the first thing she saw. She just saw her family. She looked at granddaughter. Alma’s face was back to its usual plain, flat look, but her mind was racing.

Why did she do this? Why did she put in so much effort?

Why did she forgive her so easily, so quickly? Why?

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HWHAT….😧

This was a lot longer than I initially intended but. I think it’s fine. Maybe. I’m not sure. ANYWAY I HOOE Y’ALL LIKE THIS K BYEEEEE <333

I think about them all day everyday they do not leave my mind 🏃‍♀️💨💨🗿

#my asks are open #my asks #encanto #encanto au #au #encanto mirabel #encanto alma #encanto antonio #beauty and the beast au #batb au

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fandoms-and-bullcrap · 2 years

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This is so dumb but I gotta share it with the world.

For this to work the Madrigals will have to be US immigrants with Abuela running to the US with her triplets so the triplets are Colombian born but the grandkids are from the US.

Okay so I was trying to imagine another way the whole Mariano/Isabela/Dolores thing to work without the engagement and I found the most stupid way but I for some reason love it.

Dolores, Mariano and Isabela went to the same highschool

Dolores is a band geek while Isa is a cheerleader and Mariano is a quarterback (Im not American so idk American football and am taking this from movies)

Isa and Mariano are pretty popular and became friends due to both being in sports and their social status

Dolores on the other hand is a quiet, soft-spoken band nerd

Dolores and Mariano don't really talk to eachother due to not being from the same friend groups but she has a crush on him

She never spoke to him or tried to befriend him because of her shyness

Just to clear up that Mariano and Isa aren't the super friends that hang out all the time and are always together, they are more of the we have the same social group and think eachother are cool so we hang out in school but not out of it kind of friends and that's why Mariano doesn't really interact or "see" Dolores

Mariano is still a major himbo though

Now knowing all that we cut to senior year

Isa doesn't really care for prom but when her worst enemy, Lindsey, tells her that she is running for prom queen and says that she wouldn't be surprised if Isa didn't run for fear of losing, Isa sees it as a challange

Prom isn't for another few months but Isa starts planing everything, along with who is going to be her prom king so that she has the best chances of winning

And who better to be her king than the quarterback himself? It also wouldn't be weird if the quarterback and cheerleader started dating right?

So Isa goes up to Mariano and tells him of her plan, fake date until prom so they become the "it" couple and win, having a fake breakup right afterwards

Mariano agrees because being the himbo that he is he just wants to have fun and help his friend accomplish a goal (he also low-key doesn't like Lindsey because she is a bully but he will never mention that)

Everything is going to plan, people are starting to notice the new couple, with most complimenting how good they are together and how they can't wait for them to be crowned Prom king and queen

That is until Julieta comes over to the school to handle some school paperwork and as she is leaving she sees Isa and Mariano getting out of school. Like the good mother she is she asks who he is and Luisa having also just gotten out of school casually says "oh that's Isa's new boyfriend"

Little did Luisa know the tragedy that would ensue because as those words leave her mouth and both women fail to notice the slight grimace that Isa does, Julieta invites Mariano to dinner so the family can get to know her new boyfriend

Dolores through all of this is pretty upset but holds it in because she wants her cousin to be happy and Mariano is just a crush after all right? But when she hears about the family dinner where they'd meet the new boyfriend, her heart sinks

Dolores does hide It well enough at the dinner, managing to keep quiet managing to make little to no eye contact with both Isa and Mariano but Isa notices she isn't making eyecontact and Dolores notices she noticing and Isa notices Dolores noticing she is noticing

But anyways the dinner goes... well? It's pretty awkward with small talk, fumbled stories and teasing, oh so much teasing Camilo and Mirabel are a nightmare

To Isa's dismay though, Mariano leaves a good impression and all of her family is pleasantly surprised by his politeness, inviting him to come over any time he wants

Isa does manage to corner a very unwilling Dolores to ask what was wrong during dinner and after much convincing Dolores finally snaps and tells her cousin about her crush

Isa, not wanting to make her cousin feel bad also tells her everything and says to her that she will stop everything if it's hurting her but to her surprise Dolores starts to laugh

After hearing from Dolores that she is fine to continue with her plan because Mariano never noticed her anyways and having her plan called stupid she decides to still fake date Mariano (because her plan ain't stupid DOLORES) but at the same time tries to point out Dolores to Mariano every time she can

"Hey Mariano that's my cousin Dolores over there, the one you met at the dinner, well she is in band and they have a presentation later this week, maybe we should go and give her support you know, cuz my cousin is so great and everything and also very pretty, do you see how pretty she is?"

Something that neither cousins know though is that Mariano had noticed Dolores before and had already seen how pretty she is, he just never approached her because he thought she was way too smart and he wouldn't be able to keep a good enough conversation with her

After this goes on for a few weeks Isa notices that Mariano does like Dolores back but both of them are completely and utterly oblivious to the other's feeling so now she has put it upon herself to both fake date Mariano and set the two oblivious idiots up

But prom is in a few days and she needs to win so she decides to just leave hints until after prom and concentrates more on winning

During prom they both do end up wining prom queen and king and, after much insisting from Isa's part, Dolores asks Mariano for a dance

After prom Mariano and Dolores end up together and Isa is stuck having to formulate a way to tell her family why her and Mariano broke up so soon and why he is dating her cousin days after the breakup

#encanto #encanto movie #la familia madrigal #madrigal family #dolores madrigal #isabela madrigal #mariano madrigal #encanto au #modern au #the madrigals #the family madrigal #the madrigal family #sorry for any spelling mistakes #english is not my native language

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whogavemoththerighttohyperfix · 3 years

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MY LOOK ON ENCANTO PART 4 2/2 AYYY IM DOING ALL THE TV SPOTS

Sorry for the quality I couldn’t find good quality videos but thanks so much to Antoine Harrak for uploading them all!

OK NOW ITS TIME FOR TV SPOT 3#! SORRY THERE WAS ONLY ONE NEW CLIP

Ok so there isn’t much to this clip but I’m pretty sure it takes place either before, during or just after Luisa’s Song because it looks to be on the similar path that they were standing in at what looked like to be the start of the song, not much to say on this clip it’s just Mirabel looking shocked while standing in a field

ENCANTO SPOT 4# THERE WAS ONLY ONE NEW CLIP AGAIN

Yet again only one clip but I think it’s cool how it shows that Mirabel is basically dumped on babysitter duty as the rest of her family get to go and enjoy their time in the town, this is just a random theory but I think that she either has to look after the child because she probably has to do this because the town either sees her as a free babysitter or that she needs to contribute something like the rest of her family. There’s not really much to back this other than how they seem to pity her in clips.

ENCANTO SPOT 5#

There’s not much to go off in the first clip but I think it might be mirabel standing in frount of her door watching the party, either that or she might be looking at Antonio’s door. I think this mainly because of her sad/bittersweet smile and I honestly think she will be happy for Antonio but it must be hard to see him get what she always wanted that and I bet she wished the house just stopped giving gifts.

I think the second clip is maybe the day after the party, because him getting his gift and his party seem to be at night but in the clip you can clearly see it’s daytime, also not got much to say about this one I just think it’s cute

NOW ITS TIME FOR THE LAST ONE WHICH IS ENCANTO SPOT 6# IT WAS SHORT BUT IT ONLY HAD NEW CLIPS!

OK! First I don’t know if these clips are in the trailer or there just solely used for the advertisement but I’m going to treat them like their not clips from the movie but just an advertisement , ok so the first four clip is Mirabel walking in on Pepa Crying over some sort of book so since her powers are connected to the weather it’s starts to rain, honestly before this I always thought that Mirabel and Pepa would have a kind of bitter relationship to each other, they obviously wouldn’t hate each other but I don’t think they get along so it’s nice to see a cute scene of them. Also I like how the family just accepted having loads of animals around.

The second clip is of Jullietas side of the family making dinner together and honestly it’s nice to see their part of the family together since most of the time we only get to see all of them in group shots. It makes me hope we get to see Pepas part of the family interact just by themselves.

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mikumutual · 2 years

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watched encanto! everyone was right, it’s really good

i’d seen tumblr posts about it, jokes and whatnot, but i decided never to look anything up and spoil myself, just in case i wanted to watch it. which i did! so i didn’t know much going in except like what the characters looked like and a few of the songs i actually thought that bruno was going to be a villain! probably because the only time i saw him was when camilo shapeshifted into him lol. he’s waaay nicer than i thought he would be, real silly guy on that note, dolores can’t keep a secret, right? like she HAD to tell everyone that mirabel saw bruno’s vision. but. isnt bruno living in the fucking walls?!?! and NOBODY knows about that? dolores would hear him!!!!! she’d hear the rats!!!!!!!!! how has she never mentioned that to anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (edit: maybe it is addressed?! one of her lines in a song is "i can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling" - present tense! even so, that's a hefty secret to keep, i'm not sure how she does) also id looove more intel on everyone and their powers. like i know that you can’t fit that much into an hour and a half (and they used their time VERY well, it’s a concise story and not a second is boring, i really love it) but it wouldve been cool to see more of everything! like dolores opening her door - surely as a child she freaked the fuck out from being able to hear literally everything at once, right? how the hell does she even parse out different sounds? i also thought some of the powers would be more of a plot point - especially camilo. i mean, shapeshifting? and you DON’T have a switcheroo? i know there was that one impersonation which i appreciated but i really thought there was gonna be something important. or antonio’s animals doing something big, or julieta not being able to cook fast enough to save someone... obviously the movie focused more on mirabel and bruno and abuela but i would love even more!! i WILL say though that the sisters were really well done. isabela’s move from perfect flowers to sharp plants with clashing colors was AMAZING, completely unexpected and totally flipped my perspective of her. luisa too - her song is sooo poignant, working hard but fucking crying half the time, shes sooo everything to me and also she’s ripped as hell so how could i not love her i also looooooved how the house was its own character. it makes you wonder about the source of magic in this world! fuckin house of theseus at the end there! this is now the second media ive consumed in which a house interacts with the characters and i love both but this one is MUCH more cheerful. so playful! the stairs turning into a ramp to keep some kids from going up actually made me laugh. love u casita also why the FUCK didn’t mirabel get a gift. was that ever explained. was it just the magic waning. what the fuck house you couldn’t give her a new one at the end there?? actually i’m happy that she didn’t because acceptance in a house and family and town that loves her is more important than finally getting what you were always hoping for when it was never going to happen can i just mention how phenomenal the story is though. everything in the plot. god. so incredibly well done. just about cried at the flashback scene and that is NOT usual for me and ummm yeah i think that’s everything! such a good movie, very pretty visuals, the camaraderie of the characters makes me so happy, and i always love a story where each member of a family has a different power... and the songs are amazing too. i’m really glad everyone online kept talking about it, it’s already one of my favorites without a doubt

#edit: hiii ive seen the movie multiple times now so pretty much anything i'm unsure about here is outdated lol!!#i'm not editing anything bc this is my real reaction immediately after seeing it for the first time but #don't worry i know dolores' line at the end there now :D

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float-me-now · 4 years

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I'm very happy to say that even though my expectations after 6x06 were low, this time I was wrong! This episode by Alyssa Clark was actually well written and pleasant to watch. So here is my usual, not requested take on 7x09!

WRITTEN BY: Alyssa Clark DIRECTED BY: Amyn Kaderali

Say all you want about Bardo, but I like their style. The training suits and the masks? Cool as hell.

When Murphy said "I am 150 pounds wet" I almost spat my water. Jeez I love him so much, I don’t know who came up with that line but kudos to you.

Indra is literally done with everybody's bullshit guys. Even though, technically speaking, it was Emori's bad idea that led to all that situation and not Jackson or Murphy’s fault: rounding up people wasn't wise at all (even Murphy told her that) and it only gave Nikki the occasion to attack.

Jackson going all "omg Nate was with them" I'm sorry man but Nate jumped straight into the anomaly without even looking back lol.

I really liked the fight scenes on Bardo AND THE FIST BUMP GUYS I MEAN I LOVE THIS SQUAD

"I feel like this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" I FUCKING HOPED SO YOU 3 ARE GOLDEN

Echo basically has a Ph.D. in brainwashing, and her scars are practically identical to Roan's :'D (I personally hope it was an intentional tribute to him).

I know some people think that the Bardo storyline is boring, but I can't see why. I actually find it interesting. Maybe I'm biased because I like all the four characters involved, but it's also well done, it makes you understand stuff and the settings are neat and aesthetically pleasing.

Levtavia actually happened I am shooketh!

I'm happy that this Primes show is over, it was a bit annoying and it kept Murphy too tied imo. Finally time to bring back the survivor clothes now :D

John Murphy ladies and gentlemen, smart master of dialectics and talkativeness when held at gunpoint.

The final scene with Sheidheda was absolutely epic to say the least. The way he talked, the way he herded people as he spoke about sheep, the candles, fucking powerful. Maybe it was a tad imprudent on Indra's part to leave him with the Faithful hoping that he would get killed, I mean she knows what he's capable of...

Goodbye Jerry :(

I don't even like Emori as a character, but dang Luisa's performance in the beginning was so realistic! Great actress! I also liked Nikki’s interaction with Murphy, Hatch’s death really wrecked her.

I've said it before and I'll say it forever, JR Bourne is one of the best additions this show could have had. Apart from being amazing on his own, he's spectacular with Richard and Adina. Three of my favourite actors on the show.

Two-week break? I’ll take it as a holiday to get away from all this series-induced stress 😂

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theonceoverthinker · 5 years

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JTV - Chapter 97 Thoughts: The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent

Once again, I actually liked this episode...mostly!

Good

-I actually started applauding when Alba confronted Magda! I was a little worried for a second that Magda was going to fall down the stairs (or pretend to) and frame it on Alba, but I am SO glad that didn’t happen. That was such a triumphant moment for Alba and the way it connected with her story with Jane was one of the better points of story connections of the series!

-Also, Jorge, that was a really cool thing you did, man. It doesn’t make up for earlier in the season, but I’d be lying if i said that wasn’t some solid character development.

-I like how Magda’s defeat was layered. Both Alba and Petra got moments where they got a win over her and even though Alba was silently there for Petra’s, the fact that Magda had to settle to her demands and the triumph Petra had over closing the deal was great.

-Hot DAMN, Luisa! Just...hot DAMN! That was cold, calculating, and perfect!

-I’m actually excited to see Rose on the loose. She kept falling to the sidelines this season, but I’m excited to see what she’ll be up to during the next few episodes.

Indifferent

-The Mateo DNA Test Subplot. If I was able to grade my certainty that Mateo was Jane and Raf’s, it would be about 98%. I feel like if they wanted this subplot to be as scary for us as it was for Jane and Raf, it should not have happened in the fourth to last episode. Because if he’s not theirs...then you have three episode to wrap things up with that in addition to every other subplot, and like Sarah Lynn said, “that’s too much, man.” Still, I think it did a good job reintroducing Rose to Jane’s story so I think it’s passable enough.

Bad

-River’s decision. While, I can’t tell whether I find the decision a tragic but necessary choice on River’s part, or something that was horribly unfair to Rogelio, but I’m leaning heavily on the latter. I think the show waited too long to introduce Pond and even though I like her and her mother and feel for their struggles, I’m way too invested in Rogelio and Xo’s happiness over theirs to feel like this ending conflict is in any way a fair and balanced choice. Like, Pond really should’ve had more of a presence in the season, even in smaller parts, just to make the characters mean more to the audience. It also doesn’t help that there was a useless River romance subplot for two episodes when that time establishing River’s family could’ve been better used. I get that the conflict is supposed to be less about them and more about Ro’s dream, but again, to see it snatched away in that manner is unfair, but not in a good way.

...In fact, wasn’t River supposed to not really have much of a family and that’s why interacting with the Villanuevas was so important?

#jtv spoilers #jtv #jane the virgin spoilers #jane the virgin

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schoolofmaaa · 7 years

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Interview with an Educator

School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe recently turned three-years-old. We interviewed our fearless leader, Rachel Uwa, about the school’s beginnings and where we’ll go from here.

Congratulations on your three-year anniversary! How are you?

Thanks! We, myself along with the community here, are all very excited about turning three. We’ve hosted over twelve programs across four countries, 147 students and 57 instructors altogether representing 43 countries, 13 exhibitions, two online classes and one residency over this period, so we’re pretty happy to see what’s next.

Robot bartenders making RGB drinks at our 3-year-anniversary party, Summer 2017.

How would you describe School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe to those unfamiliar with it?

Thus far, the school has been a three-year exploration in what an intensive, creative technology education program could be! We’re guided by a vision of being a place where generous, kind humans meet interactive, thoughtful, and playful Kunst; a place for people to learn hands-on creative technology in new contexts.

First creative research residency program participants, deep-dreamed by Gene Kogan, Spring 2017.

What made you to create your own school?

I’ve always been addicted to learning. Knowing that no matter what I do that addiction will never be cured, I figured I should formalise it by creating learning experiences and spaces where myself and others can deepen our own art practice while integrating more creative technology into our work.

Students hanging out in front of ACUD, Summer 2016.

In what ways is it different from other schools?

I think my approach is different for one thing, I’m an individual not an institution.

Also, creative technology is brilliant but I’m trying really hard to teach life skills and help everyone think about what it means to be human in the context of being surrounded by all this fancy shiny tech stuff.

Regardless of what technology we’re using, we’re all human! That’s the common denominator I like to start with.

Storytelling and VR 360 program, Summer 2016.

What does a program look like?

Programs are typically four-weeks long although I’m starting to put together shorter ones. Four-weeks are ideal, though, as it’s the perfect amount of time to focus on a very narrow topic, get hands-on and enough practice to actually learn some skills that you can walk away with.

This is the main thing, I want to empower people to not just talk about ideas but to make them happen, continually throughout life. So really the four-weeks is intense but it’s also only the beginning.

Students at Weinbergsweg Park across from our home base ACUD, Summer 2016.

How do you curate a program?

I’m always trying my best to pay attention to what’s going on in the world whether it be related to the tech world, or politics and society. When I curate a class I try and combine them such that there’s always an underlying basis for exploring a new technology.

Everyone creates classes around the latest shiny technology, I’m interested in going deeper. Finding instructors who have a similar vision in that regard is also an important factor.

Critical Engineering workshop led by Julian Oliver and Danja Vasiliev, Summer 2015.

Who are the instructors?

The instructors I enjoy working with are often well-known in their field or communities and just all-around brilliant humans!

We have people like Chris Sugrue, who has so far taught creative coding here with Processing, openFrameworks and now C# in Unity and who currently also teaches at Parsons Paris.

Instructor Chris Sugrue helping student, Wasabii Ng, Summer 2015.

Gene Kogan is also a repeat instructor. His main focus currently is on machine learning for artists. I love that he’s so prolific and keen on sharing new work on a daily basis. He’s really dedicated to helping make it easier for others to understand and get started with ml4a. He’ll also be teaching in our August program next month!

Participants in Machine Learning for Activists workshop, part of Influencers Conference, Barcelona, Spain, Fall 2016.

I often bring in brilliant people who stem from the Design Interactions program at The Royal College of Art under Dunne and Raby, such as Andrew Friend and Sitraka Rakotoniaina, Joseph Popper and Nick Mortimer, and now Chris Woebken and Sascha Pohflepp.

I find their deeper understanding of speculative and critical design important when thinking about approaches to interactive and creative technology.

Cool ideas don’t often come out of thin air! But you can use techniques that encourage taking a look at the past and the present as a foundation for understanding what will come next and your art and design work can be better for it.

Instructors Marcela Godoy, Joana Moll, Luisa Pereira, and Rachel Uwa, Summer 2015.

I find it also important to bring in as many female instructors as possible. We need more diverse role models!

People often have the impression there are so few women working in technology. It’s true! But that’s also why it’s important to make known the ones that are here.

I’m trying to create something special and the wonderful instructors I choose to work with are absolutely a part of that.

Who are your students typically?

Students tend to be artists and creatives interested in working with interactive technology and tech people who desire to be more creative or in some way express something meaningful.

Sometimes they’re coming from a field they love and are simply looking to enhance their current skills. Other times they’re coming from a field they hate and looking to get into something completely new. I’ve seen all types of students excel!

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Closer by Marie LeBlanc Flanagan, Summer 2016.

Marie LeBlanc Flanagan is a brilliant past student who took several classes last summer. She’s been an Editor-in-Chief at Weird Canada and also founder of Drone Day, an international day for celebration of drone music.

She moved to Berlin with a desire to make her own experimental games and created several brilliant projects while here, including Closer, a co-operative computer vision game that uses two people’s moving bodies as a shared single controller. After being here she’s also presented her games at several festivals internationally!

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Empathy Bomber Backpack by Monique Grimord, Turin, Italy, Winter, 2016.

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Growing Trash by Matt Visco, in Turin, Italy, Winter, 2016.

Monique Grimord, an interaction designer, and Matt Visco, a web programmer, both participated in Coming Soon, a small program we ran in Turin, Italy, focused on design fiction and connected devices.

I love that they didn’t create the obvious Internet of Things -type objects but rather created projects that took into account the changed and connected world we could be living in once IoT and smart objects have been completely embraced by society.

Haiku Mirror by Roland Arnoldt and Jake Elwes, Summer 2016.

Roland Arnoldt is another great guy who attended our Neural Aesthetic (machine learning) program last summer. He came to us having already explored several careers- a radio-host turned DJ turned technology integration specialist- who was interested in how humans behave when they interact with machines.

He’s been quite prolific in creating things and has been a part of several collaborative projects with Jake Elwes, another lovely artist and participant in Neural Aesthetic.

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Doodle Tunes created by Andreas Refsgaard and Gene Kogan at Nabi AI Hackathon in Seoul, Korea, 2016.

Andreas Refsgaard, who also took part in that program, now often travels around the world collaborating on workshops together with Gene, the instructor. I’m quite happy about that pairing as well I have to say! Together they’re really a great team!

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Cloud Factory by Rita Eperjesi, Summer 2016

Rita Eperjesi is another a lovely human and past participant. She was trained in architecture in Hungary and working as a graphic designer but had lots of ideas for creating dreamy interactive projects, many of which she’s since realized here at the school! Her first of which was Cloud Factory which allows you to lie down and draw clouds in the sky.

More than anything I’m so happy to be able to give these brilliant humans a chance to make something that feels magical to them!

What skill set do you need to apply?

There are generally no required skills although depending on the program it may be good to have some relevant experience and interests.

I’m interested in cultivating a supportive community so more important to me is a person’s ability to be supportive and to work well with others. Life can be hard for us all as it is, being surrounded by kind, thoughtful humans is what we all deserve.

Zero Likes by Sam Hains was created during our month-long creative research residency in Belgrade, Serbia, Spring, 2017

School of Machines is based in Berlin. Why Berlin?

I’m from the US but Berlin is the place I’ve called home for the last 13 years. People are much more open here (in comparison to most other places), plus it’s beautiful and green! Or as they often say, poor but sexy!

So what is next?

We’ve got a machine learning/computer vision/speculative prototyping class coming up this August called Designing Hypotheticals which will give participants the opportunity to design new experiences! A program built around all these topics has yet to be explored in the realm of tech education as far as I know. it’s something quite unique and we’re all excited about that!

We’re also trying to figure out how to expand the school by facilitating more and different types of classes and events. For example, this year I introduced a creative research residency as well as online courses.

I’d like to offer more ways for the community to share resources and motivation to continue creating amazing things both individually and as a collective.

I’d also like to travel more and organize programs in other countries— in collaboration with other established future-thinking creative institutions and festivals. Let’s see what the next three years brings!

For more info about the school and upcoming programs, visit: http://schoolofma.org/programs/

To view more student projects, visit: https://schoolofmaprojects.tumblr.com/

#art #technology #interactivity #education #berlin

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