Class Discussion By Tomilola Adewale

Did you have any weird, funny, horrible, or in some other way memorable moments during the making of your Flash piece for this contest?
Although I had written the script before hand, I had not gotten around to animating it since I had been busy with tons of school work. Well, it was the day before the entry was due and I realized that my microphone was not working. Thankfully though, I was able to use another old mic I had with an adapter which had previously never worked. It just happened to work just exactly when I needed it to! Also I don’t know if people realize it, but I bet they do, that all the voices are all my voices.

How did you choose your topic - OR - Why is your topic important to you?
I chose the topic of international cooperation to deal with humanitarian and military issues since I feel that it’s really important today because countries are all interdependent and interrelated. The words that the characters in the movie say are truly how I feel about the situation.

Before the contest, did you consider yourself fairly knowledgeable about global issues?
I knew about a lot of the global issues. I knew about what was happening in Darfur, the drought in Niger, and more. However, this competition once again awakened me to the fact that these issues are still going on. As the days have passed by these issues have not changed, more attention needs to be focused on them.

Has the contest helped improve your knowledge / How so?
Yes, it’s led me to pay more attention to the situation and what has or sadly hasn’t been done about the genocide in Darfur.

Was this your first Flash piece? How did you first learn Flash?
No, I’ve been working with Flash for about 3 years now. I learned Flash at a computer workshop; however, I really got into it when one of my study hall teachers, Mr. Calvarese, re-introduced me to the software.

So, you’re a seasoned expert? How many Flash pieces have you made?
Hah, no! I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, because there is so much about Flash that I still don’t know. However, I’m pumped to learn and thankfully I have the coolest guy in my church, Michael Duncan, who’s been my mentor and has helped me get better with the software.

Have any of your other movies addressed international issues? If not, would you consider doing this again?
This was my first movie dealing with international issues. I once made a movie about a white boy who was really into stereotypes, who would eventually be made culturally aware due to a class on Native American culture and his black friend. However, due to my short attention span I have not yet finished that movie. However, this summer, it will be done! Due to the fact that I’m really into politics, as my classmates will agree with, this will definitely not be the last time I make a movie dealing with international issues.

Do you have a personal website which displays your flash?
Yes, sort of. It’s an angelife website. www.angelfire.com/psy/anide.

Imagine this…you are in an elevator with the President of the United States. You have about ten seconds to say whatever you want about your global issue. What do you say? (No pressure!)
I would tell President Bush to aid nations by pumping money into their educational systems as well as teaching individuals inside the country how to build and keep up their infrastructure. I feel that through education, a cycle of poverty can be broken. Also, then individuals in impoverished nations won’t turn to terrorism, prostitution, hate, or be left in utter desperation. I feel infrastructure is really needed too, and it would be best if the US government could help these countries to help themselves. Plus once infrastructure has been created the economies of the developing countries will be able to grow.

Did you show your friends and family your Flash piece? What did they think? Are they still your friends and family now?
Yes, my dad and a couple people in my school have scene it. My pal Katherine had a film festival and put this movie in it so that was sweet! It got a lot of laughs, but more importantly I know I got my classmates to think about issues that need global attention like Darfur. Besides the embarrassing fact that I did the female as well as male voices, my friends and family have not denied knowing me, so that’s cool.

Any last words?
Your organization is SWEET! I am very impressed and happy to see that there are organizations out there trying to bring awareness to problems that are going on in the world and that truly need countries to band together to solve. I’d just like to sum up by saying to all the folks at Citizens for Global Solutions, thanks for all your work and for this opportunity.