GFBNEC UTILIZES MACHINIMA TECHNOLOGY TO TEACH HISTORY
Machinima is a movie that is created using video game technology. Short for "machine cinema" or "machine animation," machinima movies have become increasingly popular, especially among younger filmmakers. Go For Broke National Education Center has taken this medium to the classroom by integrating machinima technology into educational curriculum. Targeting high school students and providing an innovative and engaging instructional tool, machinima creatively utilizes GFBNEC's oral history archive to teach history
GFBNEC's first machinima is about the Japanese American soldiers who rescued the "Lost Battalion" (1st Battalion of the 141st Infantry Regiment of the 36th Texas Division) that was surrounded by German troops in eastern France. This informative 10-minute movie utilizes narration and video clips from the Hanashi Oral History Video Archive together with historical National Archive footage and video game animation. An accompanying digital lesson plan is available online to provide teachers with the necessary tools for easy inclusion in classroom instruction.
The Lost Battalion machinima took approximately six months to complete and was created by interns Reed Nakamura and Joseph Kamiya, both talented film students from local schools.
GFBNEC is working on its second machinima, which focuses on the liberation of prisoners from a labor subcamp of Dachau. Anticipated completion is summer 2010.
Additionally, for 2010 only, all new and renewing members of Go For Broke National Education Center will receive a free Lost Battalion machinima DVD. Click here to become a member!
To view the Lost Battalion machinima, click here. To view the lesson plan click here.
