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Bay Sweetwater (of the United States) won one of the prizes announced at the 22nd of May Grand Finale of MachinimUWA III. One of her prizes was to be the book '100 Treasures From UWA'. Bay had however requested that the book be donated to a Primary School of my choice.
This has been arranged, and on Tuesday the 31st of May, the book, along with a copy of the Machinima created by Bay, 'Twinkle's Journey' will be given to the School Principal of the North Woodvale Primary School (Western Australia), Greg Brice during a school assembly.
I asked Bay if she would be kind enough to share a message with the children, and this is what she sent:
"Twinkle always believed in herself and her dreams, and look, she got all the way to the stars! You can too. Always believe in yourselves, no matter what anybody says, and you'll find your dreams, just like Twinkle. I'm so glad you're watching my little video. You'll probably notice that you feel Twinkle in the movie, but you don't see her anywhere! That's Twinkle's little mystery. No one can see her, but she lives everywhere. You can feel her in the trees and the rocking horse and the unicorn--all the things she loves. Especially that star up in the sky that has her name. So when you go home tonight, go outside when it gets real dark and wave to Twinkle high up in the sky. I bet she'll wave back to you! A big hug to every one of you, Bay Sweetwater"
As per the tributes on the machinima, Twinkle's Journey is "A child's journey to the stars, told by those of us who are left behind."
"I love my Twinkle’s Journey entry. I know it’s probably not the best technically or artistically, but my heart is in it. Here’s a poem for Twinkle; no matter how far your journey to the stars, your home is always in my heart."
FIREFLY IN A JAR
by Bay Sweetwater
Spring never woke that year, no eye
beheld the flowers, no tender sigh
escaped its lips. My tears wouldn’t dry.
I hailed a passing butterfly.
He’ll carry me, he’ll carry me.
Through stormy nights and days anew,
O’er woodland green and waters blue,
I see all love come shining through.
Yeah, love itself will get me through,
And carry me, and carry me.
It doesn’t matter where you are,
My own cupped hand or farflung star,
I’ll always hold you in my heart:
My firefly in a jar.
I’ll carry you, I’ll carry you.
Thank you Bay, thank you Twinkle. Twinkle's journey now continues to North Woodvale Primary, and we hope will inspire a whole new generation.
EDIT: And thank you Loveshadow for sharing this
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I really sat and studied this machinima tonight after seeing this posted.... wow what emotion in it!!!! Just beautiful, the poem and song Emelia Sleeps really touched me. I felt both the meaning behind it and the love it was made with.
ReplyDeleteThank you for gifting the book to the school Bay, without that I wouldnt have been given the gift of really "getting" your beautiful story.
hugz Sharni Azalee
and also to Loveshadow's story
ReplyDeleteI have replayed the song over and over
http://ccmixter.org/files/Loveshadow/26807
Emelia 9.04.08 - 4.01.09
Emelia Sleeps
Under pastures green
Under leafy Skies
By the old Oak tree
And the windmills turn
And the toys will fade
The Seasons come
And the angels play
Emelia Sleeps
But she speaks to me
From another place
In eternity
Tells me she was loved
More than most will know
China Teddy Bears
Say it’s so
If I could trade one day
Then I surely would
Cause Emelia Sleeps
By the Blubell wood.
LS 2010
If this is an elegy for a deceased child, as I thought when I first saw it, then I can hardly watch this again with a dry eye. Even if it's an elegy for all lost or deceased children, or a message to assuage children (or adults) who fear or have suffered loss, I think it conveys these themes beautifully and poignantly. The song "Emelia Sleeps" is haunting, and Bay--you shouldn't be self-conscious about technique; the technique is effective and it moved me very much.
ReplyDeleteBay Sweetwater hasn't told us the background or motive for her lovely machinima, but I think that it stands as a reminder that machinima need not be made solely for adults or technophiles. Maybe we should start thinking in terms of machinima as one possible vehicle for children: it is short, so that it accommodates short attention spans (HA! like mine...); it can blend the right mixture of animation, realism and surreality to please a child, or an adult who understands a child's mind; Second Life is chock full of magical landscapes, and the machinima is easy to make (compared to stop-action or even live puppeteering). This was a sleeper (as "Emelia Sleeps"). Thanks for drawing attention to this, Jayjay. Hypatia P.
Its nice that you had been to school with lots of pain, but then i would say that your inspiration is really awesome and it should be honored.
ReplyDelete