Do you remember the first day of first grade? High school? The army? Each new chapter in life brings with it new experiences and adventures, but also comes with a lot of fears, stress and feelings of confusion and alienation. Aviel Basil and Sivan Baron, graduates of the Visual Communications Department, created a computer game inspired animation video for the young students who began their first year of studies in Shenkar in 2014.

In anticipation of the opening of the school year, the Dean of Students Mr. Itzik Rennert and the head of the academic secretariat, Mrs. Dana Rimer looked for a creative, soothing and cheerful way to help the first year students navigate the campus and help them with the process of absorption and acclimatizing. Basil and Baron were recruited for the mission, and after being briefed they formed an animated design concept of classic computer games. 

With the guidance, advice and support of Itamar Daube, the head of the illustration track in the Visual Communications Department and one of the leading animators in Israel, Basil and Baron turned the first day of school into a colorful adventure, with all of the relevant information on the way to a class became a level in the game. 

“One of the main points that guided us when searching for the general idea was the need to express the connection between the faculties and design and engineering,” Basil and Baron said. “The field of computer games seemed to us like a platform that combines both sides, and was open to an interesting interpretation by us.” 

After the concept was approved, they continued onto the stages of building the script, the video-board, designing the characters, the backgrounds, the animation and the characteristic soundtrack. The especially charming final product was screened for the excited new students in an introductory meeting for the school, and brought a smile to many faces. 

Hello First Grade - Basil and Baron’s video: 

Sivan Baron is an independent illustrator and animator. She is a graduate of animation and three-dimensional studies from the Israeli College of Animation; she completed these studies after she finished her studies at Shenkar. She has created many works for children’s television series, various movies, applications and games. 

Aviel Basil is an independent illustrator, an animation designer for movies, games and applications, and also lectures in his field. Since he completed his studies at Shenkar in 2011 he has managed to illustrate 17 children’s books and has received an honorable mention from the Israel Museum Award for his illustrations of Natan Alterman’s “Og King of Bashan” book.