When parents think of screen time, they often think of it in terms of games and watching shows passively. But there is so much you can actually do to hone your child’s creativity when it comes to devices. theAsianparent recently sat down with Rizq and Qays, Singapore’s most lovable twin boys and asked them what they do with their iPad and how it has helped express their creativity.
You may know Rizq and Qays from their many TV appearances and articles in Singapore. They are well-known as the twin brothers who love each other deeply and share their many activities together. Rizq has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is non-verbal but that doesn’t stop him from unleashing his creativity together with Qays. Rizq communicates using gestures as well as through assistive technology like the PODD book, a thick book of icons and pictures, which is also available on his iPad in Keynotes so it’s easy to bring on the go.
It is through effective communication like that, that Rizq and Qays are able to work with others in creating stunning art projects.
Expressing creativity through digital art
In their most recent and also most ambitious art project to date, they created a stop-motion animation video from scratch using clay models with a team at SUPERHERO ME. SUPERHERO ME is a non-profit inclusive arts programme in Singapore that focuses on bringing children of all abilities to express themselves through art.
Quek Hong Shin, who is an award-winning author and (volunteer) Captain at SUPERHERO ME worked with the boys to create a story to bring to life. The story is inspired by the boys’ favourite characters in TV and books. Rizq is a fan of Spiderman and Ironman while Qays loves Goosebumps books.
“I designed a questionnaire to get them to think about characters and settings (of the story),” says Hong Shin. “I gave them options to choose from. I didn’t know what the outcome would be. I wanted to work with them to get the story first.”
Once the storyline was finalised, then it was time to think about how to bring the story to life. That was how the idea of doing a video format came to be and then they decided that stop motion would be a great way to shoot the video. “The idea came quite naturally because the boys loved watching cartoons and it was natural for us to decide to make our own ‘cartoon’. It would be fun for anyone to see static objects moving on screen.”
“Initially, we used LEGO bricks but we decided to change it into clay, which was easier to work with,” Hong Shin shares. In fact, Rizq was the mastermind behind the mixing of the colours for the clay props while Qays would position the different scenes to be shot. Impressively, the final result was made with Pro-Create on the iPad. The entire project took 4 months from start to end – what dedication and commitment to the art!
Overall, the boys said they had fun doing this. And fun fact, Rizq was also the voice behind the sound recordings of the sound effects.
If you think about how much work has to go into creating a minute-long stop motion animation video, the boys certainly have achieved quite the feat. From conceptualising the story, to the storyboarding, to the design of the clay figurines, background and props, to the sound effects and of course the actual filming, then editing of the work to bring everything together, this was a mammoth project for a pair of 9-year-olds.
Parents whose kids might be bored at home could explore creating a fun project like this. Seeing as how this entire project was executed by both Rizq and Qays together, it can spark a lot of teambuilding skills if kids at home might want to do something with a sibling of theirs.
Not to mention, the entire project is easily accessible to all levels of abilities.
Here’s what the boys have to say to kids at home who might want to try this project themselves. “Be creative, use your imagination, and don’t give up,” Qays shares. “Don’t rush it and take your time.”
“Kids must have fun!” Rizq adds.
What’s next for the boys
The boys and Hong Shin will be hosting a learning session through the Today At Apple series at the Apple Store in Orchard Singapore on May 5. “I want to show whoever is coming to our session that they can do this at home too. You don’t need a movie studio to be able to produce a project like this,” Hong Shin says.
That is just one of the many fun sessions that will be hosted at Apple from 23 April to 28 May in collaboration with SUPERHERO ME. The Grow with Creativity series of sessions will teach kids to make their own animations, stories, songs, games and more, on the iPad and iPhone to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
The sessions are recommended for kids aged 6–15.
To register for a session or find out more about Today At Apple, visit this link.
