jenny barrett
Group work: the making of In their groups they plan their animation. A presentation of their storyboard to the class is always a good idea to spot any areas where the message or storyline blurs and to see if their classmates have any other good ideas that they could incorporate. The next step is to build the set (or draw the set for pen and ink), make characters and any props they might require. Then they film their project, edit the movie and finally show to their audience.
Students edit their stop motion animated movie.
You can demonstrate what happens if the lighting isn’t right or if the tripod moves, as well as exactly how many shots you need to take to make a decent length animation. You need a minimum of 12 frames per second, with 24 frames per second being nearer the norm to produce a smooth animation. So there’s your numeracy: for a one minute animation, how many frames will you need? Choose something quite straightforward that does not involve a lot of planning. The geometrical shapes example is a good one. Then follow these steps: 1. Set up your tripod so it is in front of, or overlooking, your whiteboard. You can use your big class whiteboard for the whole class animation so that everyone can see. 2. Check lighting. 3. On the whiteboard have a student draw the first shape, e.g. a circle. 4. Capture the first picture. It may be worth taking three or four shots to make editing easier. 5. Get another student to come up and change the drawing e.g. divide the circle
into halves. Take another picture or four. 6. Have one student operate the computer and take the frames whilst the other students line up and quickly edit the picture in turn. Continue until every student has had a go. 7. Import the movie into Movie Maker or iMovie and add credits, titles and music. Whole class: preparation and planning Now the students have an idea of what can be achieved. Supplement this by giving them some time on Teacher Tube to look at other animations or where this website is restricted, choose some examples to show them. Explain the stages they have to go through to develop their animation. They will need to chose a theme, create a story or message and then storyboard their animation.
In the same vein as the time lapse recipe, the more genuine the audience, the more motivated the students to produce something high quality. Before The secret to being a successful cook is preparation! 1. Software installation Downloading the software and connecting the video device is the most complicated part of the above process but there is lots of help online and don’t forget the twenty-odd wonderful resources you have sitting in your classroom! If you have purchased software simply follow the instructions. Alternatively, for to access free downloadable software try these weblinks: PC Users: Download the software from http://www.clayanimator.com/english/ stop_motion_animator.html. Plug in your video capture device (webcam or digital video) and then open the software. You should see a video capture window and a control panel titled Animator.
You may want to use a rubric for the storyboarding process and you could use or adapt the one on http://rubistar.4teachers. org/index.php. This is probably the most important part of the learning and is vital to the success of the project. It can be a very visual plan so will usually appeal to all learners.
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