Stop Motion Animation in Movie Maker

A number of Elearning Catalyst teachers have been working with various classes lately on stop-motion animation projects.  Stop-motion is a relatively simple project which can provide some variety within Arts Education or in any course which has story-telling as a component.  Within Arts Ed, students can also record their own a cappella "sound track" to accompany their animation, thereby incorporating another strand.  Because students will need to gain an understanding of the concept of frames/sec, the project will also incorporate some math concepts.

Step 1:  Examining Samples.  To initiate the project, we would recommend that teachers introduce the concept of stop-motion by previewing some examples.  The Elearning team has created a series of links to some examples on Chinoowiki.  The first section links to Youtube videos done by Kari Groth, a former student of Frontier School, who has spent more than a few hours putting together some intricate stop-animation curiosities.

Step 2:  Student Preparation.  For the project to be a success, students need to do some planning ahead of time.  Here are some guidelines which might help to increase the chances of success:

• Limit the duration of the videos to 10 to 20 seconds, especially for middle years students.  Using Movie Maker, the students will construct their videos at a frame rate of 8 frames per second.  So a 20-second video will require 160 individual shots.  Students will begin with high ambitions of what they want to accomplish; you will need to guide this ambition into realistic project goals.
• Ensure that students can provide you with a concrete plan of their project before film day.
• Emphasize to students that they need to have all objects/props ready for film day.
• Discourage students - again, especially middle years students - from claymation projects, since these are far more difficult than projects using everyday objects.
• Have students create a simple storyboard in which they map out how many shots they will need for each "section" of their movie.  This is the opportunity for them to exercise their math skills.
• You may also wish to examine certain questions with students in anticipation of their needs.  For example, you could ask them, "If I want to make an object appear to speed up, am I going to move it farther or less between shots?"

Step 3:  Teacher Preparation.  The Elearning Team has prepared an online document to help teachers avoid pitfalls when creating stop motion animation.  We suggest teachers examine these recommendations carefully. In addition to these recommendations, we would add:

• Divide students or have students divide themselves into pairs or groups of three.
• Assemble enough digital cameras so that each group has its own camera.
• The teacher may also want to adjust the resolution of all cameras to 640 x 480 on or before filming day.  (Refer to the online document for the reason.)
• Assemble enough tripods or mini-tripods (Elearning has some mini-tripods) so that each group has its own.  Tripods are essential for these projects.
• Arrange sufficient well-lit locations and a sufficient block of time so that students can shoot their entire stop-motion animation without interruption.

Step 4:  Film Day.  For advice on shooting animations, transferring files and working in Movie Maker, refer to the online recommendations.

For more information or advice on tackling a stop-animation project, contact your Elearning Catalyst Teacher.