ICT in Collaborative, Project-Based

Teaching and Learning

Malta, Summer 20
Sto! Motion "nimation
#or$sho!
% #hat is animation&
To animate means to bring something to life. In animation, incremental
changes to objects or drawings are displayed in a rapid succession and this
creates the illusion of movement. Throughout the years people have used
various techniques to deliver this impression of movement. A simple and
early form of animation is the flip-book, cartoons are other eamples of
more comple animation creations.
2% #hat is sto! motion animation&
!top motion is one type of animation technique. "hen producing a stop motion animation, an
inanimate object is moved in small steps and a photo is captured of every step. These photos are
the frames that will make up your movie. #iewing the frames in rapid succession will make the
object look as if it is moving on its own.
!tep $ !tep % !tep & !tep ' !tep (
)ove *bject +hoto )ove *bject +hoto )ove *bject
The speed at which these photos are played is regulated through frames per second ,fps-.
+rofessional animations use %' fps. however in educational projects / fps to $% fps ,depending on
the age of the students- should be quite sufficient.
Time for some maths0 "hen using $% fps in your animation project, every $% photos will be
displayed in $ second. If you need to create a &1 seconds stop motion animation you will need to
capture ,$%&1- &/1 photos0
'% Sto! motion animation in education
2very part of a stop motion animation needs to be planned, designed, modelled and
manipulated in order to produce the final production. Animators will be asked to create
characters, settings and props. This opens up enormous possibilities for learning. Animation
projects in fact provide an ideal opportunity for theme teaching and cross-curricular activities.
Apart from encouraging students to use technology, these projects can also enhance skills such
as decision-making, research, planning and teamwork.
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S$ills "ctivities (ducational Bene)its
3anguage
4reating and
+lanning a !tory
+lanning a story
5sing a storyboard
!equencing events
2diting script
+roof-reading
Artistic 6
4reative
!cenes 6 4haracters
7esigning background scenes
Arts 6 4rafts to create backdrops
4reating characters using different materials ,e.g.
play dough or recycled materials-
7ifferent uses of lighting
Technical
!top )otion
Animation
+roduction
5sing animation software
5sing a camera or webcam
Animation software
#ideo editing software
7igital audio recordings
Audio 6 #isual
Audio 6 #ideo
2diting
!ound effects and music
)atching images with voice
)atching music with script
Aesthetics in video editing techniques
!oft +ersonal 6 !ocial
2nhance self-confidence
8uild teamwork 6 collaboration
4ommunicating and sharing of ideas
*% +etting started ,ith sto! motion animation
#hat -ou ,ill need.
A storyline that is planned on a storyboard
8ackdrops, characters and props if needed
3aptop or +4 and a webcam or a digital camera
Animation software installed on your laptop or +4
)usic or a microphone to record narrations or sounds ,optional-
#ideo editing software to edit your animation ,optional-
#here do I start&
$. 4ome up with a story and plan it on a storyboard
%. 4reate backdrops and characters for your story
&. !et up and start shooting your animation

")ter,ards -ou can also.
'. +roduce narrations and sounds ,optional-
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(. 9inally edit the video and include titles ,optional-
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#h- should I use a stor-board&
In order to have a good movie, you need to have a
good story. 5sing a storyboard to plan out your story
will make it easier for you to produce the animation.
In this way, you can make sure that you know eactly
what you need to animate, when and how. In each
bo on the storyboard you can sketch or make a note
of what action will be taking place in that scene.
!toryboards may also include other important
information, for eample the dialogue which will be
included in the animation or props which will be
used.
/o, to use a stor-board
$. Think of a good idea for a story.
%. 7evelop the plot and the storyline on a storyboard template. )ake sure you map
the movements of all your characters.
:*T2; The more characters you have the more objects you will need to animate.
&. Include references to sounds, dialogue and music which might be added after.
#hat about scenes and characters&
8efore you start shooting your animation you will also need to make or find backdrops, characters
and props for your story.
8ackdrops can be in the form of a painted picture, a photo, a collage or a computer generated
picture. 7ioramas can make a very interesting setting and cut-out letters can be used to animate
titles. !cenes should be at least the si<e of an A& paper.
)any different types of objects can be used as models or characters in an animation story, such as
toys, fruit, blocks etc. =owever some can be more fleible than others. This fleibility will allow
you to manipulate the characters more easily and will allow varied movements. 4reating play dough
models is a simple way to build one>s own original and fleible characters for a stop motion
animation.
Ti!s and tric$s )or using cla- or !la- dough to create models )or animation%
$. )ake sure to keep the model simple, bold and colorful.
%. 7esign the main features, like the eyes, ears, arms and legs, relatively large.
&. ?eep the weight of the model at the bottom, not at the top.
'. 3imit the features that can be animated to & on the head and & on the body.
(. 8ig feet and strong, chunky legs will ensure that the model can stand up.
/. 8e very careful when moving the body parts or the model will come apart.
@. The smaller the movements, the smoother the action will look in playback.
A. To make a character wink or blink, take off oneBboth of the eyes for & shots then
put them on again for / shots.
Setting u! )or sto! motion animation
$. )ake sure that you have a good source of light in the area where you will shoot your animation.
This will produce better-quality photos.
%. )ake sure that the webcam or camera is connected to your laptop.
&. )ake sure that the webcam or camera is stable in position. Cou can use a putty-like adhesive or
sticky tape to hold the webcam in place or you can use a tripod for the camera. This will help
you achieve more stability and eliminate shaky images.
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'. Take / photos of the introductory scene before starting to animate your characters. This will
allow the viewers to notice in which setting the story is taking place. To conclude you should
also capture / photos of the end scene.
(. ?eep in mind that you will need to take & or ' photos without moving any of the characters every
time you need to insert a pause or a change of scene.
0% Sto! motion animation so)t,are
Mon$e-1am is very easy to use and gives you adequate features to produce a good stop motion
animation. 8est of all this software can be downloaded for free from;
http;BBwww.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.comBmonkeyjamBdownload.html
)onkeyDam captures individual images from a digital device like a webcam or a digital camera.
+hoto sequences captured in )onkeyDam are saved on an eposure sheet ,E+! or E-!heet- which
can be easily converted into an A#I file. )onkeyDam also allows you to import images ,bmp, jpeg,
png-, and audio files ,wav, mp&- into an eposure sheet and save them as a stop motion animation
video.
Mon$e-1am settings
$. )ake sure your webcam or camera is connected. *pen )onkeyDam.
%. 9rom the 2ile menu, select 3e, 4PS ,ith 2olders. :ow you can name your animation,
select the number of 9+!, choose $ 3ayer and choose where you would like to save your
project.
&. 9rom the Settings menu choose Pre)erences
'. 5nder the +eneral tab, make sure that the 2PS are
set as desired.
La-er Colour allows you to change the colour of
your 3ayer.
3ote. 3ayer colour is useful if you are working with
more than one layer, however for basic stop motion
animation we will need only one layer.
(. 5nder the Ca!ture tab select Sto! Motion in Mode.
!et Image /old to $. This enables you hold each
image for the desired number of frames. 9or
eample, Image =old % will automatically capture %
photos of the same frame. Ca!ture Colour allows
you to choose if you want your photos to be shot in
colour or in black and white. 9rom the 3umbering
options select Se5uential so that the value in
number of the photos captured increases by one
after each one of your shots. Image 2ormat allows
you to save your photos as +:F, Dpeg or 8mp. This
difference is the file si<e which in turn affects the
quality of the photos taken. Fiven the fact that we
will be taking a lot of photos to complete our
animation +ng or Dpeg are preferred over 8mp for
simple classroom projects as the file si<es are much
smaller.
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/. "hen you have finished setting your preferences it is now time to actually start capturing
the photos which will make up your animation.
Mon$e-1am shortcuts

6ideo Ca!ture
Previe, Movie

(7!ort as an "6I movie
Shooting the animation
@. !elect Tools, then Ca!ture and select 6ideo to open the 4apture window or click on the
shortcut button.
A. In the 4apture window, Mode should
be set to Sto! Motion.
G. !elect your camera from Cameras.
$1. 4hoose the resolution of the photos
from Si8e. 5sually /'1'A1 or
A11/11 are good si<es to use for
your classroom project.
$$. The capture window should now
show the view from your camera. Cou
are now ready to start0
$%. +osition your model on the set in
front of your webcam and click
Ca!ture.
$&. )ove your object and take another
photo.
$'. Hepeat this process and continue to
take photos until you have modelled
the desired actions and all the
necessary photos have been captured.
6ie,ing the animation
$(. All your images are saved into the E-sheet and the frames will be shown in the preview
bo.
$/. 4lose or minimi<e the capture window and in the main window select Tools, then Previe,
or click on the shortcut to preview your animation.
(diting the animation
$@. Cou can easily delete any unwanted photos from your E-!heet. !imply select the photo
from the list of photos in your 3ayer and press 7elete.
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3ote that this will create a blank space. Cou need to make sure that there are no blank
spaces in your animation.
$A. Cou can fill blank spaces by copying the previous or the net photo in your sequence. Cou
can right-click to copy and paste a photo in the blank space or else you can click on and
drag the previous photo to fill the blank frame. This will automatically create a copy of
that photo.
$G. Cou can also delete photos directly from the 4apture window while you are shooting the
animation. 5se the slider or the left and right arrow keys to move backward and forward in
your animation. "hen you find the photo you need to re-capture, make sure you have the
characters in position and press the button that now says 9e-Ca!ture.
%1. )ove the slider to the right in the 4apture window to view the live video feed again. He-
position your objects and continue to shoot. Hepeat this process until all images are
captured and close the 4apture window.
Saving the animation
%$. If you are happy with your animation, select 2ile and click on (7!ort "vi to save your
images as an A#I file and create your movie. Cou can also use the shortcut button.
%%. Alternatively, select 2ile and Save 4PS if you want to save the project so that you can
open it again in order to continue shooting or editing your sequence.
2or more in)ormation about sto! motion animation visit.
htt!.::schoolnet%gov%mt:stan: and htt!.::)ilmit%,ord!ress%com:
2ree Stor-board Tem!lates to use ,ith -our students;
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MY STORYBOARD Title o) the stor- _______________________
:ame IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Theme IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
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