This project may be completed by the following students:
1st Year Media Arts Majors.
2nd Year Media Arts Majors.
3rd Year Media Arts Majors.
Directions
Pre-Production
It is advised that you complete the Stop Motion project first, as that will help you develop skills that are needed for this assignment.
Hand drawn animation is significantly more work than other forms of animation. To make things easier, animators have found ways to cut corners and speed up the process.
Reusing Frames: Either by tracing or just using the whole scene over again, many animators would draw things once, then reuse it as many times as they could. This is particularly noticeable in old Hanna-Barbera cartoons as well as a significant number of anime.
As a subset of this, sometimes most of a drawing would be reused. Yogi Bear's collar and tie allowed for the same drawing of his body to be used for extended periods of time while his head was animated to say his dialogue.
Traditional animations pull this off by having the drawings transferred to clear "cells" that can be layered. While this is likely not something you will have in class, you can manage similar results with cut paper.
Holding Still: While awkward if longer than a second or two, there are plenty of opportunities in a plot for a character to pause, including but not limited to thoughtfulness, shock, or screaming for three episodes to power up a special attack that will eventually miss. In those moments, additional drawings don't need to be made - just have one drawing remain "on screen" for a second or two. With 10-12 drawings per second, even one or two moments like this can severely reduce the number of drawings needed.
Pan Shot: You can add motion to a static drawing just by panning across it. Many animators will make a larger, more detailed drawing and do just that - often for 10 or more seconds. In these cases dialogue is frequently scripted into those segments to help fill the space.
Storyboard out a 30 second animation, with the tricks above worked into your plot to save you time and energy during the production phase.
Remember that the rubric requires at least 3 shot types. Yes, you're encouraged to reuse a lot, but you can't just reuse one thing forever.
Get your storyboard approved by the Media Arts teacher. They may have advice to make the recording process easier.
Production
Record all of your voice over work.
It is MUCH easier to sync animation up with recorded audio than it is to sync audio up with a created animation.
Draw everything required by your storyboard.
Except for pan shots and other times you intend to extend duration, assume 12-13 drawings add up to 1 second of animation.
Set up a stabilized camera (Your ChromeBook camera, if nothing else, but a camera on a tripod will work better.) to take top-down photos of each drawing.
Post-Production
Import your photos into a video editor using the same steps shown in the Stop Motion assignment. (This lesson was created with WeVideo in mind, but any editor that uses key frames can work.)
Use your storyboard as a guide to make sure your photos are all in order.
Cameras will number the shots consecutively, but if you're reusing frames, you will have to find and duplicate those.
Adjust the duration and (in the case of pan shots) key frames for shots that are longer than the typical 2 frames/photo duration of WeVideo.
Be sure to use credits at the end of your video to give thanks to anyone who helps you create it.
This includes YOU! YOUR NAME should be in the credits!
Export your completed video and upload it with a copy of your approved storyboard.
Rubric
25% Evidence of planning (script and/or storyboard) is included with the project.
25% Hand drawn animation includes at least 3 shot types, but also includes the following "tricks" to speed up production time:
Reusing drawn frames more than once.
Reusing most of a frame, with only the moving part changed.
Using a single drawing for a shot where no on-camera movement is required.
Panning across a drawing (usually a landscape or other establishing shot) for several seconds.
25% Video is between 29-40 seconds total run time (TRT), including LESS THAN 3 seconds of title and the credits not starting until 0:30.
25% Citations for all content not owned by the student are included in the credits, including the media name, creator's name (if known), and where the media is from. (Remember, Pintrest and TikTok don't give permission for reuse elsewhere. Google is a search engine, not a citable source.)
Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
I:6-8:1: Formulate variations of ideas, goals, and solutions for media artworks by practicing focused creative processes.
E:6-8:1: Work independently to create a visual representation of formulated ideas.
E:6-8:2: Act on creative ideas to generate artistic goals.
E:6-8:3: Predict potential obstacles and generate possible solutions.
Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work
I:6-8:1: Organize, design, propose, and evaluate artistic ideas, models, prototypes, and production processes for media arts productions.
E:6-8:1: Refine brainstormed ideas into a production plan.
Anchor Standard 3: Refine and complete artistic work.
I:6-8:1: Experiment with multiple approaches to produce content and components for determined purpose and meaning in media arts productions.
I:6-8:2: Evaluate, improve, and refine media artworks by intentionally emphasizing particular expressive elements to reflect an understanding of purpose, audience, or place.
E:6-8:1: Improve production plan to include decisions about content and production processes.
E:6-8:2: Make judgments and decisions to refine the media production plan to set a purpose and act on creative ideas.
Anchor Standard 4: Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation.
I:6-8:1: Integrate multiple contents and forms into unified media arts productions that convey consistent themes or ideas.
E:6-8:1: Curate and analyze multiple types of media (video, sound, still pictures) with academic content to produce one media product that has a consistent theme.
Anchor Standard 5: Develop and refine artistic work for presentation.
I:6-8:1: Develop, design, and exhibit a variety of artistic, design, technical, and soft skills through performing various assigned roles in producing media artworks.
I:6-8:2: Develop, demonstrate, and exhibit a variety of creative and adaptive innovation abilities.
I:6-8:3: Demonstrate adaptability in using tools and techniques to construct media artworks.
E:6-8:1: Be self-directed learners to define artistic/technical skill sets and roles for media production plan.
E:6-8:2: Develop and act on a variety of creative skills to produce new media.
E:6-8:3: Apply and adapt use of tools and techniques to construct media content.
Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
I:6-8:1: Analyze and design various presentation formats for the tasks and processes of the presentation and/or distribution of media artworks.
I:6-8:2: Analyze results of and improvements for presenting media artworks.
E:6-8:1: Manage the presentation and potential distribution of the media product(s).
E:6-8:2: Analyze and critique presentation. Develop a list of potential improvements for future presentations.
Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
I:6-8:1: Evaluate and use personal, cultural, and/or external resources to create media artworks.
I:6-8:2: Explain and show how media artworks form new meanings, situations, and cultural experiences.
E:6-8:1: Make judgments and decisions on which resources (personal, cultural, and/or external) will be used to create media products.
E:6-8:2: Communicate clearly how decisions change elements of media (meanings, situations, and cultural context).
Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.
I:6-8:1: Research and show how media artworks and ideas relate to everyday life.
I:6-8:2: Analyze and interact appropriately with media arts tools and environments.
I:6-8:3: Describe the relationships of media arts to theatre, dance, music, the visual arts, and other disciplines.
E:6-8:1: Research and synthesize how media relates to everyday life.
E:6-8:2: Apply technology safely and effectively considering media literacy.
E:6-8:3: Analyze how response to media arts is influenced by understanding the time and place in which it was created, the available resources, and cultural uses.
1st Year Media Arts Majors.
2nd Year Media Arts Majors.
3rd Year Media Arts Majors.