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Animation Projects

Project - Stop Motion

This project may be completed by the following students:

M1 1st Year Media Arts Majors.

M2 2nd Year Media Arts Majors.

M3 3rd Year Media Arts Majors.



Directions

  1. Pre-Production

    1. Begin by considering the various objects you have available to create a stop motion animation. It would not make sense to storyboard out a video that you cannot animate for lack of supplies.
      1. Possible materials include but are not limited to...
        1. Lego minifigures
        2. "Action figures" or other toys
        3. Clay
        4. Cut paper (with or without hand-drawn characters/props placed on the paper)
    2. Storyboard out a story that can be told in a time frame between 50-60 seconds, TRT.
      1. There is no official requirement for what the plot of your animation needs to be, so long as your Media Arts teacher approves it. Suggestions for possible stories include but are not limited to...
        1. Main character waking up and going to work or school
        2. Plant growing from a seed
        3. Character(s) constructing a machine or building
    3. Get your storyboard approved by the Media Arts teacher. They may have advice to make the recording process easier.
    4. With your storyboard approved, gather/build the set, props, and characters you will need.
    5. Select a location where your stop motion animation can be left undisturbed, as it is likely you will not finish the production step in a single day.
  2. Production

    1. If your video has voice-over work, record it first.
      1. It is MUCH easier to sync animation up with recorded audio than it is to sync audio up with a created animation.
    2. Using your storyboard as a guide, photograph all of the movements needed for your animation.
      1. Assume 12-13 photos are needed for each second of animation, except at times where everything is completely still. (If your plot is moving forward, there won't be many still moments.)
      2. Post-production will be significantly easier if you take all of the photos in chronological order. Don't just do the easy parts first.
      3. If necessary, you can use your Chromebook's built in camera to photograph each frame.
      4. If available, use consistent lighting and a camera that can be set for full manual mode (focus, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO). Having consistent camera settings throughout this process will prevent some photos from looking inconsistently darker or lighter than the others.
  3. Post-Production

    1. Import your photos into a video editor.
    2. Use your storyboard as a guide to arrange the photos in the correct order in your timeline, with the duration setting as low as possible. (For many editors this is .1 seconds per image. For WeVideo it's 2 frames per image.)
      1. This 4 minute video (2 minutes if you speed it up) goes over the basics for putting photos together into an animation in WeVideo.
    3. Add any additional audio or video effects you planned in your storyboard.
    4. Be sure to use credits at the end of your video to give thanks to anyone who helps you create it.
      1. This includes YOU! YOUR NAME should be in the credits!
    5. Export your completed video and upload it with a copy of your approved storyboard.


Rubric

Standards

Resources



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