Teaching with Claymation: Part 3 of 3

Hello

Today I will be discussing animation tips when working with claymation. One of the most important tips I can tell you is to be careful with your background and remember to keep it simple. Here are 10 animation tips.

1. You can simply use construction paper and different color cut outs as well as clay to make scenic items such as clouds, rain, flowers, trees, etc.

2. When you are planning your claymation video, you may want to shoot the scenes backwards with your digital camera.

3. Take 8 - 15 frames per second of finished video (approximately 450 pictures = 30 seconds of video!)

4. Move your character in small amounts at a time.

5. Have handy some wet wipes to keep your hands clean.

6. Avoid moving items in the scene that are not suppose to move.

7. Change the camera view or zoom occasionally.

8. Make sure you set your camera on a tripod and use fresh batteries.

9 Your digital camera needs to be cleared of all pictures before you start taking pictures.

10. Make sure your students have all their materials and supplies before taking the pictures.

Here are 7 video tips you want to be aware of.

1. Take out any pictures where you can see hands.

2. Add background music, sounds and voices. It can be very challenging to use voices to lip movements in stop motion animation; voice-overs are much easier.

3. When adding music use free sources for educators like http://www.freeplaymusic.com/

4. When filming, set the camera on a tripod close to the background. Make sure the background is in the frame.

5. Once filming begins, make sure the camera does not move.

6. Take many pictures. You can always delete excess pictures later.

7. Move characters approximately 1/4 of an inch between shots.

Check out these examples.
Mario's Pizzaria.



Stop, Drop, and Roll!



The Butterfly Cycle


Transformations

After you have all your pictures, audio, and sound bytes, create one folder on your desktop and place all the items in it. To produce your move you want to use a free movie editing program on your computer called Movie Maker 2.
To find Movie Maker on your computer go to "Start" and the program is either in the accessories folder or in your programs file. Look for the little color film real with a tailing filmstrip icon. You want to be familiar with this program. For a free video tutorial please visit: www.atomiclearning.com/moviemaker2 To put the finishing touches on the movie you will add titles, credits, narration and music in Movie Maker 2.
Free Resources
Royalty Free Music Sites
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/
www.beatmode.com/free-loops/
www.mfwp101.com/freemusic.htm
www.flashkit.com/loops/
www.hooverwebdesign.com/sounds/index.html
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/
Sound Effects
www.pacdv.com/sounds/index.html
Hope you enjoyed the 3 part series on claymation. We will see you next week with another exciting topic in technology. Take care.

The Flip Digital Video Camera Introduction: Part 1

Greetings,

We are all now rested after the long break. I took a break from last week in observance of Easter. We are ready to go again, full speed. I have been looking online for tutorials on the New Flip Digital Camera Software, and so far I am unable to find any. So I decided to create one.

The training on this new digital camera is usually a 6 hour class, so I am going to break it down in my blog into a 5 part series. In the series I will be posting pictures and videos I took with the camera. I will also post helpful video tutorials you can find online. I will also post helpful ideas on how to use your Flip digital camera with your students or for you own personal use. Ok, lets get started.

Here are the titles of the blog session topics I will be following over the next 4 weeks.

Week 1 or Today: Introduction and Session Breakdown

Week 2: Digital Video Cameras in the Classroom

Week 3: How to Use the Pocket Digital Video Camera

Week 4: Working with Video Footage and the Software

Week 5: Using Video Footage with Other Compatible Software

Make sure you let all your colleagues know that I will be continuing with week 2 on this topic next week. For now you might want to visit the web site http://www.theflip.com/ so you can get acquainted with the camera.

I recently saw comedian/singer and celebrity Jaime Foxx using the Flip digital camera at the Grammy award show a few months ago. I think he was recording one of the music acts. They showed him on TV holding up his flip digital camera. If celebrities are finding these cameras easy to use, then we can all learn to use them with ease for our own personal use.

I did a review about this camera a few months ago. If you have not read it, I recommend you read it before you go through this blog tutorial. It can be found by visiting my January 3, 2010 blog post, or you can just click here: The New Flip Camcord Camera by Pure Digital

Next week I will be blogging about how to use the digital video camera in the classroom with students. So don't forget to let all your colleagues know about my free technology blog. See you next week.