Slowmation Doc - Mister Norris

SLOWMATION - Spicing up explanations
By Mitch Norris
OVERVIEW
Slowmation is a simplified and faster form of animation geared towards students of almost
all ages. Developed my Garry Hoban, the Associate Professor of the Faculty of Education
at the University of Wollongong, Australia, this engaging task gets students to delve into
the finer details of the subject at hand. Similar to ʻStopmotion Animationʼ such as
Claymation, which takes 24 photos a second to give the viewer a sense of fluidness,
Slowmation relies on longer spans on single shots, from one to two seconds per photo. By
doing so, this cuts down dramatically on the time it takes to develop the finished product,
in turn, making it more accessible to children.
I have found personally, that by going through this process, the students have develop a
much deeper understanding of the subject they are studying, as they need to know the
finer details of each aspect of the topic. This task would be great as an assessment, to see
what the students have learnt throughout a unit, or as an introductory lesson, to develop
the students knowledge.
WHAT YOU NEED
CAMERA - Digital still camera of any sort / 4th generation iPod Touch / 2nd generation iPad
STAND - Anything that will hold your camera still during shooting. E.g. Tripod, Gorillapod,
etc.
MATERIALS - Basic craft supplies (scissors, glue, tape, etc.), a range of coloured paper /
cardboard.
COMPUTER - MacBook (recommended) / any modern Mac computer / PC with mic / PC
with mic or line in jack.
SOFTWARE - Keynote (recommended) / Powerpoint / iPhoto & iMovie / Windows Movie
Maker.
MICROPHONE - inbuilt mic on a Mac or PC (recommended) / 4th generation iPod Touch /
2nd generation iPad / digital voice recorder / etc.
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STEP 1 - MODEL (Show some examples)
“Stop motion (also known as stop action) is an animation technique to
make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The
object is moved in small increments between individually photographed
frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is
played as a continuous sequence. Clay figures are often used in stop
motion for their ease of repositioning. Motion animation using clay is
called Claymation or clay-mation.”
Wikipedia
Explain the concept of Stopmotion Animation to your students. Ask if any students know
what this is or know any examples. Give some examples like Wallace and Grommet,
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Robot Chicken, etc. A great example is the Gmail Mobile video by
JESS3. Afterwards, show them the making of video. In this video, the students can see
how much effort goes into an animated. Explain to the students that making the props not
only takes time, but every second of video is 24 photos put together, with one small
change being made every photo. You could ask the students to then work out, in that 30
second Gmail Mobile video, how many photos were taken. It works out to be over 600!
Explain to the student that they will make something similar to this, however instead of 24
photos per second, they are going to take one photo per second. To emphasize this, show
them some examples.
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STEP 2 - PLAN (Storyboard time)
The students obviously need a topic, so set a topic for them to make their animation on.
Scientific explanations are best, but they could also do a narrative or whatever you can
come up with. Itʼs also a good idea to have the students in groups, I personally have found
groups of three are best. This gives everyone the opportunity for input and cuts down on
the time it takes to make the video.
The trick to making the process as smooth sailing as possible is to make sure the students
are adequately prepared. As Henry Ford once said:
"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success."
To prepare the students for their animation, they need to make a storyboard. A storyboard
is essentially a comic of their video. Have the students fold a piece of paper in half, then
half again. When they open it, they have a four frame comic. Add more paper as needed
and make sure they number each frame in order of sequence. Logically, you would expect
them to go from top to bottom, left to right, but sometimes this is not the case so the
numbers help you determine the order and the students determine the scene.
The drawing of a storyboard does not have to be artistic in any sense of the word, but
each frame must be able to convey what is moving or what has changed. Basically, the
storyboard should be able to tell the whole story when viewed on itʼs own. I would also
suggest that the students donʼt colour in their storyboard, itʼs unnecessary and takes much
more time than needed.
Storyboard by Flickr user designetrecherche
KISS (Keep It Simple Sally)
It is also essential to keep each frame as simple as possible. The more detailed the
students get, the longer the task gets. Keep them focused on the goal of their video, why
they are making it and keeping it simple. One mistake that students make is zooming in
and out or changing the scenes background. This can be hard to convey at times and
adds unnecessary steps in the process.
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STEP 3 - CREATE PROPS (Time for some good old fashion art and craft)
This is the part the students are going to like the most! The students get to re-create what
is in each frame of their storyboard on paper or cardboard. They could also use 3D props
such as dolls, action figures, toy cars and trucks, sand or dirt, toy soldiers, a drawing on a
whiteboard, etc. The possibilities are endless! But before the students start making or
collecting, I would suggest that they go through their storyboard
and make a list of everything they need. Split the responsibility up
between each group member so each student in the group has a
task to do.
A good idea would be to set up the camera and tripod and check
the props through the viewfinder to see how they fit in the frame
(for details on how to set up your camera, see step 4). You want
the props to be as big as possible without zooming in. If the props
are too big to fit in the frame, then students will need to make
them smaller. If the props only take up a small percentage of the
frame, this can be fixed by zooming, but it is advised to make
them as big as possible without zoom to get the best image
quality.
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STEP 4 - SHOOT (Keep that camera steady)
Your storyboard is made, props are ready, now
itʼs time to shoot. What you do during the
shooting usually determines the quality of your
video. If you want a great end product, then you
need to have high expectations during the
shooting.
Set up the camera on your tripod and have all
the props ready. Set up the first scene in the
viewfinder of the camera, being careful that the
students have not got the legs of the tripod in the
shoot, or their own shadows. Try to get the
camera facing down as far as possible without shooting itʼs own legs, this will help
minimize focus issues and distortion. Once the first scene is ready take a photo. It is
CRUCIAL that you do not move the camera, the background and props that arenʼt moved
from this position. If a student so much as bumps the background half a millimeter, then it
can have a detrimental effect on the final product and I always advise the students to
reshoot from the start.
Once the first scene has been shot, move or add the props according to the storyboard of
the next scene. Repeat the process until the movie is finished. You can then quickly look
over the video in the viewfinder of the camera to see how the end product will turn out.
Just by flicking through the photos you can see if there are any mistakes and how the
finished product will look.
TIPS WHEN SHOOTING
*Make sure you set your cameras resolution to 1280 X 720 or higher.
*Keep the camera as still as possible when shooting.
*Do not touch or move props that are not meant to be moved. The less movement of the
camera and props the better.
*Be conscious of shadows. The students usually get very excited when shooting as they
can start to see their creation come to life. As a result they tend to crowd around the
camera and props. If the students are near a window or under a light, this can cause big
shadows on the students work.
*It is best to do all the shooting on the same day. This way the students have the same
amount of light for each frame of their movie. If the animation is shot over two or more
days, then different weather can cause light conditions and effect how each days photos
turn out.
*If possible, use a remote camera trigger to minimize camera shake and movement. If
using an iPod or iPad, there are many apps for this, RemotoLite is a free app that does the
trick.
*Students might realize when shooting that they donʼt know specific details about the topic.
This is a good thing! Let them go off and research the correct answer and come back and
apply the new knowledge to their video.
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STEP 5 - COLLATE (Arrange those pics on the computer)
Now you have each photo for your animation you can collate it on the computer and start
creating your movie. There is a wide range of software that you can use to collate you
movie, but I have found that Keynote, part of Apples office suite ʻiWorksʼ is the best to use.
Being Apple software, Keynote is only available on Mac, so PC users can use Powerpoint
or Windows Movie Maker, but it will take a little longer and requires a few more steps. See
the ʻAlternative Software / Hardwareʼ
STOPMOTION IN KEYNOTE
One great feature of Keynote is itʼs ability to take a selection of photos and put each one
on an individual slide automatically. This saves a lot of time and effort and is something
that other software can not do.
STEP 1 - Transfer your photos from your camera to your computer. I prefer iPhoto for this
as it catalogs all of your photos and has many other great features.
STEP 2 - Open Keynote and choose the Black theme. Click on ʻViewʼ in the top menu and
make sure the first selection, ʻNavigatorʼ is ticked.
This makes sure that your ʻSlidesʼ panel is open on the left of your window.
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STEP 3 - Drag ALL of photos in one go from iPhoto to the ʻSlidesʼ panel of your Keynote.
This will create a slideshow with each picture on a separate slide. The first slide will be
plain black, so delete it by clicking on it in the ʻSlidesʼ panel and pressing delete.
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STEP 4 - The slide is finished, but now we need to make it progress from slide to slide by
itself. To do so, select all slides, by clicking on one slide in the ʻSlidesʼ panel and then
pressing command and A on the keyboard. Then click on the ʻInspectorʼ button on the top
right of the window.
Once the Inspector palette pops out, click ʻSlide inspectorʼ, which is the second button at
the top of the ʻInspectorʼ palette. Make sure the ʻTransitionʼ section is selected.
At the bottom of the palette, change the ʻStart Transitionʼ from ʻOn Clickʼ to ʻAutomaticallyʼ.
Then change the ʻDelayʼ section to 1.0s. This means once your slide starts, it will progress
by itself and will stay on each slide for 1 second.
You can adjust this for each individual slide if you wish, just by selecting the slide by itself
in the ʻSlidesʼ panel and then redoing the Step 4.
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STEP 6 - NARRATE - (Using a nice, loud voice)
Congratulations, your video is done! You can stop here and be happy with your effort. If
you click play in Keynote you can see the video from start to finish. So far it should have
taken your class between an hour and an hour and a half to get to this stage. But if you
really want to be proud of your work and add that extra flare, I would recommend adding
narration. In Keynote this is a very straight forward process. If you are using other
software, itʼs still possible, but it may take a few more steps to get the end result.
RECORDING AUDIO IN KEYNOTE
STEP 1 - Make sure you select your first slide in the ʻSlidesʼ panel. Then simply click on
ʻPlayʼ in the menu and select ʻRecord Slideshowʼ.
The slideshow will now play through and record the audio from the inbuilt microphone (if
you are on an older model Mac, please plug in an external mic into the mic jack). You can
see in the top, right of the screen that there is a record icon (the red dot in the black circle)
and a level meter next to it.
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TIPS WHEN RECORDING AUDIO
*Itʼs important that when the
students are talking, that they
speak with a loud, clear voice.
*Speak loud enough to push the
level meter as far to the right
without touching the last bar. This
will ensure the students voices
are played back loud enough
when the movie is finalized.
*Have the students lean into the
computer to help them make their
voice clearer and cancel out the
background noise a little more.
*Isolate the students from the rest
of the class, in a quiet place to
reduce the background noise in
the video. If you are using
laptops, a hallway is great if itʼs
isolated from other students. If
not, ask the class to be extra
quiet while the students are
recording their narration.
*If the background noise is an
issue, you could also add a song
to the background to try to cancel
out some of the background
noise.
*If using a laptop, ask the students after they select record to not touch the computer until
the slide is finished, unless they make a mistake. A usual problem when audio is recorded
on a laptop is the noise of the student touching the computer or moving the angle of the
screen is recorded along with their voices.
*Have students write a script so they know what they want to say before they sit in front of
the computer. They can watch the video a few times to workout how much they can say in
the time they have. Having their script written down helps a lot because they usually have
to redo the recording a few times until itʼs correct.
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STEP 7 - SHARE (Let the world see your masterpiece)
If you now playback your Keynote, you will have a slideshow that progresses automatically
with narration over the top. Congratulations, it looks amazing! But to make it a movie that
anyone on any computer can see and can be shared, you need to export your slideshow.
To do this, go to ʻFileʼ in the top menu and select ʻExportʼ. Leave all of the selection as
follows then click ʻNextʼ.
This will export the slideshow into a movie.
Once your done, I would recommend giving your students a larger audience. Have them
upload their videos to the Internet for the world to see and learn from. A great place to do
this is Vimeo or YouTube but there are many other place you can share videos online. I
prefer Vimeo because it has many more options than YouTube and it looks amazing.
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ALTERNATIVE SOFTWARE / HARDWARE
To cut down on the size of this document, I have refrained from going into detail on how to
make the movie with other software and hardware. But it is all a similar premise. A tech
savvy teachers without Keynote could use free Mac software that is packaged with every
Mac, such as iPhoto to export an album of photos to a movie, then import the movie to
iMovie to add the narration.
This procedure would be very similar if using Microsoft Powerpoint, except you would have
to import each photo to the slides individually.
If a teacher had a PC and did not have Microsoft Powerpoint, then they could use the free
PC software, Windows Movie Maker to import the photos into the timeline and add
narration, either an external microphone to record the narration or a built in microphone if
the computer has this feature.
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SUMMARY
The thing I like most about making Slowmation videos is not how fun they are and how
much the students love to make them, but the deeper understanding the students get from
making these movies. I also believe in student centered learning and activities like this
really foster that philosophy. Slowmation also helps integrate a range of subjects and
keeps them engaged in a topic they may not have known they would like so much. So give
it a try and let me know how it goes. Good luck and have fun!
RECOMMENDED LESSON PROGRESSION
Lesson 1 - Step 1 and 2 (20-30 minutes)
Lesson 2 - Step 3 (20 minutes)
Lesson 3 - Step 4 (20 minutes)
Lesson 4 - Step 5 and 6 (30 minutes)
Lesson 5 - Step 7 (15 minutes, optional)
TOTAL TIME - 1.5 - 2 hours
RESOURCES
UOW Slowmation Website
Mr. Norrisʼs Students Slowmation
Brainpop ʻElectric Circuitsʼ
Gmail Mobile by JESS3
JESS3 Gmail Making Of Video
The making of Fantastic Mr. Fox
Vimeo
YouTube
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mitch Norris is an ICT specialist teacher in Tokyo, Japan. In 2010 he was honored to enter
the first Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) class in Japan.
www.misternorris.com
Twitter: @MisterNorris
Please consider the environment and avoid printing this document if possible.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike
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