Thursday, April 2, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Summary
Yes, I admit that this was a hard blog to create and model in just 6 weeks. All the hard work to create 6 posts. I went in to a lot of trouble to make this and my notebook and speech, so I hope most of you appreciate it. But based on this, I can imagine just how long it took to create Kids Talk Books.
There was a lot of research involved in making this blog. So much it's like: Go to one site, memorize content. Go to next site, memorize content. Thank you to all the people who showed me how to scan a site thoroughly and what sites to choose.
There was also a lot of writing. From posts to the introduction on my PQ folder, there was more writing than research. Thank you to the people who showed me how to write a summary, like this, and a bibliography shortcut. Thank you to the people who came into the classroom and gave important pieces of information. Thank you to you all. I could not have done this without you.
There was a lot of research involved in making this blog. So much it's like: Go to one site, memorize content. Go to next site, memorize content. Thank you to all the people who showed me how to scan a site thoroughly and what sites to choose.
There was also a lot of writing. From posts to the introduction on my PQ folder, there was more writing than research. Thank you to the people who showed me how to write a summary, like this, and a bibliography shortcut. Thank you to the people who came into the classroom and gave important pieces of information. Thank you to you all. I could not have done this without you.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Bibliography
Elmer, Erica. "Clay Animation." Fun for Kidz May/June 2007: 36-39.
"History of Claymation." Claymation. 31 January 2009. [http://www.rijasy0.tripod.com/id1.html]
"Pokey, Gumby's Best Pal." 13 February 2009.
[http://www.gumbyworld.com/memorylane/histpok1.htm#met]
"History of Claymation?." Claymation at PWC. 5 March 2009. [http://www.pwc.k12.nf.ca/projects/claymation/historyofclaymation.html]
Burton, Mark. Baker, Bob. Box, Steve. Park, Nick. Wallace and Gromit The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. New York: Penguin Group, 2005.
Questions and Answers
This is an interview with Tyler Higgins, teacher at Children's Technology workshop.
Q. When did you start teaching claymation?
A. I started teaching 4 years ago for the Children's Technology Workshop specifically at iCamp and in after school classes all over Marin and the bay area.
Q. At the time, how popular was the class?
A. Animation is one of our most popular classes, but that was not the way it was four years ago. Claymation seems to be gaining popularity over the past year, specifically in Mill Valley, San Anselmo, and Novato.
Q. Is the 11-step process shown on my blog the most commonly used?
A. Yes, the eleven steps you have outlined in your blog are commonly used at the beginner and intermediate levels of claymation.
Q. How long does it take to make the average short film, like at class?
A. Claymation, when created in a CTWorkshop program, usually takes place during eight one hour classes. However, the Wallace and Gromit movie, "Curse of the Were-Rabbit", took five years to create with over 500,000 frames, and a staff of 50 people working on it! When I teach claymation at iCamp, it can take 20-40 hours to make a movie with over 1,000 frames.
Q. Now, what is your most popular class?
A. I would have to say animation and Video Game Creation are our most popular classes currently.
Q. Look at the Questions About Claymation post. Do you have answers to any of them?
A. There can be a twelfth step, called chroma key. It's when you use a computerized image for the background. It's commonly known as the "green screen" effect, and is something we offer only at iCamp, as it requires a very balanced light source, and a slightly more complicated technical side.
Q. Who signs up more, boys or girls?
A. I have more boys sign up than girls. But, in the last year, we've seen the number of girls triple in each animation class and in our camps.
Q. How old is the average moviemaker?
A. Average age would be around nine and a half to ten years old.
Q. Since you said there was a twelfth step, where will it go(between which two steps)?
A. The twelfth step would be to use the chroma key function to bring in a computerized image of your backdrop. It would come after the step where you get the live camera, and prior to the first picture taken.
Q. In what county is claymation most popular?
A. Marin county, specifically Mill Valley would have the most popular animation class.
Q. What grade likes claymation the best?
A. All elementary school grades enjoy animation, but most specifically would be 3rd-5th.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
How to Make a Claymation Movie
Notes: You cannot do this unless you have a quickcam, PC with USB ports, windows movie maker, stop motion pro v5.0, and some empty space. This is all my own words. Tyler Higgins taught this to me in an animation class.
1. Open Stop Motion Pro v5.o and plug the quickcam in. Once you have added a title and other movie settings, continue.
2. Click live.
3. Pose your clay figures, backdrops, and props according to how you like.
4. Click the button that looks like a camera.
5. Move the figures and props just slightly.
6. Go back to step 4 until your movie is finished.
7. Click File and then Make Movie.
8.Open Windows Movie Maker and find the file that you saved your movie in.
9. Select your movie and drag it onto the film strip. Sometimes it will be divided into scenes, depending on the length of the film.
10. Add titles, credits(you can change the type of titles/credits and/or the color of the background or text), transitions, and soundtrack.
11. Get a projector and projecting screen, kick back, make some popcorn, and enjoy your cinema movie!
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