Looking for an utterly absorbing and engaging activity for small groups of children? Try stop motion movie making! Here are some tips and a video lesson to help you get a great start with this fabulous creative activity?
Stop motion apps are available for various devices and they largely work the same way. Search for ‘Stop Motion’ in the various app stores. The example here was made using Stop Motion Studio on an Android phone.
In addition to the steps involved in creating sequences of pictures, this activity also explores some other features of stop motion, including frame rates, the use of ‘onion skinning‘ and moving the camera between frames to create new types of movement.
You can use this video (3 mins) to show the key ideas to students.
For this activity you will need:
- Some objects or characters to move and animate,
- A camera equipped phone or tablet (you can also use digital cameras and export a series of pictures to movie editing software on computers),
- A stop motion app,
- Some space with decent lighting to work.
In the video you will see a simple holder for the smartphone was made using cardboard to keep it in place between shots.
Taking things further
Once students are familiar with the technical aspects of stop motion, they can think about creating storyboards, scripts and creating sets. They can even add their own sound effects or music.
Check out some of the other Moviemakers activities here on Teachers’ Corner for more inspiration.
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