December 2009 Archives

Sarah Wiesner

Age: 8^th grade

Time: 5 class periods

Focus:  The students will be creating a small animation where they will be creating their own character based on them selves or someone of their choosing. They will be transforming an average character into something else. The students will learn how to manipulate the basics of Photoshop. They will also getting an intro to animation and the history and creative process behind animation.

Objectives:

         1. 6.3.1.2.1 1. - Assemble and prepare personal media

artworks for public exhibition.

            2. 4.3.1.2.2 - Revise a presentation based on the feedback of others and self-reflection.

            3.  The students will be learning how to slowly transform something through animation. This will require creative planning.

Motivational Recourses:

            The students will be getting a presentation on animating and story boarding. I will show them clips of animations, as well as keep a lot of examples in the room of other forms of transformation.

Art Material:

-       Computers for the students

-       The Photoshop program

-       Scanner

-       Cameras

Introduction:

            Animation is the one thing every child should enjoy while growing up, and who is known for its Animation more than Walt Disney. For more than 80 years Walt Disney has been making Movies. Walt Disney originally started with half animated half filmed characters in a series he called Alice in Wonderland(Disney 1). He was noticed for these animation and him and his brother, Roy, became sponsored by a man named Winkler. Unfortunately that relationship went bad when Winkler went behind his back and stole Disney's animations and designs(Disney 1). It was from this Disney had to come up with a new character. He decided to start a cartoon that focused around a mouse that he wanted to call Mortimer, however, his wife convinced him to call it Mickey. And from this idea Walt Disney made the first animation with synchronized sound, called the Jazz Singer. Before that film was even released he pooled all his resources and made another film, which would be the first film to have full-synchronized sound, this film was called Steamboat Willy(Disney 1). It was an instant success and that is how Walt Disney and Mickey mouse began.

            Animation is a series of images that are put together to make it look like the drawn character is in motion. Thousands of images go into creating animated films. The first Animation that was ever made was created by Dr. Joseph Antoine Plateau, He developed a machine called Phenakitstoscope, which was a disc that had the images around the outside, and when you spun it, it gave the allusion that the objects were in motion(Mosley). In 1872, Eadweard Muybridge, who recorded a series of images to show animals in motion(Mosley). This was using photography, and was not only the start of Animation but also the first steps of the video camera. Using photography in animation was not something that would die off however. It would later be used in a technique called Stop motion, which is said to have first appeared in 1898 in a movie called "The Humpty Dumpty Circus" (Stop Motion Central).  Only a small part of the movie was done in the stop animation style but it opened the door to a new idea of how to create movies. Stop animation is almost as old as animating itself. It is the organizing of still images into a sequence that makes them look as if they are moving. Since its first appearance, many other stop motion artists came about. Some of the examples that are most familiar are Gumby, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Nightmare before Christmas, as well as Wallace and Grommit (Stop motion Central).

            Artists like Tim Burton started out their career working for Walt Disney. Disney was a pioneer in the animated world and his creations still have their effect on people today.

Instruction Procedure:

            Class 1: This class will begin with a presentation of animation. Then the rest of the day will be dedicated to teaching the students how to use Photoshop. They will be doing a small project to warm them up for the work that they will be doing later in the project.

            Class 2: This will be the first day that the student will be working on their projects. They will be given an intro. And then they will be splitting onto small groups to work on their animations together. They will have to choose one person from their group that they will transform. They are going to have to Take a photo of that person and then bring that picture into Photoshop. By the end of this class they will have to have brainstormed and found out what they will be transforming their friend into, and then what they are going to make them do.

            Class: This will be a workday if they wanted to incorporate any other form of animation into their video this is the day they have to decide if they need any extra supplies. They should be getting done with most of their backgrounds and character sketches at this point so they can get the project done in time.

            Class 3: Another workday. They should be finishing up their optional forms of animation this day. They should also be finishing the Photoshop work and be well into the Photoshop animating.

            Class 4: This class will start with a presentation on how to use iMovie. By the end of this class they should be putting pieces of their work into iMovie. Some of their group could be finishing up in Photoshop and creating music in Garage Band. But keep in mind they might get to into Garage band, and if they start getting too distracted you might want to wait till the last minute to let them work in the program.

            Class 5: This will be the last day to work on the project. They should just be finishing it up. Half way through the hour we will be presenting the projects and having a critique. The students will all have to participate in the critique as part of their grade.

DBEA Checklist:

            Art Production: The students will be creating an animation on the computer and learn the techniques to make it successful. They will need to be aware the process of animating and how to make the items look like they are transforming.

Aesthetics: They will have to learn how to make the objects on their screen move and look clean.

Art History: They will be learning about the history of animation, and the process that animators have to go through to create a piece

Art Criticism: The project will require them to critique each other. Each child will have to look critically at their peers work as well as their own and give constructive criticism that are based on the requirements for the assignment.

Bibliography:

Disney Company , . "Company History ." The Walt Disney Company . 2009. Walt Disney Company , Web. 11 Dec 2009. <http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/complete_history_2.html>.

O Reilly, Dermy . "A Brief History of Stop Motion Animation!." Stop Motion Animation . 2007. Copyright StopMotionCentral.com , Web. 6 Dec 2009. <http://www.stopmotioncentral.com/articles-5.html>.

Mosley, Joshua. "Compiled History of Animation." joshuamosley.com. Joshua Mosley, Web. 11 Dec 2009. <http://joshuamosley.com/UPenn/courses/Ani/AnimationHistory.html>.

Sarah Wiesner

Age: 5^th  grade

Time: 6 class periods

Focus: The student's will learning how to transform a series of photos into a short animation. They will get to choose the objects that they want to move, and they will be either telling a story of making them move to music.

Objectives:

         1. 4.2.1.2.1 - Create original works of media art to express

specific artistic ideas.

            2. 4.3.1.2.2 - Revise a presentation based on the feedback of others and self-reflection.

            3.  The students will be learning how to organize a setting, and how to execute an animation.

Motivational Recourses:

            I will be giving a PowerPoint on stop motion and Claymation, as well as, have visual references up to shop how characters could be made. The students will also get to chance to see clips from films that use stop motion, and discuss the strong and week points of the different videos they watched.

Art Material:

-       Cameras

-       Nic nacs that would look interesting in a an animated setting

-       Writing tools

-       Sheet of solid colored material or an area that would work for a background.

-     A few computers with the iMovie program on them.

Introduction:

            Stop motion is said to have first appeared in 1898 in a movie called "The Humpty Dumpty Circus" (Stop Motion Central).  Only a small part of the movie was done in the stop animation style but it opened the door to a new idea of how to create movies. Stop animation is almost as old as animating itself. It is the organizing of still images into a sequence that makes them look as if they are moving. Since its first appearance, many other stop motion artists came about. Some of the examples that are most familiar are Gumby, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Nightmare before Christmas, as well as Wallace and Grommit (Stop motion Central).

            Stop motion was originally made by the animation of non-drawn objects. These objects were usually very rigid and they were just moved slowly across their background that made them look like they were in motion. Later the artists of this style began to use materials such as puppets and Clay. These are a part of the stop motion that we often see today. Wallace and Gromit as well as Gumby are Claymation, which is the form of stop motion that uses clay to execute their animation. The students can focus on any form of stop motion that they want to, so Claymation is an option for them to use. The other thing that is popular today is stop motion with puppets, which is what Tim Burton is known for. No matter if the students chose to make a Claymation or any other type of animation, their first animation should be relatively basic so they do not feel over whelmed. The artists should also stay very conscious of their background, the movie can be either helped or hindered depending on what their background is doing. Stop animation is a lot about timing; every thing that you do to your character will show up in your video, so the artists always have to be careful that when they move the piece they actually did what they were hoping it would do. That is why story boarding is so important in large animation production.

            Stop animation is very rare in today's entertainment and as most of us know, the most recognized name in the system is Tim Burton. Tim Burton grew up in California and went to the California Art Institute. He enjoyed drawing from a very young age and after he graduated from college he began taking on big Hollywood productions. He did work on movies such as, Batman (1989), Beetle Juice (1988), Mars Attacks (1992), Charlie and the chocolate Factory (2005), and Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (IMDb). When he first started at Disney he worked on films such as the Fox and the Hound, however his artistic style was very different from the other artists, but Disney saw that he had an unusual but interesting style, and so they let him do a few films of his own. His first short that he did was Vincent (a story about a boy who wanted to be just like Vincent Price). This was a wonderful look at what his art would be like later on in his career(IMDb). Even though not many filmmakers are making stop animation any more, Tim Burton has found a way to keep it alive and continuously interesting.

Instruction Procedure:

            Class 1: This will be the intro day. We will be having a presentation on Claymation. We will be watching clips from movies that used stop motion. Then we will be setting up a stop motion project that will be involving the whole class. Everyone will participate in this group Animation. By the end of this class the students should have a good idea of what they are doing, and an idea of how to use the medium.

            Class 2: The class will start with an intro of what they are going to do in the project. They will be splitting into groups that will be who they will be working with for the rest of the project. Once they are in their groups the students should decide whether they want to tell a short story or if they want to do a music video. Then they should start planning their video out, and sketching the characters. Encourage them to create a storyboard for their videos. They should know exactly what they are doing for the next workday.

Class 3: This is the first day that they will be working with the cameras. They will all be splitting into their groups and getting to work. They should have made considerable progress into their picture taking at the end of this class period.

Class 4: The students should start loading the projects on the few computers we have. The students who are a little behind will keep working and the others will start animating their projects. The end of this class a few of the groups should have their pictures on the computer. Assign the students to have the sound or music ready to put on their video for the next class period.

Class 5: This class will be a workday again. The students will be taking turns setting music to their movies. The ones that were behind in the last class will load their pictures on the computer. The students that are waiting for their turn on the computer will be participating in other animation projects around the room.

Class 6: This will be the finish up day and the students will be having a critique. We will treat it like a movie premiere. The students should all comment on each other's work and give constructive criticism based on how they fulfilled the requirements.

DBEA Checklist:

            Art Production: The students will be creating a stop motion and learn the techniques to make it successful. They will need to be aware of the pieces and the process of stop motion animating.

Aesthetics: They will have to learn how to make the pieces move and look clean. Also using story-telling skills to make the animation make sense.

Art History: They will be learning about the history of stop motion, how it was come by, and who are the lead animators working in that medium.

Art Criticism: The project will require them to critique each other. Each child will have to look critically at their peer's work as well as their own and give constructive criticism that are based on the requirements for the assignment.

Bibliography:

O Reilly, Dermy . "A Brief History of Stop Motion Animation!." Stop Motion Animation . 2007. Copyright StopMotionCentral.com , Web. 6 Dec 2009. <http://www.stopmotioncentral.com/articles-5.html>.

Mr. Beale, . "Tim Burton." IMDb. 2006. IMDb, Web. 6 Dec 2009. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000318/bio>.