Building Stories
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BUILDING STORIES WEEK ONE DAYS 1-4
It’s time to start a new adventure and we create our own 3D ‘pulp fiction’! In this fun series we’ll be crafting characters and then crafting tales with 3D settings and flippable ‘story boards’ that will keep ‘bored’ far from these stories! Students will truly be able to visualize their stories as they literally build them and then set them in motion. But first of all, there’s a question. Just what is 3D? Find the answer to that and more as we begin to explore just how to take 2D ideas and turn them into a 3D tale. It’s time for the crew to craft the cast—after all story characters sure come alive in our minds when we read about them on the page…just imagine how it will be when they’re our very own 3D creations!
Building Stories Week Four Days 13-16
“Writing” doesn't have to mean dumpy and dull. Especially when you use vivid verbiage! Words that evoke rich sights, smells, sounds, textures, and tastes. Turning 2D pages into entrancing 3D mental visions and making stories come alive. During this week students will ‘get a clue’ and turn the ordinary into something extraordinary! They’ll hunt down a wordy dinosaur and find out how, like a good stew, a plot can thicken. But they’ll have to watch out because they might have the rug pulled out from under them or find themselves hanging off the edge of cliff. So, come along as we peer deep, peer quick, and head into the thick of adventure!
Building Stories Week Five Days 17-20
It’s time to shine! To add polish, sparkle, and refinement that make you glow with pride and say, “That’s mine!” Then it’s time for a little papermation and a little paper motion! That’s right, we’re animating these tales and putting stories in motion with ‘stopmotion!’ Did you know you can read movies the way you read books? We’ll learn to read between the lines and see what’s behind the scenes before learning how stop motion works and how filmmakers make it smooth (without lots of stops and jerks.) We’ll even play some games where we get to stop and go and determine if the best action happens when we go fast or slow. Then we’ll get a little crazy and flip out over our tales and begin to put our movies into motion. Stopmotion that is.
Week Five Important Links:
Show students clips of stop motion animated films and shows such as: A Short Love Story in Stop Motion by Carlos Lascano (a combination of 2D & Stop Motion Animation- Every character was either drawn or modeled by hand, and you & students can read a little more about Carlos’ fascinating process here.)
CREATE - A stop motion short by Dan MacKenzie (A young mad scientist sets out to create a pet monster within parallel worlds of an imaginary laboratory and the reality of the boy's bedroom.)
Have students watch clips from The Making of the Nightmare Before Christmas to get a really clear idea of the fascinating process (especially the first 9 minutes) and/or this short clip from The Fantastic Mr. Fox (watch this clip to hear Wes Anderson talk about some of the things you can do with stop motion you can’t do with live action films).
More Stop Motion Fun: See films by a 3 year old and a 6 year old at Tinkerlab. Watch Deadline, a sticky-note stop motion film. Get a behind the scenes glimpse of the professional process from movie extras like: Frankenweenie Behind The Scenes - Helping Puppets Act (2012) & Frankenweenie Behind The Scenes - Starts With Drawing (2012) ). Each time you watch a clip continue to work together to analyze what they saw and emphasize (and model) critical thinking skills. (Always more than just ‘I liked it’ and ‘I didn’t like it…it was boring/ugly/weird…etc.’)
Building Stories Week Six & Seven Days 21-28
We’ve caught the idea and now practice makes perfect! Students get a chance to step up to the challenge and get hands on experience with stop motion before embarking on the process of telling their own tales. Then…it’s time for ACTION! Students should be ready to create an amazing Stop Animation Film that will make their friends swoon when they ‘pop’ onto the big screen! We’ll all work together and craft tales scene by scene and when they’re all finished we’ll attend a Film Festival where all our films will be screened! The reviewers will laugh, the reviewers might cry, and when the last credits roll, we’ll all heave a big happy sigh (and hey, maybe the sound of a thunderous standing ovation might rattle the sky—or at least the ceiling!)
Week Six and Seven Important Links:
Sample videos to start the conversation, access prior knowledge, and inspire students: Change: The Happiest Stop Motion Video Ever! With everything from a watermelon, to Legos, to party hats, this video brings every inanimate object you could possibly think of to life. There are no limits to what you can animate! Also, you may want to check out the fascinating ‘Pin’ and cutely creepy short ‘No Noodles’ on Colossal. Or, Against the Grain, Choose your favorites/the most appropriate ones to show your students. Analyze each of the film(s) after you watch (them).
Enjoy a few sample project videos