Movie Magic A Complete guide to teaching stop-motion filmmaking for grades 4 and up

Act 1, Scene 1 Materials Sets Props/Toys One digital camera per group of 4 to 5 student Tripods for digital cameras Rechargeable batteries Access to computers – one per group Flash drives – one per group

Act 1, Scene 2 Getting acquainted with the process Teachers: Practice making your own movie first – it could be as simple as a marker and a piece of paper Make an extremely simple outline Storyboards tend to make for longer, more complicated films Remember the KISS principle when thinking of your movie (sports, music videos, robots, car races, aliens, commercials)

Act 1, Scene 3 Creating the movie set After finding your main subject, e.g., Barbie, Legos, Claymation, Cars, etc., you are now ready to build your set. Cardboard or poster board for background, paint, construction paper – basically your art room materials and recyclables will be great. Kids will need several hours to create a proper background set. Good craftsmanship will really make a difference, hide all tape, paper wrinkles etc…

Ready for production Kids will need at least 45 minutes at a time with the camera for best quality pictures. Set up the tripod so that you can’t see any extraneous background. Mark the tripod position because it will need to be in the same place each day you film. Make sure you have plenty of batteries on hand. Number cameras so that each group is sure to get the same camera each time. Act 1, Scene 4

Act 1, Scene 5 Filming Remember that it takes around 210 pictures to fill one minute of stop-motion film! Kids should take at least 300 pictures for one minute of quality film, assuming that you will have to delete hands, blurred shots, etc. Movement between shots should be minimal. Be conservative about zooming in and out – take at least 30 shots before changing angles to avoid jerky movements. Before leaving for the day, make sure you mark the placements of your props and sets.

Act 1, Scene 6 Importing Photos Connect the camera to the computer via a USB cable. You will get a pop up window with several options. Choose “Copy pictures to my computer using Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard”. Click “Next” Label your file with your students’ names. Click “Next” The photos will be imported into the named file. This will take a few minutes because of the volume.

Act 1, Scene 6, Take 2 Editing photos Once the photos have been imported into Movie Maker have the students scroll through the photos and delete any photos with hands, blurriness, etc. To delete a photo just click on it once to highlight it and hit the ‘delete’ key. If photos are missed here, they can be edited in the storyboard, but it’s easier to do it as this point.

Act 1, Scene 7 Open Microsoft Movie Maker Select Import Pictures Open your picture folder Hit Ctrl A to select all pictures in folder Click ‘Import’ Click on the drop down menu at the top labeled ‘Tools’ Click Options Click the Advanced tab Adjust Picture duration to seconds Adjust Transition duration to 0.25 seconds Click ‘OK’

Act 1, Scene 7, Take 2 Sending your photos to the Story Board Click on your first photo then hit Ctrl A to select all. Drag the selected photos down to the story board. This will also take a couple of minutes. Don’t worry if you missed editing some photos, you can click on it and delete it in the story board.

Act 2, Scene 1 Getting Acquainted with Mixcraft Mixcraft can be downloaded at Acoustica.com and they will give you a 30 day free trial. You and your students will love this program. Don’t be shocked if they rock your socks off! This is a great collaborative activity to do with music and art teachers. Use the program yourself before you bring it into the classroom. Give your students two or three class periods to explore the program.

Act 2, Scene 2 Using Mixcraft When you open the program, choose the option labled Build Loop and Beat Matched Music Click on the library tab to explore different Song Kits (you will need to be connected to the internet to download loops and listen to them the first time. Each Song Kit has sounds that will work well together, but you can mix sounds from different song kits, too. To listen to a sound, click on the blue arrow, to add the loop, click on the green + button.

Act 2, Scene 2, Take 2 To make loops longer, click on the end of the loop when you see the double arrow and drag out. If you want to delete a loop, just click on it once and hit ‘delete’

Act 2, Scene 3 Matching sound effects and narration to film Mark times on a piece of paper where either sound effects or narration is needed. Mixcraft has literally hundreds of sound effects. If you want it, it’s probably in there. You can also engineer sounds to make them sound like other sounds.

Act 2, Scene 4 Recording sounds Click on the button at the top labeled “Time” Clicking on the zoom in and zoom out buttons will give you views of smaller and larger time increments. Click on the time marker in your track where you want to insert sound. If you are recording narration, you can either use the microphone that is built-in to the laptop or an external microphone. Internal mics tend to pick up more background noise.

Act 2, Scene 4, Take 2 To record voices, click on the “Arm” button on the track. This does not start recording, but only ‘arms’ the track to be ready for recording. When you are ready to record, click the round button with the red circle just above your sound library tabs. When you are done recording, click the same button. To listen to your recording, you can either double click on the loop or click on the loop once and click the play button.

Act 2, Scene 5 The Big Mixdown! When you are finished recording, make sure your students save their work! Go to ‘File’ then ‘Mix Down To’, then choose MP3 Open your movie in Movie Maker Click on ‘Import audio or music’ Choose your file and click on ‘Import’ Save your movie

Act 3, Scene 1 Adding visual effects to your movie Under 2. Edit Movie click on ‘View Video Effects’ Choose the effect you want and drag it onto the picture(s). You do have to add effects individually.

Act 3, Scene 2 Adding Titles and Credits to your movie Under 2. Edit Movie, click on Add titles or credits. Click on Add title at the beginning of the movie. Use the same process for credits at the end.

Extension Activities for Your Films Red Carpet Premier Kids can make invitations and movie posters. Invite the “fancy people” from your district. Invite families. Videos can be shown at art shows and music festivals. Start your own district FilmFest! This is a great way to show off the arts to the community at large.

Thank you for attending the Movie Magic workshop! Break a leg! Christine Loehr, Art Education, Rose Hill Elementary, Adams 14 School District, Aimée Stork, Music Education, Rose Hill Elementary, Adams 14 School District,