Lesson video

Hello, everybody.

It's Mrs. Franzsen here.

Welcome to computing.

It's really good to see you.

Thank you for coming to my lesson today.

I hope you're ready to do some learning about animation.

Are you ready? Then, let's get started.

Our lesson today is called "Consistency in Frames," and by the end of the lesson, you will be able to identify the need to work consistently and carefully.

Let's get started.

So for our keywords today, we have got two keywords.

They are really important because these keywords will be used throughout the lesson, so make sure you listen really carefully to the keyword and the definition as well.

So our first keyword is frame.

Frame.

A frame is a single picture that is used to make an animation.

The next keyword is consistency.

Consistency.

Consistency is when details in an animation look the same every time.

So when we're going through this lesson today, I want you to listen really carefully for "frame" and for "consistency" because they are our two keywords.

In the first part of the lesson, you will be identifying inconsistencies in an animation.

So let's start with: what is animation? And Alex was gonna give us our definition here.

"Animation is a way of making pictures or objects look as if the picture is moving by showing them quickly, one after another." And this is how this cat is moving.

This is actually a series of pictures which are moving very quickly with small changes in between, and that makes it look like the cat is moving.

The next question is: what are frames? So this is one of our keywords here.

Sofia is going to define the keyword for us.

"Each of the pictures you take to make your animation is called a frame." And you can see from the cat animation here, these are some of the frames that were used to make the cat animation.

Stop-frame animation is made by taking one picture at a time.

The pictures will become frames in your sequence.

You use a digital device like a tablet to create a stop-frame animation.

This lesson will use the iMotion app, but there are other animation apps available, and if you use one of those instead, that's okay.

When creating an animation, it is important to have consistency.

That is one of our keywords: consistency.

What does this mean? Pause the video and have a think about that.

Welcome back.

Jacob's gonna give us our answer here.

Jacob says, "Consistency is when details in an animation look the same every time.

So that is what we are looking for.

When we're looking for consistency, things must be the same.

Jun says, "Consistency means that your animation will look correct in every frame." And Alex says, "Being consistent helps your animation look better." All right, let's hear from Sofia.

Sofia says, "It's okay if your background or characters move quite a bit between frames." What do you think? Is Sofia correct? Pause the video to have a think about that.

Let's look at these two soldiers.

So if they move even just a bit between frames, you can see that they do look a bit jumpy.

So even small changes can make an animation look jumpy.

Keeping things still will make it look real.

Let's do a check here.

Consistency is when details in an animation look the same every time? Pause the video and have a think about that.

The answer was true.

Well done for thinking about that question.

Consistency means keeping things the same.

In an animation, what needs to stay the same? Hmm.

Sofia says, "The same characters." That's right.

Alex says, "The same background." That's right.

And Jacob says, "The same digital device." That's excellent.

So a number of things need to stay the same when you work on an animation.

The characters should be consistent.

They should look the same in each frame, the number of characters should stay the same, and you should move them only small amounts between each frame.

Jun says, "I am using two printed soldiers as my characters." The background should be consistent.

It should stay in the background and not move or shift.

You might want to tape or stick it down.

If the background needs to change, it should change at the correct time.

Jun says, "I am using a printed picture of an amphitheatre as my background." And you can see he stuck that down there with some sticky tape.

Your device should be consistent.

Always use the same app and device to record.

Keep your device very still, and make sure nothing else is in the frame.

Jun says, "I've arranged my tablet so that it won't move around.

It will stay in the same position." The opposite of consistent is inconsistent.

A frame that has something different from what should be there is inconsistent.

When you make your animation, try to be consistent and look carefully for any inconsistencies.

So we are talking about things that are not consistent.

What is the example of being inconsistent? Is it A, using the same characters; B, making sure your device doesn't move; C, sticking your background down so it stays still; or D, changing to new characters halfway through? Pause the video and think about your answer here.

Welcome back.

The answer was D.

That is very inconsistent if things change in the middle like that.

So changing to new characters halfway through, that would be inconsistent.

Well done for your effort on this question.

Okay, it's time for a task now.

The first thing is that we are gonna watch animation clip one.

Oh, dear.

What consistency problem do you notice? You can pause the video and think about your answer.

Welcome back.

The consistency problem here is that the character on the left gets larger midway through the animation.

That is a bit of an inconsistency.

For the second one, it's time to watch the second animation clip.

What consistency problem do you notice? Pause the video here.

The problem is that the position of the device changes, which makes the animation jumpy.

Well done if you got that one right.

It's time to watch the third animation clip.

Oh! What consistency problem do you notice? Pause the video and write this one down.

Okay, let's see what you spotted.

The background changes midway through the animation.

Well done for noticing all of those consistency problems in this task.

In the next part of the lesson, you are going to create a stop-frame animation with characters.

Onion skin is a special animation tool.

It lets you see a shadow of the last frame while you are getting ready to take the next one.

This helps you line things up and make small changes so your animation looks smooth.

You can see an example of onion skin here in the box.

We've got the soldiers that have an outline around them.

This shows where the previous photo was taken, and then once you take your next picture, the onion skin will move so that you can then take the next picture.

So it helps you line them up and make small changes so everything looks really good and really smooth.

In the iMotion app, the display menu lets you use the onion skin tool.

First, press display.

Then use this button to turn onion skin on.

You will know that it's on when you see the two squares that are close to each other as the icon.

Just like that.

Let's do a check here.

What is the icon for the onion skin tool? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video here to think about which one it is.

Welcome back.

The answer is A.

The icon shows the shadow of the onion skin effect.

Well done if you got that right.

A storyboard is a set of drawings used to help plan a story.

This is a story about some soldiers meeting.

They walk to the middle, they have a fight, and then one of them runs away and the other one falls down.

And you can see we've split the story up into three parts.

We've got the beginning, the middle, and the end.

This is Jun's storyboard.

If you don't have a storyboard, you can use this one.

Right, we're getting ready.

We're getting close to filming our stop-frame animations.

Jun says, "Okay, I have my printed characters and background.

I've secured my tablet so it won't move.

I've got my storyboard.

I am ready to record!" If you have all of your materials, you can record your animation.

The consistency checklist is a guide to help you remember all the ways you need to keep your animation consistent.

It is included in the additional lesson materials.

Sofia says, "Make sure not to move anyone else's device or background." And that is one of the items on the consistency checklist.

Here is the whole consistency checklist.

I will read these three for us: I have made my background secure.

I have made my device secure.

I have turned on the onion skin tool.

I am moving my characters only a small amount each time.

I have checked the screen so only what I want is in the picture.

I have used the same characters throughout my animation.

I have used the same background throughout my animation.

And I have taken care not to move anyone else's device.

If you follow this checklist, it will really help you keep your animation consistent and make it look really good.

Okay, let's do a check here.

It's time to fill in the blanks.

Our box words at the bottom today are: "device," "onion," "characters," "secure," and "move." So there are five blanks and five words that you are going to need to fill in the blanks.

Let me read it through, and I'll put some pauses in where the blanks are.

To keep your animation consistent, you need to: Turn on the skin tool on your animation app.

Only your a small amount each time.

Take care not to anyone else's.

Make your device so it doesn't fall down.

It's time to go off and fill in the blanks, and I'll show you the answers once you get back.

Welcome back.

Let's look at the answers.

The first one is "onion." Turn on the onion skin tool on your animation app.

Only move your characters a small amount each time.

Take care not to move anyone else's device.

And make your device secure so it doesn't fall down.

Well done for your hard work in that check.

Okay, it's time to create your stop-frame animation.

I bet you're really excited to get going.

The first part says to use your storyboard to record your stop-motion animation in the correct sequence.

And then, while working on your animation, complete the consistency checklist.

It's gonna be time for you now to go and work on those stop-frame animations.

I can't wait to see how they're going to look.

I'm really excited to see.

And when you come back, we can do some feedback and then our summary.

Welcome back.

I hope you enjoyed creating your stop-frame animation.

You really do need to take lots of pictures to make an effective animation that's really consistent.

So, for our feedback today, I want you to now watch the stop-frame filming video.

With onion skinning on, move your characters very slightly each frame before you press on capture.

(camera shutter clicks) Move your characters again using the onion skin to check the position they were in before, and then press capture again.

(camera shutter clicks) When you have finished recording, press the stop button to get this menu, and then tap it again to confirm that you have finished recording your animation.

This is a really good way for you to see what you've recorded so far.

You can speed up or slow down the playback by using the slider at the bottom.

And when you have finished reviewing what you have filmed, you can use the camera button up at the top to go back into your animation to film some more.

On this screen, tap on the resume button to go back to filming some more stop-frame animation.

(camera shutter clicks) And make sure you have completed the consistency checklist as you work through your animation.

You have worked really hard in this lesson today.

Excellent effort.

And let me summarise the learning that we've done today in the "Consistency in Frames" lesson.

Good animations need consistency, which is when details in the animation look the same way every time.

Stop-frame animations that are not consistent can have mistakes in frames, such as the background changing or characters changing size.

A consistency checklist can be used to help you create a smooth stop-frame animation.

Thank you for all of your hard work during today's lesson.

It's been really great working with you, and I hope to see you again soon.