Lesson video

Hello, everybody.

It's Mrs. Franzsen here.

Welcome to computing.

It is really good to have you in this lesson today.

I hope that you are excited to learn about animation with me.

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

Today's lesson is called "Creating Animations Using Frames," and by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to relate animated movement to a sequence of pictures.

Let's go through our keywords for today's lesson.

Now, our keywords are really important because these keywords are going to be used all the way through the lesson, so it's important that you can understand the meanings of them before we get started.

Okay, our first keyword is "frame." Frame: a frame is a single picture that is used to make an animation.

The next word is "stop-frame animation." Stop-frame animation: this is an animation made by taking one picture at a time.

The last keyword is "onion skin." Onion skin: an onion skin is an animation tool that lets you see a shadow of the last frame.

Our keywords today are "frame," stop-frame animation," and "onion skin." Those are our three keywords today.

In the first part of the lesson, you will predict what a sequence will show.

What is animation? Alex is going to give us our definition here.

Alex says, "Animation is a way of making pictures or objects look as if they are moving by showing them quickly, one after another." This cat is a really good example of an animation.

We are seeing pictures of the cat with small changes that are happening really quickly.

We're being shown them really quickly, one after another, and that is animation because it makes it look like this cat is moving.

What is a sequence? Jun is gonna give us our answer here.

"A sequence is a set of pictures shown in order.

Each picture changes a little bit from the one before." So that is a sequence.

I want you to watch this video clip.

How do you think the animation was made? That was some really good thinking there.

Let's look at the answer.

The animation was made by taking photos of drawings and then putting them together in a sequence.

Let's do a check for understanding here.

What do we call the order in which a set of pictures is arranged to show how something changes or moves? Pause the video to think about your answer.

Welcome back.

A sequence.

So a sequence is the order in which a set of pictures is arranged to show how something changes or moves.

Well done if you got that right.

Let's do another one.

What do we call the process of making pictures or objects appear to move by showing them quickly one after another? Pause the video here to think about your answer.

This one is animation.

Well done if you got that one right.

Each of the pictures you take to make your animation is called a frame.

That was one of our keywords today: frame.

There are four frames in this sequence.

Can you see the four frames? The frames are shown with a kind of a box around them, yeah? So the four frames go in sequence.

Look at the frames.

What do you think will happen in this sequence? How do you know? So you can pause the video here and have a close look at the frames.

Welcome back.

Let's look at the answer together.

This sequence shows a stick person waving.

You can see the arm moving up to wave, so that is why the right arm of the stick person is slowly changing.

Each frame looks slightly different.

This is what happens.

When we play the sequence really quickly, it makes it look as if the stick person is waving.

Look at the frames.

What do you think will happen in this sequence, and how do you know? So we're going to make another prediction now.

Now we're gonna look at these frames and then say what will happen, and how do you know.

Pause the video here to think about your answer.

This sequence shows a stick person's hair growing.

You can see the hair getting longer in each picture.

Let's look at the animation here.

So you can see every frame, the action is changing just a little bit, and then when we run them in sequence, it is animated.

Let's do another one.

Look at the frames.

What do you think will happen in this sequence, and how do you know? Pause the video here to think about that.

Well done for thinking about that one.

In this sequence, it shows a stick person throwing a ball.

You can see the arm reaching out and the ball moving.

Now let's have a look at how that looks in sequence.

There we go.

Stick person throwing the ball, slowly making changes in every frame to make that look animated.

Okay, now you are gonna get a chance to create some of your own frames in this task.

Number one says, "Draw the next two frames in this sequence." So we've got two frames, we've got our stick person and a ball, and the next two frames are blank.

And I want you to draw your own frames in the sequence, making sure you just make a small change every time.

Number two says, "Describe what happens in this sequence and explain how you can tell," just like what we've been practising.

It's time for you to pause the video now.

Go and work on this task, and when you come back, I can give you some feedback.

Welcome back.

Well done for working so hard on that part of the task.

Let's have a look at what you might have here as your answers.

So for the first part, I wanted you to complete the sequence by drawing two more frames in this set.

So I wanted you to draw frame three and frame four.

So what you might have drawn in your frame boxes might look a little bit different, but what we are looking for is the leg of the stick person to be moving up and then the ball to be slowly moving away.

So just small changes needed in each frame.

For the second part, I was asking you what was happening in the sequence and how you could tell, just like what we were doing in the practise questions.

So that answer here says that "This sequence shows a stick person kicking a ball.

You can see the leg reaching out and the ball moving." Well done for all of your hard work in this task.

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

In this lesson, you will be creating a stop-frame animation.

So "stop-frame animation" is one of our keywords from the beginning of the lesson, so you might have recognised that.

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

The photos will become frames in your sequence.

Let's get ready to make a stop-frame animation.

So you are going to need some equipment for this part of the lesson.

You will need a mini whiteboard and whiteboard pen.

Or if you can't get that, you could use some paper and pencil.

Then you'll need a tablet or another digital device like a phone to take photos for your animation.

You will also need some sticky tape or another way of making the whiteboard and the device stand up.

So sometimes you can have frames or a way of leaning your device so that it will definitely stay really still because that's what you need for this part of the lesson.

The device needs to not be able to move around while you are filming your stop-frame animation.

We've got a check for understanding here.

What is made by taking one picture at a time until you have a sequence of frames? Is it A: stop-frame animation, B: 3D animation, or C: motion capture animation? Pause the video here to have a think about your answer.

Right.

Welcome back.

Let's look at this question again.

It says, "What is made by taking one picture at a time until you have a sequence of frames?" And the answer is A: stop-frame animation.

Well done if you got that one right.

This is the animation app iMotion.

There are other animation apps that you can use.

So in this lesson, we'll be showing you clips and screenshots from iMotion, but you might be using a different animation app, and that's okay too.

To create your project, tap on the button that says "new movie," it's right there.

You want the device to take a photo when you tap the screen.

And in this app, that is called manual.

So you're looking for the manual button.

It's got a finger icon on it.

Then tap on the white box that says "movie title." This will bring up the onscreen keyboard.

Then you get to name your project.

When you are naming your project, make sure you think of a really sensible name for what you are making.

The keyboard button will lower the keyboard and let you go back to the main menu.

So once you've finished typing in your name, you can press the keyboard button to lower your keyboard.

Then tap start to begin your project.

Let's look at onion skin.

Now, onion skin was one of our keywords because onion skin is actually a special animation tool.

The name is a bit of a funny name, onion skin, but there's a reason for that, and we'll get to why it's called onion skin.

Onion skin 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 that your animation looks smooth.

So it's called onion skin because onion skins are really, really thin, and you can see through an onion skin.

So when you use the onion skin tool, it almost adds another layer of what was in the last frame so that you can easily see what's coming next.

So in the example in the box here, you can see a grey outline of a stick person with a ball, and then I'm going to be able to layer by drawing my other parts of the animation and the new parts on top.

So that is why we call it onion skin.

Let's do a check here.

What animation tool lets you see the previous frame? Is it A: tomato skin, B: onion skin, C: potato skin, or D: a carrot skin? Pause the video here to think about your answer.

Welcome back.

The answer was B: onion skin.

That question kind of made me feel like I was a cook and I was cooking up a big vegetable stew, all of my vegetables there.

So onion skin is the name of the animation tool that lets you see a previous frame.

Well done if you got that right.

To turn on the onion skin tool, first, tap on the button that says "display," it's down there at the bottom.

This icon controls the onion skin tool.

It looks like a square.

Tap on the square icon to turn on onion skin.

When you press on that square, you can see that it changes.

Instead of just one square, you get two squares behind each other with sort of a shadowy outline around them.

And when you see that, you know that onion skin is on and you are ready to capture your animation.

So press on the capture button to get started.

To get ready to take photos, stand your whiteboard up and attach it to a secure surface with sticky tape.

Secure means that it is stable and it's not going to fall or move while you are working.

Then stand your device up and make sure the camera can see the whiteboard.

So you can check this by looking at your device and making sure that your drawing on the whiteboard can be seen really clearly in that position.

Let's hear from two children now.

Jacob says, "I will make big changes to my stick man drawing so it looks impressive." And Sofia says, "It will be more impressive if you make lots of small changes instead." Huh? What do you think: big changes or small changes? Who is correct? You can pause the video here to think about that.

Welcome back.

The person that's correct is Sofia.

Small changes make a stop-frame animation look smoother.

Well done if you got that right.

When you are creating your stop-frame animation, keep the device still.

Make a small change to the drawing each time.

Take a picture each time.

The more pictures that you take, the smoother your finished animation will be.

It's time to watch the stop-frame animation video.

The first step is to draw your stick person on the whiteboard.

Press the capture button to take your photo.

(camera shutter clicks) Next, rub out the part that you want to change, and then draw the new position with the pen.

Remember to press capture to take a photo.

(camera shutter clicks) Rub out the moving part.

The onion skinning will help you see where the moving part was, and you can draw your change.

Then press capture to take your photo.

(camera shutter clicks) Repeat these steps each time.

Rub out the part you want to change, make a small change to the drawing, and press capture.

The more frames that you capture, the longer your animation will be.

And if you keep the changes small, your animation will be really smooth.

When you have finished your animation, press on stop at the bottom to stop the capture.

And this is the finished animation.

This app has a slider at the bottom, which lets you run the animation more quickly by increasing the frames per second or more slowly.

When you finish making your animation, press on export to take this video and send it out of this app.

You can use the photo library button to export the video to your photo library.

For the final task of this lesson, it is your turn to make a stop-frame animation.

Number one says, "Follow the steps to create a stop-frame animation." Switch on the onion skin tool, draw a stick figure, take a picture, make a small change to your picture, repeat until you have several frames, and then use your animation app to make your frames into an animation.

It's time for you to go and work on your stop-frame animation now, and when you come back, we will look at the next part together.

Well done for all of your hard work creating your stop-frame animation.

I hope that you're really proud of what you achieved today.

For the next part of the task, I want you to share your thoughts on what you have done well and what you could improve.

So we're going to use two stars and a wish for this.

So the two stars, I want you to think of two things that you think went well in your project that you are proud of or happy with.

And the one wish is one thing that you want to improve on for next time.

Have a think about that, and then go and share your thoughts with someone else about your project.

When you come back, we will look at some examples together.

Welcome back.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts there.

It's a really good way of being able to reflect on what we've made and what we can improve for next time.

So let's see what these children are sharing with us today.

Jun is sharing one of his stars.

So a star is something that you think went well.

Jun says, "I used lots of small movements, so my animation looked quite smooth." Well done, Jun.

And Alex is going to share one of his wishes.

So a wish is something that he hopes will improve the next time.

So Alex says, "Next time I want to keep the device still so that my animation looks even better.

That's great.

Thank you for all of your effort in this task today.

We have come to the end of our lesson.

You have worked really hard, so let's look at what we've learned today in creating animations using frames.

Stop-frame animation is made by taking one photo at a time until you have a sequence.

Each of the pictures in your animation is called a frame.

The onion skin is an animation tool.

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

The onion skin tool helps you line things up and make small changes so that your animation looks smooth.

I've really enjoyed working with you today.

Thank you for coming to my lesson, and I hope to see you again soon.