Lesson video

Hello everybody.

Welcome to Computing.

It's really good to have you here.

My name is Mrs. Franzsen and I'm really excited to do some learning with you today.

Are you ready? Then let's get started.

Our lesson today is called Introduction to Animation, and by the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain that animation is a sequence of pictures.

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

These keywords are going to be used throughout the lesson, so it's really important that you can understand their meaning before we get started.

The first keyword is animation.

That's animation.

Animation is a way of making pictures or objects look as if they are moving by showing them quickly one after another.

The next key word is flipbook.

That is flipbook.

A flipbook is a small book where the pages each have a slightly different picture and can be flipped through to show a simple animation.

The last keyword is sequence.

Sequence.

A sequence is a set of pictures in a specific order.

That was some really good listening, so the keywords today are animation, flipbook, and sequence.

In the first part of the lesson, we are going to explain how animation is created.

Have a look at this picture of a cat.

Can things in a picture move? You can pause the video and have a think about that.

Sofia says, "I've got a book at home where the pictures come to life." You scan them with an app and they start moving on the screen.

I wonder if you have used any of that kind of technology where you scan something using a phone or another device and then what you're looking at through the camera on the phone looks like it's changed or moved.

Alex says, you can animate pictures to make it look as if the things in them are moving.

Did you hear one of our keywords there? Animate.

What is animation? Animation is where a number of pictures are drawn or taken of an object or picture, and the pictures are shown quickly one after another in sequence.

This makes it look as if the object or picture is moving.

You can see that here with this cat animation.

We are seeing a sequence of pictures.

That's one of our keywords, sequence, being shown quickly one after another, and then that makes it look to our mind that this picture is moving.

It is being animated.

In animation, a sequence is where you show pictures one after another in the right order.

Each picture is a little bit different to the previous one when you play them quickly one after another, it looks as if the picture is moving.

Let's look at these pictures of the cat.

Look really closely and you will notice especially in the cat's feet that there are very small changes in the pictures.

Do you notice that? Because each picture is a little bit different, when we show these pictures very quickly one after another, it looks like the cat is moving.

Let's do a check here.

What is animation made from? Is it, A, a video recording? B, a series of pictures shown quickly? Or, C, a single photo? Pause the video here to have a think about your answer.

Welcome back.

That was a really good thinking.

The question was, what is animation made from? The answer is B, a series of pictures shown quickly.

Well done if you got that one right.

Now let's see what these children are saying.

Jun says animations have been created throughout history.

Jacob says they were being made even before computers were invented.

Have you seen any animations? If you want, you could pause the video here to share your ideas with someone else.

Have you seen any animations? Okay, I heard lots of people sharing the types of animations that they have seen.

Let's learn a bit more about them.

Animation is used to create films, games, TV shows, and all sorts of projects.

Some of the characters that you know from your favourite shows might be animated.

This means that they are created using lots of drawings or pictures and the pictures are shown quickly in sequence to make it look as if they are moving just like our cat here.

They are many ways to make animations.

You can draw them using pencil and paper, you can use modelling clay, building bricks, or other materials, and then photograph them.

You can see here we've got a photo of a modelled elephant.

You can use computers to make pictures.

Now this tree was made in a software that lets you model 3D shapes.

Afterwards, the pictures need to be put in sequence.

Let's do a check here.

True or false.

In animation, a sequence shows pictures in the right order to make them look as if they are moving.

Pause the video to think about your answer.

The answer was true.

Well done if you got that right.

Now we're getting warmed up and ready for our task now.

This is our first task of the lesson.

Number one, fill in the blanks.

So we have some sentences here.

There are three sentences and there are four words at the bottom in the bottom box.

I'm going to read the words first.

The words are sequence, animation, pencil, and pictures, and in the sentences, you have to find the correct places to put these words.

That's why it is fill in the blanks.

So I'm gonna read these sentences.

I'm going to leave some blanks and then you are going to go and fill them in.

Here we go.

There are lots of ways to make.

You can use.

And paper or materials like clay and building bricks.

Animation is made by taking lots of.

And showing them very quickly in a.

Okay, it did sound a bit strange for me to read it like that but you can go now and fill in the blanks and I'll be here when you get back.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at how you shared your knowledge by filling in the blanks.

So I'm gonna read the sentences again and then this time, I'm not going to leave any blanks.

We're gonna have filled them using the words in the box.

Okay, let's go.

There are lots of ways to make animation.

You can use pencil and paper or other materials like clay and building bricks.

Animation is made by taking lots of pictures and showing them very quickly in a sequence.

Well done for all of your hard work in that part of the task.

In the second part of the task, I want you to talk to a partner about animation.

I hope that you are excited about what we've been learning and you can share your knowledge by chatting about animation with someone next to you.

So we've got these sentence starters here.

I'm going to read them for you.

Animation is.

You can make animations by.

And I have watched an animation.

So it's time to go and share a little bit about what you have been learning and then come back and I will give you some feedback on that.

Welcome back.

Let's look at the feedback.

I could hear so many exciting ideas about animation.

So let's see what you may have discussed.

Jun says animation is a way of making pictures or objects look as if they are moving.

Thank you, Jun.

Sofia says you can make animations by using pencils and paper.

That's great, and Jacob says, "I have watched an animation at the cinema.

It was a new film that I went to see with my brother." Yes, there are lots of new films coming out now that use animation.

Well done for sharing your knowledge in that task.

In the next part of the lesson, you will create a flipbook animation.

Let's get started.

What is a flipbook? Now, flipbook is one of our keywords, so if you remember the definition for that keyword, A flipbook is a small book where each page has a slightly different picture.

When you flip the pages, it looks as if the picture moves, and you can see here in the photo that the person is holding the flipbook open so you can see a drawing of a stick person in the flipbook.

To make a flipbook, you will need a pad of sticky notes and a pencil or pen.

Here's how you create a flipbook.

To create a flipbook, number one, start on the bottom sheet.

Number two, draw your simple stick person on the open edge of the sticky note.

You start on the very bottom sheet so that when you turn the page, you can see where the previous drawing is and you'll be able to see that a bit more clearly on the next page.

Number three, turn over to the next page.

So you can maybe see there in the photo.

There's an outline of a stick person that's coming through from the page before, and you could look at that previous drawing on the page underneath and use it as a guide for your next picture.

Number four, make a small change to the part of the drawing that you want to move.

So in this example, the arm has been moved up a tiny bit, so we did the drawing of the arm first so that you don't forget to change it.

So you draw the change part first and then you fill in the rest of the body.

Step number five, turn over the page and repeat.

The more pages that you draw, the longer your animation will be.

I wonder if you can use the whole pad of sticky notes.

Now, we are going to watch the flipbook video.

To create a flipbook, start on the bottom sheet.

Draw your simple stick person on the open edge of the sticky note.

You start on the bottom sheet so that when you turn the page you can see where the previous drawing is.

Turn over to the next page.

Notice the previous drawing on the page underneath.

Use this as your guide.

Make small change to the part of the drawing that you want to move.

Draw the changed part before the rest of the body so that you don't forget.

Turn over the page and repeat.

The more pages that you draw, the longer your animation will be.

Remember to change only small part on each page.

Don't spend too long on each individual page and bold shapes and colours show up the best.

You should flip through your pages often to check how your animation looks.

Here's an example of a short finished flipbook animation.

Let's do some checks for understanding.

I'm going to ask you some questions about how to make a flipbook.

Where in the sticky notes pad should you start drawing? Pause the video and have a think about your answer.

Welcome back.

Start on the bottom sheet of the sticky notes.

Why should you do that? Pause the video to think about why you should start on the bottom sheet of the sticky notes, you start on the bottom sheet so that when you turn the page, you can see where the previous drawing is.

Well done if you got that right.

Next question, where would you draw the stick person? You ready? You draw it close to the open edge of the sticky note.

Now, why do we do that? Give me a why.

We do this so that it can be seen easily when you flip through the book so that the drawing on the edge makes it easier to see it as you're flipping through that flipbook.

Well done if you've got that right.

Okay, our final question here, which part of the stick person would you draw first? Oh, that's a tricky one.

Have a think about that.

You would draw the part that needs to move, but why? Give me another why here.

You draw the change part first so that you don't trace the whole picture over and you forget about the bit that needs to move.

Well done if you got that answer right.

Here are some tips to help you create your flipbook.

Change only a small part on each page.

Don't spend too long on each individual page.

The bold shapes and colours will show up best.

Flip through your pages often to check how your animation looks.

I'm sure that if you follow these tips, your animation will come out really well.

Oh, Jacob has a question for us.

Jacob says, "Why does my flipbook animation look like it's going backwards?" Now, flipping from front to back will make your animation play one way and flipping from back to front will make it play the other way will make it play backwards.

So both ways can work depending on the animation that you've drawn.

So you might have to try both ways to see which way looks the best for your animation.

What simple animations would work as flipbooks? I'm sure you have lots of ideas about this now.

Sofia says a waving stick person.

So just like our example, you could have your stick person there on the edge of your flipbook and then change the arm very, very slightly to get it to wave back and forth.

Alex suggests a bouncing ball.

Now that's a classic one.

Very often used in flipbooks.

Starting with a ball on the ground or a surface and then slowly moving it up and down so that it looks as if it is bouncing, that's great.

And the last suggestion is Jun.

A flower growing from a seed.

Now this is a really good one because flowers grow in sequence, so they start off really small and then slowly, the little tendrils peak out from the earth and you would have to just check really carefully which way you're flipping your flipbook forwards or backwards to make your animation make sense for that one.

I'm sure you have lots of your own ideas as well.

I can't wait to see them.

Okay, it's time for our second task, and now you are going to get to create your own flipbook animation.

That is really exciting.

Flipbook animations are really fun to make and I hope you enjoy making your one.

So the steps say create your own flipbook animation.

Use the tick sheet to help you create an effective animation.

So when we say effective, it means an animation that works really well.

Let's look at the tick sheet together.

So it says start on the bottom sheet, draw your first drawing close to the open edge, turn over the page, make a change to the part of the drawing you want to move, copy the rest of the drawing, repeat until all the pages have a drawing, and then flip through the pages to see your animation.

It's time for you to go and create your flipbook animation now.

You can pause the video here and when we come back at the end, I will give you some feedback and we will have a summary.

Welcome back.

I hope that you really enjoyed creating your flipbook animations.

They can be lots of fun.

Let's look at the tick sheet and you can compare this one with what you did today.

Start on the bottom sheet, draw your first drawing close to the open edge, turn over the page, make a change to the part of the drawing that you want to move, copy the rest of the drawing, repeat until all the pages have a drawing.

Flip through the pages to see your animation.

I hope that you've made something today that you are really proud of.

Well done for all of your hard work.

Okay, let's go through a summary of what we have learned today in the lesson Introduction to Animation.

Animation is when you make pictures or objects look as if they are moving.

This works by showing lots of pictures in a sequence one after another.

You can create a simple flipbook to show a simple animation.

Small changes can make a picture seem to move.

I'm really proud of all the hard work you did today.

Thank you for joining me today in this lesson, and I hope to see you again soon.