An Easy Stop Motion Animation Project

Equipment Needed: Digital Camera, Small Tripod, Table, Set or Backdrop, Characters, Editing Software


1. Before you start, press the menu button on your camera and set your picture quality to 2 mega pixels


2. Place you camera on a tripod in front of your Set or backdrop (make sure the maximum amount of light is falling onto your Set.


3. Decide what the physical movements you want for your characters and take a picture. 
IMPORTANT: Keep your camera and tripod still during picture taking. Get someone to hold the base legs of the tripod.


4. Take 50 pictures for 25 seconds of action


5. Open your software and copy your pictures to your computers hard drive.


6. Open your editing software and import your pictures


7. Ensure that you set your still image options to 0.5 seconds (In Windows moviemaker XP  'Options', 'Advanced' 'Picture Duration  In iMovie 09 - 'Project properties', 'Timing' 'Photo Duration'.


8. Place your pictures in numerical order on the timeline


9. Play your animation on the timeline


10. Checkout the 'Adding a Narration' post to add a dialogue soundtrack to your animation.

Free Software - Scratch

The interface is in 3 sections; Instruction library broken into
categories, the programming environment where ou can choose
your animation graphics, and the Stage wher you buil  

Created by those cleaver cats at MIT Education, SCRATCH is a powerful piece of software that makes programming as easy as stacking LEGO bricks! 


You connect colourful jigsaw like 'instruction' pieces together to create a 'programming script' the 'script' controls and animates graphics of animals, humans, objects and fantasy creatures. You can add text, speech bubbles, music, sound effects and even record your own voice!  


Recommended for Y4 upwards, and a challenge for learners at all levels 


Great for 'control' and fulfils much of the ICT, English, Maths, and any other subject you want to throw into the mix. 


lessons exploring the interface then you can create an dancing animations, interactive games, rainbow music machines!


It has a library of graphics for you to use or you can design your own.


community leaves the 'code' so you can replicate whta they have created


Thes best thinkg is its free! Find out more about SCRATCH and try it out

Eco Filmmaking Workshops!

The King of Beans

This  month I completed a film project with two Sheffield Primary schools and an Environmental scientist from Sheffield University!


The Y6 children devised, scripted and shot several films, using a mixture of animation and live action in a green-screen studio.


The films were imaginative, funny and an informative way to discuss how we can protect the Earth's delicate eco system. 


This project was supported by Art in the Park.

Creative ICT in Early Years, Leeds

Magical-Den-Car-House

It's not all about the 'tweens', using new technologies creatively with toddlers develops the thinking and language skills of little ones.


This month, I completed a creative ICT residency in two Early Years settings in Leeds. 

Toy loudspeaker phone

The project drew heavily on the Reggio Emilia approach of imaginative child led open-ended play that leads to deeper learning for young minds.


Using toy loudspeakers, FLIP video cameras, easi-speak mics, cardboard, fabric scraps and tiny LED lights, we transformed indoor and outdoor spaces into magical places.


This exciting opportunity to use ICT in an unpredictable and experimental way was supported by ARTFORMS Leeds.

Padiham Greenway, Padiham, Nr. Burnley

A disused railway has bene transformed into a linear park and cycleway!


A lifetime in the making, this project was about the stories surrounding the old railway line and the ideas and aspirations for the new park.


Somethimes funny, sometimes sad sometimes poeticI helped a group of secondary school kids explore these stories and ideas using video and digital imaging. 


A Mid Pennine Arts Project.  You can view their films here 

Creative Partnerships Residency, Chesterfield Part 2 - Horror Movie Trailers!

Just completed a hectic one day movie making workshop with a class of Y5s and Y6s! 


We dressed up, storyboarded, scripted and acted out several short movie trailers. From Vampires to Space Wars it was non stop action for the whole class!


They each got a DVD o f their completed trailers. 


Funded by Creative Partnerships and  The Mighty Creatives

Creative Partnerships Residency, Chesterfield Part 1- Under the Sea!

Under the sea is where I would like to be! 

Working with a class of Y3 children on an underwater fairytale! 

We spent the morning making crabs, seaweed, mermaids, jelly fish and underwater castles to star in their digitally animated fantasy movie.  It was hectic but we finished it in just one day.

They got a DVD of their film. 

Funded by Creative Partnerships and  The Mighty Creatives