Our New Animation Stations-Part 2

We have just finished up our first carousel with the 7s using the new animation stations.

The painting wasn't quite done when we began, so we didn't maximise their complete potential this time around. That said the new tripods provided more versatility and much needed stability, while the green surface gave the kids a chance to experiment with using DoInk's Chromakey tools  when applying different images to their animations.

For more on the tripods and the apps we used, checkout our previous post on the new animation stations.

During the next carousel,  we will be able to make full use of all of the chromakey options, thereby eliminating the need for printed backdrops.

Here are two examples of finished videos from this first carousel, in which the students used printed backdrops, combined with the images  they added using DoInk's GreenScreen app for iPads.

Our New Animation Stations-Part One!

We decided last school year that our current tripod, nootle and ipad combination for shooting animation footage were just not working out.

It was then that we discovered the G7 Pro iPad Tripod. It turns out it was the best choice we could have made.


Today, while the new animation workspace was being painted chromakey green, we moved the students out of the studio and set them up with their G7s and iPads.  They had a wonderful time as they worked at provisional stations, filming the initial animation sequences for the stories they had written.

Both teachers and students were thrilled with the flexibility and sturdiness of the G7s. This  combined with the use of iStopMotion and Green Screen by DoInk has really helped us to streamline the animation process and keep frustration levels low.  Having a more stable setup this time around will pay off nicely in the end, as student productions will be much smoother than they have been in the past.

Fun with Chromakey Suits!

Chromakey technology allows film makers to create special effects in the post production stage, such as generating the illusion of invisibility and applying imagery to the green areas. This is achieved by compositing/layering images or videos together. 

Students in the LRC have made good use of  this technology over the years by filming in front of blue screens and green screens and editing their footage on iMovie.

This year the decision was made to  take things a step further. We were very excited by the arrival of our special green screen gloves and body suits last week. The students had a great time trying them out and creating some very special effects. Here are a few fun pictures from the set.

Here is a short video which explains how to do this.

7th Grade Animations

7A and 7C have successfully completed their digital animation work for the year. They created their animations using digital cameras and tripods, webcams, and iPads. They were given the choice of  using the following techniques: Pixilation, Stop Motion, Paper Puppets and drawing.

Toki Line test, iStopMotion and Animation Desk were used to produce the animation footage, once the storyboarding was done. The videos were edited on iMovie on the iMacs.  They had a lot of fun working with new applications and and trying things out with the different techniques. They also got a chance to reinforce previous chromakey work using the green  and blue screens. Have a look at some of their finished videos.