Monday 5 March 2012

moving pictures, animation and things that spin...

I’ve been working on many different strands of enquiry with the year two class at Dunkirk as we explore the world around them and create stories and test out ideas.  We’ve just begun to explore animation which is leading to some really wonderful group work as the children create scenes, stories and sequences.


My “spinner-rounder-boards” have now got a new lease of life as zoetropes and the children have made images sequences to go inside these.  We’ve made flick books too and tested ideas about moving images.  I grew up on programmes like “The Clangers”, “Bagpus” and “Vision On”, all of which had some gorgeous stop-frame animation in and I remember being inspired by that and using a cine-camera years ago to try and create those effects.


The class teacher Mark Woodings, the children and myself have been experimenting with 2d and 3d stop-frame animation and I’ve been really excited to learn new techniques.  The possibilities for creative expression and telling stories are vast. 


I think also in these days of very fast-moving digital technology (when so many complex effects are available at the push of a button) children are in danger of being very removed from actual hands-on techniques and making skills.  I’m loving that stop-frame animation which uses the children’s drawings, collages, paintings and models is so very hands-on and the children can see exactly how each frame takes shape and adds together.  They need to work in teams and give each other instructions and are becoming real experts at all of this.  I’m loving learning from them.  I’ll post some films here soon…      


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