Water Pollution - Our Stop Motion Animation

Our own stop motion animation creation

For this module we were asked to create our own stop motion animation. I worked with Nicole and we began by throwing around a few ideas of topics. Firstly, our topic had to be a contemporary issues, so we decide that we would like to do something relating to the environment as it is a very important issue in modern day life. 

Ideas:

• Global warming
• Pollution (of any kind)
• Coastal Erosion 

I came up with the idea of creating our idea within our actual environment discussed. I thought incorporating the beach into our idea would show creativity and context, I pitched this idea to my teammate and we both agreed. This then lead to us deciding that if we were using a beach environment we could cover the topic of water pollution. 

We decided to create a story of how water pollution not only effects one species but all species, something created by humans can go through the life cycle and then causes problems for us, showing that it is in our best interests to look after the environment around us. We hunted around the local charity shops to find props for our animation and purchased: a doll, a fish toy, a shark toy, a bucket and spade and windmill (a previous idea discussed had been global warming and wind energy). 

We decide to use Windows Movie Maker to put our animation together, as it is a software that we are both familiar with and hopefully therefore would be simple to edit. Our stop motion animation told the story of the girl called Penelope who lives by the sea, she lead a simple life of catching her dinner in the sea. However, water pollution caused the fish to become infected and die. Penelope then eats the fish and also becomes ill. The animation shows huge impact pollution can have on the whole environment and sends an important message to everyone.

I found the creation as process very enjoyable and it was fun being able to play around with different ideas. However, a drawback of producing a stop motion animation on the beach was the wind. We often struggled to get Penelope (the doll) upright and not blow over in the wind. I also noticed after uploading the images on to the computer than the lighting had been very changeable due to clouds coming across the sun on that particular day. Although, in hindsight may that added to the overall effect of the 'outdoors environment'. 

Bringing it all together

We used Picasa to edit any images that needed tweeking and then Windows Movie Maker to put all the images together. We then selected some upbeat music for the title shots and the credits, and some background music for the story. We created narration using Audacity to record and manipulate our voices. 

I loved creating our stop motion animation, especially as it was on the beach and in such a natural environment, it really put our subject in context. I think if we were to make another stop motion animation we would use a more advanced camera with tripod in order the keep the camera in the same place through the whole animation. 

Stop Motion Animation

Animation Links

One of the most famous stop motion animations is Wallace and Gromit.  All the characters were made from moulded plasticine modelling clay, and filmed with stop motion animation, this is often called Claymation. The link below give more depth information about the craft of animation and its history and creators. 

Stop motion animation 
http://flyingpaper.org/the-craft-of-stop-motion-animation/

The history and creators of stop motion animation
http://trueclassics.net/2011/09/03/pioneers-of-animation-j-stuart-blackton/

Here are examples of incredible stop motion animation on two different scales: 

Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation set, shot on a Nokia N8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieN2vhslTTU

Dot. The world's smallest stop-motion animation character shot on a Nokia N8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD7eagLl5c4

Audacity

Audacity is free, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.

This is another programme we explored whilst working with animation. Audacity can be used to record voices and narration, and you then manipulate the voices using options such as 'change pitch' and 'change tempo'. I think I will find this software useful when creating my own animation as I will need narration and character voices.

'A truth whispered among animatiors is that 70% of a show's impact comes from the soundtrack' 

Michel Dougherty

I agree, without dramatic music in tense times during a film, the emotion wouldn't be experienced as much as just watching a film with no music. Soundtracks help set a scene. Creates mood and atmosphere.

Different types of sound:

Music

Voices

Sound effects

Senses:

Hear

Watch

Feel (Emotionally)

Play to cure : The Cancer Research Game

Just came across this game whilst browsing online. This a cause very close to my heart and I thought it was quite interesting considering we have been talking about gaming and education, and this incorporates both.

Description from the Cancer Research website: 

Play to Cure™: Genes in Space is the world’s first free mobile game that uses the collective force of players to analyse real genetic data and help beat cancer sooner.

The game

The mission of Genes in Space is to collect a fictional substance dubbed Element Alpha. This represents genetic cancer data, which might underpin certain types of cancer.

As a recruit of the game's 'Bifrost Industries', your mission is to collect the valuable and tradable substance Element Alpha and rise through the employee ranks by:

• Mapping your route through the densest areas of Element Alpha.
• Following your route as you fly through space collecting as much Element Alpha as you can, destroying asteroids along the way.
• Avoiding and shooting asteroids to get to the next level of Element Alpha collection.
• Upgrading your ship to become more powerful and trading your Element Alpha for more points.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/support-us/play-to-cure-genes-in-space?utm_source=affiliate_window&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_name=online_retail&utm_content=www.facebook.com

ZU3D Stop Motion Animation - Using our own materials

We created a stop motion animation again today but this time using our own materials. We used a webcam linked to the computer, a backdrop, and various props found in the classroom. 

It was interesting to use this software with a webcam as we have never done this before. Stop motion animation is time consuming and it took a great deal of time to create just a small section of film, but it is very effective and I do like the end result.

This is our backgroup and props for our animation titled 'One man and his goat'. 

Lesson Planning / Educational Gaming Day

We had a games day in university, where we were able to try different games consoles and see for ourselves how educational these games can be. We used computers, Xbox's, Wii's, Ipads, and Lenovo All in One Touchscreen PC. On each console there was a different game and it was interesting to see the difference between both console and educational purpose. I particular found the Xbox connect a good way of learning, although it could be developed to have a game with more educational purpose, I think it would allow the student to be psychically active whilst learning and therefore hold their attention longer. The Xbox Connect also allows you to either play alone or with a friend, so both independent learning and teamwork can be incorporated. This is a brief lesson plan created to show how an Xbox can support learning. 

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective:

To be able to work both individually and as a team and communicate well with each other. 

Key Skills:

Communication and Teamwork.

Outcomes:

Improvement of communication skills

Confidence to work both in a team and alone

Animation

The last animation I watched was The Lion King. This is my favourite disney film of all time.

Zu 3D Studio - Creating an stop motion animation

Zu3D is a stop motion animation software for both children and adults of all ages. It allows you to create animation films simply. We used ZU3D to create an animated film, it was very user friendly and simple. I enjoyed using ZU3D, and I am considering using this program to produce my final assignment for Education Futures. Here is my animation titled 'Storm'.

Using Padlet

Padlet.com

'We give you a blank wall. You put anything you want on it, anywhere. Simple, yet powerful.'

We used Padlet to reflect and record the ideas of the whole seminar group about 'what animation offers to the learning process'. 
This is our Padlet.

Created with Padlet

Created with Padlet

London BETT Trip

BETT 2014 was hosted in London's Excel Centre. BETT an opportunity for technologists and educationalists alike to share and exhibit their ideas of how technology can help learning in education. BETT covered learning technology for:

• Primary
• Secondary
• Higher Education
• Workplace Learning & Development.

Michael Gove opened the show and there were over 300 speakers presenting seminars and new ideas. The exhibitors that I found most relevant were ZU3D and Animate Me, both of these are programming software aimed at children. Here a just a few photo we took whilst visiting BETT and London.

 

Hopscotch

Programming using Hopscotch

Hopscotch is programming for everyone and anyone. It is available on the IPad and is very similar to Scratch. You can make games, animations, stories and other interactive programs by using the various commands on screen to drag and drop blocks of code together. Having the software on Ipad allows you to shake and tilt the ipad to control your characters in your animation. I found this easier to use than Scratch as it seem likes complicated. In this session, we made a house using the characters to draw the lines of the house.

My Scratch animation

My Scratch Animation

This animation was created using the program 'Scratch'. We started using Scratch in our sessions before Christmas. Scratch is a free programming software which allows you to create your own interactive animations. Firstly, it was confusing, as this software was completely new to me, but once I got into it, it was easy to pick up! To get to terms with our software, we had to create a maze on the screen for our 'Sprite' to move through. Then after creating our maze, we then moved on to creating our own animation. I choose the 'Africa' theme and used a Lion and Elephant. Here is a screenshot showing how I created my animation. 

In my animation, the lion is chasing the elephant. This was difficult to begin with, as trying to get all the commands in order was very time consuming but after working hard I created my animation.