Yesterday on the radio I heard about a SLC Film Center event that you and/or your students might be interested in attending this weekend, October 2, 10:00AM-11:30AM. 

The event is KID FLIX MIX.

"Various films, 65 min, In English Recommended for ages 3-8
The NYICFF presents a new kaleidoscopic assortment of the best-animated and live action short films from around the world for ages 3 to 8. The program features musical and narrative works from the USA, UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and more!"

Let us know if you and/or your students go to it.

GoAnimate is an animated comic strip creator where individuals can add their own images, voices, and music to make a unique multimedia project.  Teachers use this tool for student projects, to recreate a scene from a book, to tell a story, etc. 

On the site you and your students can view numerous animations created by GoAnimate users and find information about animation contests.

Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E (trailer) was without a doubt one of my favorite movies of 2008. The expert use of simple, but effective story techniques and visual storytelling made this movie a masterpiece in my mind. Ever since the movie came out on DVD and I was able to watch it with Director’s commentary I’ve been referencing it in my storytelling lessons.

As far as I’m concerned, this movie should be considered a blueprint for how to film a movie. Wall-E’s filmmakers subscribe to the idea that you should be able to watch a movie without sound and still understand what’s going on, and Wall-E definitely accomplishes this. For a movie that features very little dialogue, Wall-E is extremely easy to understand, and can be a great lesson for students.

 Wall-E would be a great addition to your teaching library. Watching the first 10 minutes of the film can begin a great discussion with your students about how to tell a story visually.

Below, I’ve included several resources that explain analysis about the film and the steps leading up to its creation. I’ve found it interesting to see how much work went into Wall-E before the filmmakers even sat down at a computer to create the characters. Andrew Stanton, the Director, explains that Wall-E was his full time job for four years, and a significant portion of that was dedicated to the first 15 minutes of the film.

Click here to see a video about the creation of Wall-E featuring interviews from the filmmakers. The video is on Youtube, so you may not be able to view it in your school. Even if you don't show it to your students, there's some great information here that you can pick up for yourself.

Here is an A.V. Club interview of Wall-E’s director, Andrew Stanton. It’s pretty interesting to see some of his inspirations. Also, pay attention to how much of the discussions leading up to the creation of the film had to do with the story rather than the technology used to create it.

Click on this link to see how Karen J. Lloyd’s storyboarding blog go into some serious detail about how the Wall-E’s shot selection tells the story.

            Finally, this film analysis blog points out the brilliant use of visual storytelling in Wall-E, and how it might not be for everyone.

For all of you who have had success with stop motion or claymation in your class, it may be worth it to check out a program called iStopMotion. Currently, this program is only available for Macs, so if you're working on a system with Windows you'll have to stick with Windows Movie Maker.

iStopMotion  is a simple program that can be used by students of all ages. You will actually be using your video camera (Canon ZRs) rather than a digital still camera to take photos, so this is a great option if you have a few extra video cameras in your classroom.

  With iStopMotion you'll actually plug your camera into your computer and take the photos from your desktop.  You can view all the photos you've taken and delete the ones you don't like as you go. And by using onion skinning, iStopMotion shows you a transparent version of the last picture you took so you can make your animation look flawless.

 Take a look at the iStopMotion website by following the link below: 

Click here to take a look at the iStopMotion website. 

  If you have any questions about iStopMotion, or if you've found your own program to use for animation, add something to the comments section below.