Kent ICT Blog

All my animation has been done using the digital blue software - an excellent tool.

Once animation completed then AVI file exported and put into windows moviemaker - Sound files can then be added - I used Audacity to create multi tracked sound files.

Finally using timeline from the two pieces of software to ensure continuity.

See finished animation from year 5/6 class last year:

www.youtube.com/watch

We use istop motion and SAM animation both great istopmotion2 is amazing.

Zulogic are developing animation software for primary schools which we have used successfully at Frittenden.  It works with any webcam or a Digiblu.  It allows you to add pictures, animate, add sound effects and record narrative.  It can currently be downloaded and used in schools for free.

Try it out at the link above

Contact David Henley at Zulogic for more information

Or Jennie Nairn, ICT CO, Frittenden CEP

Also it exports to avi or wmv and you can delate frames and adjust speed of your movie.  It really does address the needs of primary pupils when trying to create animated films.

www.zu3d.com

Sorry to gatecrash from Cornwall but picked this thread via twitter

Saw a group of Primary teachers with Oscar Stringer www.oscarstringer.co.uk today using I can animate from Kudlian software http://www.kudlian.net/.

Booked myself onto the next course!

Xipster is great but now difficult to get hold of.

Pivot Stick Animator is also a nice simple program for introducing animation concepts to children.

Have you see Scratch? It's a hybrid between animation software an a programming language. Sounds complicated, but it's not too bad. Probably geared more towards upper KS2.

But...it's free, so worth a download.

Using the advanced mode in 2 Animate I use to take over 50 frames without a problem. I record in chapters and then drop the gif file into PowerPoint to add audio and text or use Movie Maker to edit the work. Although not ideal it does mean children have the chance to edit their work and are encouraged to storyboard each scene. Duplicating the shots (2 or 3 images of each) also helps to slow the action down.

I have also used I can Animate on the Mac. The results have been very pleasing.

I use 'I can animate' from Kudlian Soft.  The kids really like it and it has a really good feature where there is like a ghost sheen so you can see where your model was before and then after the move.

Hi Peter,

Most of my work with schools has been using Macs and iStopMotion. www.boinx.com/istopmotion This obviously needs a level of investment, but gives an efficient solution with a good quality, flexible finished movie.

The iStopMotion software takes a live feed from the DV camera and then captures high quality frames at full DV resolution. This can be scaled down for web publishing or left at full quality for DVD production.

We usually use iMovie to top & tail the video with titles and transitions. iMovie can export out at whatever size you want for publishing - either using the presets or the 'expert' settings.

There will always be a trade off between the file size and the quality of the picture.

Published videos can be found here:

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

www.youtube.com/watch

Other solutions I have used:

Digital Blue Movie Creator 3 - This was fairly simple to use. The focal point for the Digital Blue camera is further away than you would want for a full frame image of the filmed model. This results in all animations being off focus unless the models are put some way away from the camera. This is less of an issue if the video is going to be scaled down for web publishing.

More successful from a quality point of view (but much more fiddly) is using Windows Movie Maker and a digital still camera. Taking many individual photos with the camera and importing them into Movie Maker (with the frame duration reduced to minimum) will enable you to create a high quality of video. It will not quite have the smooth frame rate that iStopMotion allows, but it is perfectly usable. Movie Maker makes a bit of a meal of compression when downscaling the video and it tends to go blocky rather than slightly soft. Things to note: The pictures should be imported to a fixed location and left in place - otherwise the movie project will be left with missing frames. (Do not import them straight from the camera to the project - they will disappear when the camera is removed).

Other:

http://www.kudlian.net/ Have got PC solutions for animation (I Can Animate). I have not used this personally but I have seen the Mac version demonstrated many times at BETT.

I hope this helps.

Jason Dilling

Leading Teacher for ICT Tonbridge

www.twitter.com/jasondilling

And from Norfolk

Picked this thread up from our netvibes page www.netvibes.com/titian

I use Flash 4 with Y5 and Y6 when time permits.

A few examples here www.mundesleyjuniorschool.com/.../flash0607.shtml

Try our film and animation page

www.mundesleyjuniorschool.com/.../animation.shtml

Also howtos for Flash  www.mundesleyjuniorschool.com/.../flashanimation.shtml

and

www.mundesleyjuniorschool.com/.../flash+.shtml

Have also used Pivot which is an excellent free piece of software.

Have you seen the work from Eddleston and Ambleside?

All done with the children and using flash.

Oscar Stringer has Ning here animationfored.ning.com

Hi Peter

A suggestion from Wiltshire - Have you tried the animation element in Revelation Natural Art - I use the advanced mode for my Year 5's.

Thanks to all who replied.  What a lot of expertise there is out there, and willing to help.

I can animate, from Kudlian Soft is very good, works on both Macs and PCs and works with all web cams as long as drivers are installed. Kids love it, it will export out for further editing in Movie Maker and iMovie. In these programes you add sound and titles.

During recent courses I've been running, the subject of which web cam was a common question, I've just bought the Hue web cam from Amazon for less than £20.00 and they are great.Have used it recently with a Reception class animating Fuzzy Felt. Much better quality than digi blues.

Examples on my blog

oscarstringer.blogspot.com

I've recently started an animation club, using conventional digital cameras and downloading straight into windows movie maker. The reason behind this, is the pupils will have this available at home and can start making ntheir own animations at home too. Val Beaumont

Regarding getting animation off the ground in schools - we used a local business to come in and work with our children. They were really good and enabled our Y2's to actively use cameras and computers to make their own short animation films. The results were amazing and our children gained first hand experience in developing their understanding of animation. The animations were super and the children(and staff and parents) were impressed with the experiences and results. I would really recommend them to any school wishing to extend the range of experiences of ICT/animation.

Workshops information-

www.pifilms.co.uk