Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss Miah, thank you so much for joining me in this lesson.

I can't wait to get started.

You'll definitely need a computer or tablet for this lesson and your stop motion animation that you may have created in a previous lesson.

Once you've got that, let's get going.

In this lesson, you'll be able to edit and complete your stop motion animation by adding your final touches.

Your keywords are on the screen now and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Stop motion animation.

Editing.

Export.

Frame.

Review.

Brilliant, let's find out what these words mean.

So stop motion animation is a form of animation involving sequential photography of still objects.

Editing is the process of selecting and combining shots into sequences to create a finished motion picture.

Export is saving the final version of the animation in a specific format.

A frame is a single image in a sequence of images that make up an animation.

Review, when artists look at their art to see strengths and areas to improve.

Now we are going to be using these keywords throughout our lesson and I'd love for you to use these words to speak like an artist.

Let's move on.

Now, this lesson is all about editing and completing your stop motion animation, and this lesson has two lesson cycles.

Our first lesson cycle is to review and edit a stop motion animation, and then we're going to be finalising your animation.

Now you may remember creating a stop motion animation.

If you've got this file, please have it to hand because we will need it for this lesson.

Now, after making a stop motion animation, the artist might notice something that could look even better.

This is why reviewing and editing are important steps in creating great animations.

So why do artists review? Well, it's to spot mistakes.

Now, when artists review, they watch the animation carefully to see if anything needs fixing.

Maybe a character is a little bit blurry or maybe there is a shadow that's in the wrong place.

Artists also review to improve the animation.

Sometimes they see ways to make the animation even more fun to watch.

Reviewing helps them add little details that improve it and make the story come live.

And lastly, artists review to make sure the story makes sense.

So reviewing also helps the artist check if the story is clear and easy to understand for the people watching.

Over to you, true or false? Reviewing helps artists see how they can improve their work.

Is this true or is this false? You can pause the video here and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So what did you think? If you got true, you are correct, and this is because artists often review their work to see if there are ways to make it even better.

Just like when we revise our own work, artists do this to keep improving.

Well done if you managed to get that correct.

Let's move on.

Aisha and Lucas are reviewing their animation and we can see on the screen a set of frames.

Lucas says, "This frame is darker than the other frames, which means the animation looks uneven or jumpy." Sofia and Lucas decide how they can edit their animation.

What I'd like you to do is think about which options keep the animation looking its best.

So Lucas says, "I could edit the frame to match the brightness of the others." Sofia suggests, "Deleting the frame could also work if the frame isn't essential, as this might help the animation look more even without the darker interruption." Hmm, so as you can see here, there are two options to when it comes to editing this frame.

Over to you.

With a partner, I'd like you to discuss what you would do to edit a frame that is darker.

Would you, A, delete the frame, or B, edit the frame? You can pause the video here and click play when you're finished with your discussion.

So what did you discuss? Well, both options are correct in their own ways.

Let's find out why.

Now, deleting the frame might help the animation look more even without the darker interruption.

And editing the frame would mean adjusting its brightness or colour so it matches the surrounding frames.

By choosing any of these, you are going to make sure that the animation looks even more smoother.

If you chose any of those options and you were able to justify why, fantastic work.

It means you're making a conscious choice about how to make your animation better.

Let's move on.

Sofia and Lucas now find that part of their animation is blurry.

Lucas says, "I could use a tool to increase the sharpness so the details are clearer and match the other frames." Sofia suggests that "adjusting the contrast might help make the frame look crisper, making it fit better with the surrounding frames." So again, we've got two options here.

We can either increase the sharpness of the frame by using the sharpness tool, or we can adjust the contrast by using the contrast tool.

So again we've got multiple options that we could use to make our animation better.

So over to you.

With a partner, I'd like you to discuss what you would do to edit a frame that is blurry.

Would you, A, delete the frame; B, increase sharpness; or C, adjust contrast? Once you've had your discussion, click play, and then we can see what options to choose.

So how did it go? Let's have a look.

Now, deleting the frame might help the animation look more even and focused.

But do remember, sometimes when we delete too many frames, our animation may actually end up looking a little bit jumpy.

Now, using a tool to increase the sharpness will help the details become clearer and match the other frames.

Or adjusting the contrast might help make the frame look crisper and therefore fit in better.

I wonder which one you chose.

Either way, by choosing one of these, we will make our animation better because the frames will aid to that smoothness.

Onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

So, for task one, you are going to edit your monster animation.

So you're going to start off by watching your animation.

You'll be doing this by playing your stop motion animation from start to finish paying close attention to any frames that look out of place.

You're then going to identify the frames to edit, and you're going to be doing this by spotting any frames that are too dark, too blurry, or don't flow smoothly with the others.

You're then going to make your edits.

So in order to do this, you could adjust the brightness, adjust the colour, adjust the sharpness, or, where needed, you may even need to replace or delete the frames.

Now for part two you're then going to review your changes.

You're going to watch your animation again to see if the edits improved the flow and consistency.

So in order to do this, you can try slowing down and watching each frame one at a time.

This can help you catch any frames that look different from the others.

Look for frames that seem too dark or blurry compared to the others.

So asking a partner to help spot any odd frames can also be useful.

Try one small change at a time, like adjusting the brightness or sharpening.

You can always undo the changes if needed by clicking the undo button.

Off you go, I hope you really enjoy this task.

Click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So how did it go? Well, Lucas watched his stop motion animation and noticed one frame looked too dark compared to the others.

Now you may have noticed this too.

He decided to delete it.

Lucas says that he did this because the darker frame made his monster look uneven.

Now the animation looks smoother and more natural.

Now, after making his edits, Lucas reviewed his animation.

He carefully watched each frame and noticed that the previously dark frame now blended well with the others.

"It looks way better now.

The monster moves smoothly and the colours match.

I can really see the difference in flow, and it feels like a complete story." So Lucas was pleased that his changes made the animation more consistent and enjoyable to watch.

Well done if you managed to review and edit your animation.

It can take time, but with patience, we can create a really stunning animation that is really fun for the audience to watch.

Now we're going to move on to lesson cycle two.

You are now going to finalise your animation.

Now, when artists are ready to finalise and export their animation, they think about adding a fun introduction and a special ending to make it more exciting for the viewers.

Artists can finalise their animation by adding an introduction.

Now you can do this by choosing a fun title.

Then you can also include an ending page.

And lastly, adding other final touches like music and effects.

Now you can add an introduction page by choosing a fun title.

So, for example, Lucas can come up with a catchy title for his animation, like "The Adventures of Monster Gloob." This title should grab the viewer's attention right away.

You can then also include the character names.

So Lucas might want to introduce his monster and any other characters in the animation.

For example, he might write, "Meet Gloob, the friendly monster." This helps viewers understand what they are watching.

Three, including the artist's name.

So Lucas can add his name at the bottom of the introduction page so everyone knows who made the animation.

He could write something like, "Created by Lucas." Four, Lucas could use fun fonts and colours.

So to make the introduction page visually appealing, he can choose bright colours and fun fonts that match the theme of his animation.

This adds excitement and draws viewers in.

So this is what Lucas has started with as his introduction page.

So we can see here he's written, "The Adventures of Monster Gloob, created by Lucas." How might Lucas improve his introduction page? Have a think.

Well, Lucas went back and improved his introduction page.

Lucas says he's changed the background to green to represent the forest and added an image of Gloob using basic shapes.

Let's have a look.

Ooh, that looks so much better.

We can see here that Lucas has really thought about the colours, and by actually trying to represent Gloob using basic shapes, I would say he's really brought his introduction page to life.

It's definitely far more eye-catching than his previous introduction page.

Over to you.

With a partner, I'd like you to discuss what you might include in your introduction page and why.

So we've got, A, a title; B, character names; C, artist name; and D, fun fonts.

You could pause the video here and click play when you've finished your discussion.

So how did your discussion go? You may have chosen an exciting title that matches your animation's theme.

You may have also introduced your characters with fun visuals.

This will help viewers connect with your story right from the start.

Let's move on.

You can add an ending page by including a thank you message, the artist's name, and lastly, visual elements.

Again, we can see that Lucas has had a go.

He's got, "Thank you for watching!" in capital letters and an exclamation mark at the end to show his excitement.

A simple note to thank the viewers for watching an animation creates a positive and appreciative tone.

It's always good to have that there.

Having Lucas' name there helps to personalise his work, so I would really recommend having your name at the end of your animation.

When it comes to visual elements, colourful graphics or illustrations that match the theme of the animation can really help create a lovely finish.

So thinking about all of this, how might Lucas improve his ending page? Well, Lucas went back and improved his ending page.

This is what he did.

Lucas says, "I added the snake using shapes to show that Gloob and the snake are friends." And again, by using basic shapes to represent the characters and the environment, we can see that the ending page has been brought to life and really represents the animation that we have watched.

Back to you, true or false? The artist's name should be included to give credit for the work.

Is this true or is this false? You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? If you got true, you are correct.

I wonder why? Well, it's really important to include your name on the ending page so everyone knows who created the animation.

This helps recognise your hard work and creativity.

Let's move on.

When artists have included introduction and ending pages, they need to export the animation.

So we're now going to go through the steps of how to do this.

Have your thinking brain on.

So, one, you're going to open the export menu, and you're going to do this by looking for the file menu in your animation software and select Export or Save As.

Step two, you're going to choose the file format MP4 or MOV.

And this is because by selecting either of these formats, it will export it as a file that your computer or tablet will recognise to play as a film, and these are also widely compatible.

Step three, you're going to name your file.

So what you're going to do here is enter a memorable name for your animation, such as "Monster Gloob's Adventure," to make it easier to find later.

Step four, you're going to select the save location.

So you're going to choose where on your computer or device you want to save the file.

This can be your desktop or a specific folder.

Now if you find this step hard, please do ask an adult or a teacher.

Step five, you're now going to adjust the settings if necessary.

So you're going to check any settings related to quality or resolution.

This will help you make sure that animation looks its best when it's playing.

Again, do ask an adult if you get stuck with this step.

And step six, click Export or Save.

So, once you've set everything up, you're going to click the Export or Save button to finalise the process.

Now it's really important that after this step you review the exported file, and you're going to do this by opening the exported animation file to ensure that, first of all, it opens and it works, and lastly, to make sure that everything looks okay and plays correctly.

Over to you.

Which file format is recommended for exporting your animation? Is it, A, a TXT file; B, a PDF file; C, an MP4 or MOV file; or D, a JPEG file? You could pause a video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? If you got C, MP4 or MOV file, you are correct.

MP4 and MOV are both great choices for exporting your animation because they are widely used and compatible with most devices and platforms. Well done if you got that correct, let's move on.

This is your final task for this lesson cycle.

So you'll now be finalising and exporting your animation.

So you could do this by adding an introduction page.

Now remember, for an introduction page, you should try and include a fun title, character introductions, and colourful visuals.

You'll then also be adding an ending page.

So this is where you'll be writing a "Thank you for watching" message, and you could also include a fun fact and your name.

And lastly, you're going to be exporting your animation.

And remember, to do this, you need to open the file menu and select export, choose MP4 or MOV format, name your file and select a save location.

And then, once all that is done, click Export to save.

So did you manage to create an introduction and ending page and add these both to your animation file? If you did, fantastic work.

Did you manage to export your animation and then rewatch it? Super, let's move on.

So your animation may look like this.

And we can see here that there's an ending page, and here's our starting page.

Well done if you managed to finalise your animation.

Fantastic work, we've made it to the end of the lesson, let's summarise our learning.

In this lesson, you were able to edit and complete your stop motion animation.

You now understand that animators have to review each frame for consistency and smooth motion.

You also understand that editing frames by adding or removing images helps to improve the overall stop motion animation.

And lastly, you understand that animations can include an introduction or end page to improve the experience for the viewer.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Bye.