Guest post by Lauren K. and Julia K.
For the last three Fridays we attended the New Dimensions Workshop at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art where we learned how to make stop motion animation movies. When we first arrived, our instructor, Brent Bellew, taught us how to use iStopMotion, the program we would use. We were put into groups of three or four and starting working right away. Everyone was given a camera, a computer, a whiteboard, and a tripod. In the back were materials anyone could use to make characters, backgrounds, and props.
After working for about an hour we took a break and walked through the galleries. One thing we really enjoyed about this class was the flexibility. Brent said that if we wanted a break we could go look through the beautiful galleries in the museum.
When we returned we had lunch then started working on our movie again. Our goal for the first day was to come up with the idea for our movie, what our jobs would be in our groups, and to get a good start on our project. Going to the class on the first day we didn’t know what to expect. Coming home the first day, we couldn’t wait for the next class.
The next week when we arrived we could start working right away. This was the day when everyone would try to get almost finished with their movies. We also visited the sculpture park on the museum grounds. We walked on the roof of the museum and saw fascinating art work and then walked down to the glass labyrinth. We returned and finished working for the day.
On the third and final day Brent taught us how to use iMovie. In iMovie we could add sound effects, voices, and credits. After we finished our animations completely, we started recording voices and putting the final touches on our movies. We all had pizza for lunch that day and when everyone was finished with their movies we toured some of the galleries. When we returned we all sat down and watched each other’s movies.
Here are the videos created in class:
By the end of the class we had all made movies using a program that was new to most of us, got to explore the museum, and had so much fun creating a “technology work of art”. We loved this class and will definitely not be afraid to use new technology in the future.
Addendum by momofgirls – Thank you so much to Nelson-Atkins and Brent for this great workshop! And thank you to the kids who attended and worked so hard to make such great videos!
