Folkestone Triennial: Teacher Workshops -

Block 67 is the Creative Foundation’s studio space at 67 Tontine Street. During The Folkestone Triennial 2017, Block 67 will host a programme of artist led workshops, talks and events that embrace exploration, play and creativity.

In July 2017 Block 67 held some twilight sessions for teachers, an opportunity for educators to see a preview of the Triennial Artworks and discuss how Schools and Colleges can engage in visits, workshops and online resources.

These sessions also included a demonstration and workshop by Lydia Hibbert from Young Animators Club. Lydia will be based in Block 67 as part of the Folkestone Triennial from 4th - 10th September, running experimental animation workshops for Primary and Secondary schools plus a Family Drop-in session at the weekend.

The films created during these workshops were inspired by the work of Sinta Tantra. Her painted design, titled 1947, will transform 'The Cube' in tontine street with colours she found in a poster from 1947 that promoted rail travel to Folkestone as a holiday and tourism destination after the difficult war years.

Cutout animation is a technique which lends itself to playful, organic artwork which can respond to sound, experiment with composition and often represent a stream of consciousness which experiments with line, shape, colour and pace.

The animation process itself can act as a generation of ideas which may result in media other than a screen-based outcome. Image sequences can be printed or manipulated, the cut-out elements themselves can be developed into collages and illustrations, footage can be incorporated into installations or interactive, digital pieces. As each frame is captured and the artwork manipulated again and again, self-conscious artists can find themselves working more freely and the repetitive process can help with spontaneous, collaborative idea development.

During the Teacher Workshops we used a DSLR camera and iStopmotion to capture a collaborative animation using coloured, cutout, paper shapes, attached to a wall using white-tac. The participants adjusted elements and added new elements between shots. When working on this scale, the activity is quite physical and participants find that they need to communicate with those around them to ensure that they respond to the rapidly developing artwork and move away from the workspace each time a shot is taken. There is very little control over the outcome and the whole process is very organic and playful.

Animating with DSLR Cameras

In very simplistic terms, animation is just a sequence of images shown in quick succession to create the illusion of movement. You can capture this image sequence directly onto a memory card with no need for stop motion software at all. Applications such as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie can create a movie from a sequence of still images.

That said, there are certain functions within dedicated stop motion animation applications which are really very handy. Firstly, playback. Most beginners will find their footage is too fast or too jerky (if slowed down), only by watching your film back can you judge this and respond appropriately. Also, most applications have an overlay (sometimes called 'Onion-skin') feature which allows you to see your previous frames overlaid with your current frame. These tools allow you to work faster and with more precision.

Here is a nice cheat if you would rather not pay for expensive DSLR animation software but want the image quality you get from animating with your stills camera:

Use a cheap or free animation application using a tablet or desktop computer and webcam. Shoot your animation using this set-up but also shoot your animation on your DSLR onto a memory card. That way, you can preview your film in the computer but also capture it in a lovely high resolution. It is slightly clumsy and a little more time-consuming but can work very well.

Tablets and Phones

Mobile devices are great for animating, especially with children and in schools. The biggest advantage is the ease of capturing, editing and adding sound all using simple, inexpensive apps. The built-in cameras are increasing in quality and you can have a surprising amount of control over the camera settings.

The greatest challenge is finding a stand or mount which does not move at all when you shoot. Desktop applications with separate cameras allow you to secure the camera and then not touch it until you have finished shooting, this is not possible with an integrated camera on a tablet or phone.

My animation stand (still work in progress) allows you to clamp the frame to a surface and work both flat on a table or shooting forward or 3D and vertical cutout animation. I am yet to find a gooseneck stand with enough rigidity to avoid movement when shooting.

Some stop motion apps have a function which will shoot when you clap to avoid camera shake, this is not very practical in a busy classroom though!