Mini Lesson 3

“Evolving Revolution”

By: Nikita Luedke

Big Idea: We will be working with the idea of “Revolution”. This lesson in particular will focus on the digital/technological revolution taking place within the US and/or globally. Students will be asked to take a positive or negative stance on how these types of revolution affect our lives now and where our future is headed, and will then animate their ideas through simple pictures using a stop-animation format.

Essential Questions:

-Is technology more helpful or harmful to our lives?

-Do you think technology is becoming too powerful for human good?

-What positives can come of digital and technological revolutions?

-What would our lives look like if we lived before the latest technological/ digital revolution? (say… in the 1930’s).

-Why do artists use stop animation today? Why did they use this in the past?

-How does using stop animation related to the idea of revolution and changing society?

-If you had the choice to live in the distant future (3010) or the distant past (1010), which would you choose and why?

-What part of society do technological and digital revolutions affect the most? Why?

Objectives:

-The students will learn about stop motion animation through hands on experience as well as through exploration of working artists and historical references.

-The students will learn simple animation techniques and tricks.

-The students will gain experience in utilizing non-classical art media (dry erase boards and dry erase markers) to produce video art.

-The students will look critically at our technology driven culture and form an opinion on whether it is a positive or negative thing.

-The students will learn to use digital cameras as well as computer software for making slideshows.

-The students will engage in peer reviews.

Lesson Vignette:

Anticipatory Set

-The Student will research the recent advancements in technology both at the national and international level.

-The student will form an opinion on wethere he or she believes this technological revolution has a more positive or negative impact on society as a whole.

Body of Lesson

-They will then express their opinion in a short narrative using stop animation style

-First they will sketch out ten basic frames in a simple comic style sketch

-Second they will begin to transfer their ideas onto the dry erase board. They will take each of their original sketches and put the transition into ten movements to get from the first frame to the second and so on. (this should leave them with 100 frames total, give or take depending on individual needs)

- They will photograph each of their drawings before they erase it and move onto the next one.

Closure

-Finally, they will put all of the photos in order from start to finish into a slideshow/film short.

-To end the lesson, the students will have a “movie day” where we will watch and discuss each of the film shorts.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=40497 - link to student made art work set to viva la vida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovvk7T8QUIU&NR=1 - stop motion of various old school video games using food as props… really cool!

http://www.eraseboards.com/content/view/12/1/ - longer stop animation video on youtube (semi-professional work)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Moving_Penny.gif - moving penny ; most simple example of stop animation

Artists:

http://pharosproductions.com/aosma/aosma_masters_aupperle.html - Jim Aupperle – one of the “masters” of stop animation- this website features photographs of him working on some major motion pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8JexiISPNk - amazing stop motion video of man going through his day. Choppy. (Eriq Wities) (If you are working in a conservative high school, be warned that this video does have one point where the main character drinks from a beer bottle, and another where he is smoking a cigar)