Stop-Motion Animation At P.S. 282

The Reel Works in Schools and Communities program is currently serving 5th-grade students at Park Slope Elementary. The students are learning how to create their very own stop-motion animation short films. In preparation, students have created characters, storyboards, and short animations of their names, and now - they are bringing characters to life with claymation.

“I animated my name…I like stop-motion animation because once you get a lot of photos, it looks like a real video!” - Denim

One of the students, Denim, has been inspired by one of his favorite characters, Goku. He is creating Goku in a claymation form. Through his animation, he wants to showcase Goku’s strength and immortality.

“There was this one day I drew this really good comic, and so I’ve based my story off of it.” - Noah

To begin the creation process students received a wire called an armature, and after much twisting, they created a foundation for their clay characters. They continued building upon the characters by adding aluminum foil, giving them a structured body. The magic happens with adding the Clay! The clay figures will then be animated; in a stop-motion animation process written by the students.

Many students chose not to animate human clay figures - instead, they brought to life cats, zombies, monsters, genies, immortals, and more! “A tip that I would give to someone wanting to learn stop-motion animation is to create characters that inspire you,” shared Alysommy.

“This program stands out because we can take the students from a concept to execution and be able to teach them skills of storytelling and animation with them physically making the piece. It teaches them teamwork and how to take an idea from a concept to an actual character and then an animation.”

- Rachael Guma, Teaching Artist, rachael@reelworks.org

Khloe, another student, shared “Because of this program, I learned that I should always believe in myself.”

To stay updated on the progress, follow us on Instagram & Tik Tok @reelworks. Part 1 and 2 videos are up!

Reach out to Ebony Hachett, Manager of School Partnerships, at ebony@reelworks.org, to find out more about programming for your school or community.

Written and Photographed by Cesar Medina, Media Coordinator of Reel Works In Schools and Community Partnerships.