Stop Motion animations inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches in 6th Art with @oharebros. #artsed

Katelin O’Hare (@oharebros) teaches 6th art and was interested in doing an end of year tech project. Katelin led a stop-motion unit with 8th grade in the fall, and she considered trying it out with 6th grade as well. I suggested using Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches as inspiration, since 6th grade was finishing up their unit on The Renaissance: Romeo and Juliet in English, debates about Galileo and Copernicus in Social Studies, Golden Ratios in Math, etc…

We had the students locate hi-res images of da Vinci’s work on Artstor.org, as Columbia University offers a subscription to their community members, and we are allowed to download files for educational purposes. We had a spirited discussion about copyright, terms of service, and fair use.

Students created a storyboard using post-its on a large sheet of paper in order to detail the key frames of their short film. They were tasked with shooting a minimum of 10 seconds at 10 frames per second (100 frames). They used brads, string, sticks, and wire to make the tiny movements of their paper cut-outs. Some of their finished shorts are below. Enjoy!

Lots of fun with 8th graders & their stop motion animation projects in @oharebros’s Art class.

Katelin O’Hare, an Art teacher at The School at Columbia University,  gave me a heads up weeks ago that she was interested in offering a stop motion animation mini-course. We split the preparatory work. She researched iPad apps while I looked for iPad tripod mounts and clamps so kids could film with the iPad either facing a wall or facing a tabletop.

Katelin settled on Stop Motion Studio Pro for $4.99. This app does all the editing in-app so no need to export and edit anything unless necessary.

I bought a few different models of iPad mounts and clamps to beta test:
Cobra Clamp by Snake Clamp for iPad 2/3/4 for $59.95
Cobra Clamp by Snake Clamp for large adjustable tablet for $59.95
Grafiti Nootle with video pan head for $40
iPevo Perch Podium stand for iPad for $129
I still want to purchase a Joy Factory Tournez clamp mount for $159.95

Can’t wait to see the finished products!