Please Click above to view our Claymation Video

Over the past few months, students in my second period second grade gifted and talented class have been working to create the above clay animation movie. The process was long and sometimes frustrating, but the end product was well worth the wait.

The first task the students tackled was to select a topic. Once this was done, they set about drawing up a story board and character sketches. Some students then used those sketches to build three-dimensional models of the characters using a special non-drying modeling clay; while at the same time, other students used a variety of materials to design and create the set.

At that point, it was time to shoot the frames for the film. Using a digital camera and tripod, the students took over 150 stills, stopping in between to move the characters and props by hand. When strung together on the computer, using Tech4Learning's Clay Animation software, the clay creations finally came to life. Finishing touches such as narration, text frames, sound effects, music, and other special effects were then added to complete the picture.

My thanks goes out to Mrs. Schoener who spent endless hours assisting us with the numerous technology-related glitches we encountered along the way. We hope you enjoy the show.

Mrs. Avila