Make Your Own TV Shows
You can use a camcorder (or any recording/playback device that
allows you to take one picture at a time and then play them all back)
to make your own animation videos.
Here’s what you do:
1. Write a script which is basically the story or action you want
to shoot.
2. Draw story board cards which is a way to show yourself what
each shot will look like before you shoot it.
3. Gather all the people or props you will need for the shoot.
4. Put your camcorder on a tripod or a flat steady surface and
focus on your scene. It’s important that you don’t move the
camera during shooting. You may need adult help to get started.
5. Hook -up the camcorder to a TV if possible so the other kids can
see what the camera sees.
6. Push to start recording. Count ONE. Push to stop recording.
Move your figure (toy, object or person) just a little bit. Repeat
over and over.
That’s all there is to it. The rest is up to your imagination.
Imagine what you could do with your favorite toys…
• How would you get a teddy bear to eat a cookie and drink some
milk ? (take a bite – record…take a bite – record… get it?)
• How would you get a stuffed animal to spin in a circle?
• How would you spell your name letter by letter?
• How could you show a Leggo tower build itself ?
• How could you show a dress-up doll wearing a lot of different
outfits one after the other?
• How would you show shoes walking up the stairs or doing a
dance with no one in them?
What about science projects?
• What would you do to show a seed grow into a plant? Would
you have to take one shot a day for a month? Two shots a day?
• What would you do to show decomposition of a banana peel?
• What if you could focus on a bird nesting?
What about animating your friends ?
• What if several of them disappear behind a tree only to
emerge in a different order?
• What if they were to paddle a canoe down a road?
• How would you show your friend riding a lawn chair across
your yard?
• How would you get 5 kids to climb into a barrel?…and have
someone else climb out?
• How many hats could one kid wear…frontwards? backwards?
sideways?
What if you wanted to do a full production?
1. You start with a story idea. Think of a familiar fairy tale. Tell it
straight. Or twist it. Or make up your own story for action figures
or dolls.
2. Make up a script which is simply a way for everyone to know what
comes next.
3. Make titles. Be sure the letters fit in a space shaped like a TV screen.
4. Make a set or stage for your figures. This can be as simple as a
coffee table in front of a couch with a sheet thrown over it. Or you can
use a doll house or a cardboard box decorated to fit your story.
You get the idea.
