Winter Park Library is expanding its programming schedule with hands-on training in the magic of tabletop film production. The Stop-Motion Movie Workshop will offer students in grades 5-7 the opportunity to learn storyboarding, filming, voice-over acting, and editing in four, one-hour classes happening June 3,10,17 and 24.
The sessions are among the arts-related offerings hosted by the library in partnership with Central Florida Community Arts. “This is our first stop-motion film class,” said Winter Park Library Director of Community Engagement Jody Lazar. “But we’ve also partnered with CFC Arts on improv and scripted theater classes for tweens and teens since 2018.”
CFC Arts Director of Arts & Wellness Kaileigh Ann Tayek told the32789 that while the stop-motion classes develop a unique skillset, they utilizes language arts components from the Sunshine State Standards curriculum for grades 5-8.
“The stop-motion class was born of an arts and literacy program developed for the Central Florida Urban League during the pandemic,” she said. The first classes were presented virtually with the aid of a free Stop-Motion Studios app and later reformatted for in-person learning. “The storytelling elements are tapping into skills that students learned or are going to be learning the following school year.”
Education may be a key element, but creativity is the cornerstone as the program focuses on developing unique ideas from start to finish. Students collaborate on plot, character creation, and build three-walled sets from cardboard and construction paper. The time constraints of a four-class schedule prohibit excessive detail and the execution of facial expressions in the characters, but there’s more than enough time to create original content.
“Sometimes students will want to use a LEGO Minifigure,” said Tayek. “But we encourage them to develop characters out of clay or other provided materials.” Dialogue is also encouraged to help move the plot along, which allows for practice in voice-over skills. And a selection of scores included in the Stop-Motion Studios app adds an extra layer of production value. Students edit their creations in the final phase of production and the finished products are screened by the class and sent to the creators.
Registration for the Stop-Motion Movie Workshop opens May 22 and class size will be limited to 15 students in grades 5-7. Tablets equipped with the Stop-Motion Studios app will be provided along with materials for set and character builds.
Library summer programs are based on a range of subject matter and help support the Summer Reading Challenge, which kicks off on May 25. For more information on library programs, scheduling, and registration, log onto winterparklibrary.org.