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Page 1 ™ ™ Stop Motion Animation ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 2 Introduction Forward by David Bunting “When I first started animating aged 9, I used a Super8 cine camera and needed to wait about three weeks for the film to be processed before I could see the work of my endeavours. It was costly and if I made a mistake I had to film the shot again. Back then, with hardly any book on the subject, animation seemed, to an inquisitive child like me, shrouded in mystery inside the vaults of the magic studios of Hollywood. How times have changed. Now, with I Can Animate and a webcam, a bedroom, school or youth group can be transformed into a studio where you can make your own animated films and watch the results instantaneously - and then publish online for the world to see! I Can Animate opens up the door to animation as a creative tool for learning like never before. Animation really is movie magic at its most spellbinding, unleashing imagination and creativity. In fact, it is probably one of the first cultural experiences most children have. My school teachers saw the potential that animation had to engage me with the wider curriculum. Now as an animator, I’ve visited schools around the country and seen first hand the transformations it can have on children’s learning. You are never too young or old to have a go at animation. Boy, I’ve even worked with nursery pupils who have created amazing animations by drawing in the sandpit. It is the ultimate creative tool, capable of making lessons unforgettable, blending art and science with cutting edge technology powerful enough for your imagination to know no bounds, yet simple enough for a young child to easily use. I Can Animate lets you get hands on all sorts of animation techniques, using kinaesthetic skills for learning. Be it a time-lapse capturing the opening of a daffodil or a movie masterpiece to celebrate at school or a young people’s film festival, I Can Animate lets everyone discover one of the great modern art forms of the world.” David Bunting Animator, educator, & filmmaker Profile David Bunting’s feature film credits include Thunderbirds and Disney's “The Tigger Movie”. David trained in feature film storyboarding at Aardman Animations before storyboarding on Shaun the Sheep. In 2008 he co-produced the multi award winning “The Astronomers Sun.” David regularly gives talks on animation and is committed to furthering the advancement of animation as a creative educational tool. His education programmes have been acclaimed as models of good practice. Many children's films supervised by David have won international awards and have been screened at the world's largest animation festivals. ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 3 I Can Animate has become one of the most widely used stop frame animation programs in education and has a huge following amongst amateur enthusiasts. I Can Animate 2 has a wealth of fantastic features that allow animators of all ages and levels of expertise, to create professional looking animated films. Delivering the Curriculum Through Creativity™ is a trademark of Kudlian Software Limited. All other trademarks are acknowledged. I Can Animate 2 Manual – Written by Roger M Young MSc, Cert Ed. Copyright © Kudlian Software Limited Published April 2017 Version 2.4 Mac OS X ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 4 System Requirements To run version 2.4.0 or later, a Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.8, or later. 7 MB of free hard disc space to install to and a minimum of 2 GB of memory. Installation & Registration • Internet download, run the installer and follow the onscreen prompts. • A filer window will open, run the I Can Animate 2 installer package and follow the on screen instructions. • Once installation is complete, run the I Can Animate 2 application from your Applications folder. Click on the I Can Animate 2 menu at the top of the screen and from the list that appears, select Register now... • Enter your details and the serial number which can be found on the licence card included in the software pack or that has been eMailed to you. • Enter your details and the serial number which can be found on the licence card included in the software pack or that has been eMailed to you. • I Can Animate 2 will run for a trial period of 7 days after which you will need to enter a valid serial number to continue to use it. You can enter your serial number at any time. • To keep you up to date with developments and to help with technical support, please register your product online at; http://www.kudlian.net/Kudlian_Software/Registerproduct.html ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 5 I Want to Create... 7 Getting Started 9 Saving 11 My Projects 12 New Project 13 Clips 15 Clip Tool Panel 16 Export and Sharing a Project 17 Project Settings 19 Capture 20 Capture Mode 20 Onion Skinning 21 Timeline 25 Modifying the Effective Frame Rate 27 Chroma Key Introduction 29 Using Chroma Key 31 Adding the Background Picture 33 Chroma Key Tips 34 Background Tracks 35 Background Effects 40 Nebula 42 Audio 43 Duplicating Frames 46 Drawing 48 Drawing Tools 49 Fill Style and Line Colour 51 Line Width 51 ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 6 Resizing and Rotating an Object 51 Arrange the Order of Objects 52 Grouping Objects 52 Ungrouping Objects 53 Deleting Objects 53 Copy and Pasting Objects 53 Time Lapse 55 Video Backgrounds 56 Importing a Video 56 Title Track 57 Frame Rates 58 Appendix 1 59 Training on Animation 59 Suppliers of Animation Accessories – UK 59 Reference Books 59 Appendix 2 - Terms 60 Appendix 3 - Importing 61 Importing a Windows Project 61 Importing a Project from iOS 61 “Quiet Please... 63 Lights, Camera, & Action...” 63 A Quick start guide to your first animation. 63 HINTS: 63 Storyboard 1 66 Storyboard 2 67 Lip Syncing - Mouth Shapes 68 Network Installations 69 ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 7 I Want to Create... When you start to animate it is very easy to get carried away, trying to do to much. Professional animation studios such as the world famous Aardman Animation™, work on the premise that a days shooting might result in a second and a half of screen time! Fortunately you probably won’t have all the constraints that they do, but you do need to remember that for each second of animation you wish to shoot, you are going to need to capture 12 frames at the default settings (15 fps for NTSC). Careful planning and preparation will result in much more professional looking films, more enjoyment and ultimately cut down on the time it takes to create your animated movie. Step 1 - The Story Having a great story is one thing, having a great story that you can animate is another. Be realistic about what you can create in the time you have available. TV adverts last twenty or thirty seconds, but in that time can tell a life story, if they are planned correctly. Write down the basic details about your story and then expand it into a script that you will work to. You can include additional information such as how many characters it contains but don’t have cast of thousands. Detail where the action will take place, etc. Step 2 - Creating the characters You can have great fun getting into the personality of your characters, professional animators do it all the time! Don’t just think about what your characters are going to look like, but consider where they live, who their families are, do they have any friends, what do they like doing, what don’t they like, what are their favourite foods, hobbies and so on. A character sheet is a good idea. We’ve supplied one at the end of this manual that you can print out and use. This sheet is only a guide, you can make your own and ask different questions if you like. Now you are ready to make your characters from whatever materials you have decided. Modelling clay and building bricks are not the only materials you can use! You can animate almost anything. ™ © 2017 Kudlian Software Inspire, Create, Animate™ Page 8 Step 3 - Storyboard This is basically a sequence of sketches. It doesn’t need to be a work of art, stick figures and line drawings will suffice. It can be annotated with explanations of what is going on and the resources, sounds, and type of shots that are required. Storyboard templates and other resources sheets can be found in the Appendix at the end of this guide and downloaded from the I Can Animate website. Step 4 - Be Prepared Get everything ready before you start capturing frames. Build your set, download or create your sound files, and if you are using them, make sure you have lights and that you have ironed and secured the chroma key screen! Make sure everyone knows what they are doing. Step 5 - Camera I Can Animate 2 requires a camera that is plugged into either the USB or Firewire port on your computer. If you are using an older firewire camera then you may need to purchase additional hardware for your computer. Camcorders connecting through the USB port are unlikely to work as they do not support a live feed, unless they are webcam enabled. Please check with your camera supplier for specifications. If drivers are included with your camera you will need to ensure that they are installed to your computer and are up to date, but try to find one where drivers are not required.