The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

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The Teachers’ Animation Toolkit
Hints and tips:
Beginners tend to draw their stories from a single point of view, 
often a static wide angle shot from directly in front of the characters. 
Encourage students to use a mix of wide, medium- and close-up 
shots, thinking about their choices in relation to their storytelling.
Explain the concept of a jump cut. If two wide angle shots are 
placed side by side on the storyboard, each with the same framing, 
there will be a jump cut in the action between the end of the fi rst 
shot and beginning of the second. To avoid this, make sure to 
change the composition between shots.
Often, students will want a narrator to tell the story and/or add 
dialogue. Make sure the narration fi ts the intended shot length. The 
rule of thumb is–we say three words per second on average.
Don’t worry about drawing skills. Stick men and simple line drawings 
are fi ne.
The important point is that students use fi lm language creatively and 
visualize how they want each shot to look before they start work at 
the animation rostrum.
Don’t build camera movements, including zooms, pans and tilts into 
the storyboard. The technology available in the classroom makes 
the smooth animation of camera movement very diffi cult. Students 
often attempt animated zooms, but the results can be very jerky. 
It’s much better that students solve the problems of how to tell their 
story through the use of close-up, medium and wide static shots.
Encourage students to put in as much information as they can on 
their storyboards, so that if they hand them on to other animators, 
they will be able to understand them without having to ask 
questions.
Materials:
Sketchbooks, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers
Resources:
Handout: Storyboard Template: 

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