What Is Claymation Animation, and How Does it Work?
Clay Animation is a form of stop-motion animation featuring characters and objects constructed from clay or plasticine. Claymation animation has existed since the 1890s, when a pliable, oil-based modelling clay called “plasticine” was invented.
It has since become an art form with many animators working to produce some of the most highly regarded children’s films. Some examples of Claymation films are Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit and our favourite, the 2003 Oscar winning
Harvie Krumpet by Melbourne animator Adam Elliot.
Animators use this form of animation to make the models look more realistic because the clay allows them to create
flexible movements.
Claymation at Yarraville West Primary School
At YWPS, the claymation project provides an excellent way to engage students in the curriculum and develop creativity and investigation. Creating claymations helps students develop writing, planning, organising, problem solving and teamwork skills
and demonstrate knowledge and abilities in IT and Design Technology. Claymation helps build confidence and patience and is very rewarding when the animations come together.
We shoot our movies at 12 fps (frames per second) to make the animation look smooth and realistic. This means that 720 individual photos are taken by the students for every minute of animation! Although time-consuming, the whole
process is really fun!
Claymation for the senior students was first introduced to YWPS in 2003 and the production of films for competitions began in 2006. YWPS students have submitted many films in national student film competitions such as Wakakirri, Screen It at ACMI, Little Big Shots at ACMI, Flickerfest and ATOM.
Our films have been finalists in every competition and our talented filmmakers have won first place in Wakakirri, Screen It (4 times), Little Big Shots, ATOM (4 times) and Sunshine Film Festival. YWPS also won The Department of Sustainability’s Fire Awareness award and was included in the AGE 100 most influential people of 2010.
Pre 2013 Competition Claymations
2011 Class & Competition Claymations
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