5th Grade's Stop Motion Animation Film Festival

It’s that time of the year where seconds are measured by camera frames, when voiceovers are matched with scripts, and the pressure is on to make the deadline for the 5th Grade Stop Motion Animation Film Festival (STOMA).

In short, students create a stop motion animation with their chosen group to potentially win the Lower School Art Academy Award at the in-class film festival.
 
Lower School Art Teacher, Beth Gatza-O’Malley, wanted to design an episodic lesson using her background in film. She came up with a project that was not only entertaining for the students but also engaged them in valuable life lessons of teamwork, project management, and business.
 
Students began the lesson a couple weeks before Spring Break where they learn about what the STOMA project entails. Students then use the remaining year learning character design, how to build their characters from Claymation clay, script writing, set design, filming, editing and sound design. The most valuable, and often the toughest lesson of the project is learning how to work as a team on a creative endeavor while making each deadline.
 
On the last day of 5th grade art, we celebrate the student’s overwhelming achievements in the form of a film festival where the films are blind judged by the students. The group with the most points win a mock Academy Award, and it is given to each member of the group.
 
Click here to view a short video of the last year's film festival winner.
Lower School: 11052 Independence Avenue
Middle and Upper School: 20801 Rinaldi Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311  | 818.882.8121
Sierra Canyon School is a private, independent, non-sectarian, co-educational, college preparatory school for students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12 located in Chatsworth, California. The highly cosmopolitan campus community is reflective of the Greater Los Angeles area and the world at large. Students are empowered to realize their greatest creative, ethical, intellectual and physical promise through small class sizes, a diverse student-teacher culture and a family-like environment.