Stop motion animation is a fun way to learn how to make something inanimate move. When you first start to do it, it almost seems magic. In this online class, students will put together a series of small stop motion animations around a central theme. Students will have fun creating a mini set, and learning the basics of beautiful lighting. It’s easy to put together an affordable stop motion animation studio using your smartphone, and you will be guided step by step in using the tools, creating the concepts and utilizing social networking to exhibit your work.

There will be a weekly hour long time where students can show and critique each other’s work and ask questions about the process. This hour long session will be recorded for students to review if needed. There also will be a web site in which there are materials, web sites, and opportunities for students to pose questions through the week as they go about their work.

Sam Smiley is a media artist and educator based in Provincetown and Somerville, MA. She has taught video, photography, and multimedia to children and adults of all ages. She is also an instructor at Lesley University and has taught at Massachusetts College of Art, Wellesley College, and University of Massachusetts in Boston.  She recently co-published a book of lessons for people to use to use artistic practices to teach science called "Strategies to Integrate the Arts with Science" from Shell Publishing.  In 2013-2014, she exhibited her underwater work through the Boston Cyberarts Art on the Marquee Program at the Boston Convention Visitors Center.  Her commercial and artistic work with underwater video can be found at http://aquaportrait.com