Inside Animating Kids Story Lab

Step-by-Step Story “Recipes” That Teach Media Skills

140+ Visual Storytelling & Media Communication Principles That Form The Foundation Of Believable Visual Storytelling In Film, Video, and Digital Media.

Students progress through five creative skill levels

  1. White Hat - Media Basics

Students learn the motion, timing, and expression principles that make visual stories feel real and believable. These are the same foundational motion principles used in professional film and animation.

Introduction by The Animation Chefs (0:39)

  1. Set Up Your Device (5:08)

  2. Frames Per Second - How Motion Is Built (2:39)

  3. Sound Design - How Audio Shapes Meaning (2:07)

  4. Spacing is Speed - Fast, and Slow motion (2:15)

  5. Speeding Up/Slowing Down - Changing Pace (1:36)

  6. Bouncing Ball - The Classic Starting Point (1:16)

  7. Squash - How Impact Shows Energy (1:56)

  8. Stretch - How Recoil Follows Impact (1:50)

  9. Bouncing Ball w Squash & Stretch (1:29)

  10. Jump w Wind Up - Getting Ready To Move (1:55)

  11. Jump w Follow Through (1:30)

  12. Jump w Squash/Stretch & Wind Up/Follow Through (1:56)

  13. Throw (1:57)

  14. Sneeze (1:37)

  15. Shake (1:04)

  16. Quiver (1:16)

  17. Toggle (1:48)

  18. Loops & Cycles (1:54)

  19. Loops on a Path (1:21)

  20. Inbetween Blur (2:06)

  21. Simple Walks & Runs (2:29)

  22. Swing (2:29)

  23. Swing with Overlapping Action: Part 1 (2:20)

    Swing with Overlapping Action Part 2 (2:10)

  24. Blinking is Thinking (1:39)

  25. Talking/Lipsynching (3:12)

  26. Summary Animation (5:56)

Yellow Hat Recipes Overview

Yellow Hat Recipes - Combining The Basics (Total Running Time - 47:54)

Introduction by the Animation Chefs (0:39)

  1. Parallax: Motor Boat (1:41)

  2. Parallax: Airplane w Clouds (2:08)

  3. Parallax: Car (2:31)

  4. Moving Away (2:03)

  5. Moving Toward (1:26)

  6. Small Explosion (2:02)

  7. Large Explosion (2:45)

  8. Poof (1:40)

  9. Fighting Cloud (1:28)

  10. Falling Leaf (1:56)

  11. Rocket Blast Off (1:44)

  12. Splash (2:03)

  13. Camera Shake (2:00)

  14. Zooming In (2:38)

  15. Cracks & Shatters (1:55)

  16. Lightning (1:18)

  17. Flag Wave (1:23)

  18. Candle Flicker (1:46)

  19. Tornado (1:17)

  20. Ocean Waves (1:08)

  21. Chimney Smoke (1:32)

  22. Snow Splashes (4:10)

  23. Comet Tail (1:20)

  24. Water Faucet (1:00)

  25. Tsunami (1:09)

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Red Hat Recipes Overview

Red Hat Recipes - Character Animation: Acting/Posing (Total Running Time: 52:30)

Introduction by the Animation Chefs (0:47)

  1. The Brow (1:57)

  2. The Brow w Wind-up/Follow Through (1:31)

  3. The Brow w Eyes (1:53)

  4. Crying Calm (1:37)

  5. Crying Hysterically (1:30)

  6. Getting Mad (1:38)

  7. Steam Out Of Ears (1:38)

  8. Eye Pop 1 (2:01)

  9. Eye Pop 2 (1:51)

  10. Eye Pop 3 (1:22)

  11. Lightbulb Over Head (1:58)

  12. Single Take (1:16)

  13. Double Take (1:30)

  14. Triple Take (1:44)

  15. SloMo NO! (1:06)

  16. Sloppy Chewing (1:45)

  17. Biting w Wind-up & Follow Thru (1:37)

  18. Snoring (2:09)

  19. Close Up Face Posing (4:10)

  20. Posing for Emotion (2:10)

  21. Running Basic (1:06)

  22. Running Intermediate (1:43)

  23. Confident Posing w Wind-up (1:09)

  24. Throwing Fast (2:09)

  25. Frog Hop (1:40)

  26. Frog Tongue Snap (1:52)

  27. Bee Buzz (1:30)

  28. Pig Flying (1:49)

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Blue Hat Recipes Overview Video

Blue Hat Recipes - The Animation Chef's System: Creating A Short Animated Story from Scratch! (Total Running Time - 34:33)

Introduction by the Animation Chefs (0:37)

  1. Inventing a Story (3:20)

  2. Storyboarding (5:18)

  3. Brainstorming Dialog (2:10)

  4. Utensils and Ingredients (1:58)

  5. Layout Sizing and Timing (6:18)

  6. Organizing Props (2:18)

  7. Animating The Scenes (6:42)

  8. Finalizing Dialogue and Word Play (2:12)

  9. Editing and Sound Design (4:26)

  10. Final Movie and Organizing Premieres (3:01)

Black Hat Recipes Overview Video

Black Hat Recipes - Professional Development (Total running time 1:45:33")

Introduction To Black Hat Recipes by our founder: (0:46)

  1. Instructor Professional Development Videos:

  • Overview of the Production Process (3:48)

  • Developing Characters and Stories With Small Groups

    • Part 1 - Story Drives Everything (4:50)

    • Part 2 - Originality (2:24)

    • Part 3 - Brainstorming Characters/Settings/Problems (5:57)

  • Stickfigure Storyboarding

    • Long, Medium & Close Ups: Basic Cinematography for Kids (5:03)

    • Storyboarding For Solutions (8:26)

  • Inventing Dialogue (5:02)

  • Tape is Your Best Friend (5:22)

  • Building Sets: Overview of S.L.T. System (2:09)

    • Sizing (8:48)

    • Layout (3:43)

    • Timing (5:21)

  • Engineering and Organizing Props (3:26)

  • Animating The Scenes (7:24)

  • Finalizing Dialogue (2:46)

  • Post Production:

    • Part 1 - Whiteboarding the Basics (4:31)

    • Part 2 - Demonstration of Editing, Voice Overs and SFX (9:39)

  • Finalizing Your Movies - Ideas on Presentation (8:42)

Pricing Plans
Video Testimonials