Continuing our book excerpts - today is part 2 of storyboarding, including a P.D. training from Joe via video.
Joe enters and requests the storyboards from last time to review.
"Your storyboard scribbles are brilliantly messy." Joe pauses dramatically. "But first, let's make something very clear. These little beasts are tricky. Short movies are sneaky hard to do. They're slippery. We always want to cram more and more into them. But trust me, less is more. Keeping your stories clear, sharp, simple, and direct will be our main challenge."
The class leans in, intrigued.
"To illustrate, let's try something. Anyone got a stopwatch?"
A student volunteers, eyeing the classroom clock.
"Time me, Joe assumes an alert and tense stance. "Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down, broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. How long did that take?” Joe asks.
"Six maybe seven seconds!" the timer announces.
"Exactly! But here is the thing. That six or seven seconds of storyTELLING, may take about a minute of storySHOWING. Yes, about a full minute to animate."
The class looks confused. One voice speaks up, "But it only take six seconds to tell, why does it take a minute to show?"
"I'm glad you asked. It is really hard to explain. So to help speed things up and have you get a sense of what we are up to here, I've brought in a training video from our lessons for teachers. I'm giving you a peek behind the curtains of professional development."
The kids feel like they're being let behind the curtains of the Wizard of OZ.
'Here is the video. It is eight minutes. We'll watch the whole thing and then I'll give you next steps so we can get these storyboard ideas of yours prepped and ready to be the instruction book for your movie." Joe says. "And remember, you are not supposed to be watching this, it is for your teachers eyes only, so don't tell anyone I showed you!" Joe says with an impish grin.
Watch!"
"So this is what we are up against." Joe continues. "Let's see how the Animation Chefs do this same process to their movie idea."
Joe shows the Blue Hat lesson video of the Animation Chefs mapping out their storyboard with a stop watch and acting, posing and timing of dialogue.
Animation Chefs model storyboarding.
"Okay, now you've seen this process modeled twice!" Joe emphasizes. "Now it is your turn. Get out a timer or use the clock on the wall. Time out each scene by acting out each scene. Nobody has ever made your movie before and we need to make sure it is around one minute long so we can actually produce it with the time we have left this semester." Joe finalizes. "Total up all the seconds each scene takes to act out and see if you are anywhere near a one minute movie. Once you've figured this out, that is all we have for today. Good Luck."
Joe spends the rest of the time facilitating the chaos of acting and timing that explodes into being as the class whirls up into a buzz of activity. The young content creators start physically acting and timing out each scene from their storyboards with eager anticipation as to whether this movie will be doable with the time left.
“Okay! Time is up!” Joe shouts over the pandimonium.
“Note each scene duration, or how much time each scene took to act out, on your storyboards. Add up the times. Let’s see if you have about a one-minute movie.”
The kids work out the math.
“Group 1?” Joe queries. “How long is your movie?”
Group 1 spokesmodel, “One minute thirteen seconds”
“Group 2?” Joe continutes.
“Fifty nine seconds”.
“Group 3?”
“One minute six seconds”.
“Group 4"?
“One minute twenty seconds.”
“Wow, group 4 might have to trim a scene or two. We are aiming for one minute,” Joe reminds.
“Here’s the thing, you’ve got some knowledge about your movie now. You know pretty much how long it takes to perform. This is a very important step. This will make you better animators later. Physically going through the motions and rehearsing your story seems to get down into your DNA. It is my experience that once you’ve actually acted it all out, it improves everything we do in production and post-production.”
Joe pauses.
“You may even start to see it show up in your dreams! Next time we are going to learn about cineamtography and character design.” Joe offers. “Cinematography is about where you put the camera in each scene, how you frame it for maximum effect.”
“Until then, great job and I’ll see you later.”
About Joe:
Joe working in classrooms and media labs around the world.
The Storyteller Who Makes Classrooms Cinematic
Joe Summerhays has shown more kids how to tell a story with sound and motion than any filmmaker alive.
Founder of Animating Kids and producer of the Animation Chefs webseries, Joe turns filmmaking into a team sport for the content creator generation. Through a by kids, for kids cooking-show format, the Animation Chefs have inspired tens of thousands of young creators worldwide—bringing Hollywood-level storytelling into classrooms and media labs. With 25,000+ students and educators trained in 20+ countries, Joe equips kids with the storytelling framework and creative vocabulary they’ll need to thrive in the digital age—whether directing a film or prompting an AI. this work shows how visual media literacy is reading and writing with sound and motion—complementing traditional literacy and making it relevant for the modern world.
More Testimonials:
"I am impressed by...these programs, providing young people with the skills to become creative and critical thinkers...this shares my dedication to nurturing the next generation of filmmakers and visual storytellers." — Steven Spielberg - Referencing the work of Joe Summerhays“
"Joe (Animating Kids Founder) has turned the art of movie making for kids into a science.” — Jonathan Demme - Academy Award-Winning Director
“I absolutely love Animating Kids...you have no idea how amazing it is for a span of K-9. I’ve got the whole building covered and my planning was done for me. The kids LOVE the Animation Chefs. Win, win!!” — J. Tuttle - Media Specialist
"When I found Animating Kids it changed everything. Small and not so small humans became masters of sound and motion on any subject via small group PBL dynamics." — Rachel - Tech Coach - Quebec
“Animating Kids has changed everything! Fun, relevant media-making lessons for kids, and total P.D. for my non-film making teachers. A complete solution!!” — Principal - Bronx NY
"Animating Kids really helps focus our students during remote sessions…it keeps them so engaged. Your secret recipes are a life saver." — Marisol - Sacramento Ca
"The kids love the demonstrations and it is P.D. for me as I tee it all up. Animating Kids makes me the coolest educator in their lives!" — Charlotte - London UK
"This is the most important skills-based content for today’s kids. I don't think primary educators get how impactful this approach can be. It respects media content creation as the basic literacy it is for today’s kids. — Monique - White Plains NY
“We went through the entire process (PD workshop) of learning animated filmmaking with our tablets and smartphones. We could barely keep up. In the end we came away exhilarated rather than exhausted.” — Cathy S. - Librarian“
"My head was spinning. It involved: math, writing, science, team building, art, language arts, engineering, improvisation, innovation, acting, etc. Along with another dozen areas I can’t recall. Sneaky comprehensive. Mind blown. Can’t wait to use it in class.” — Marcia - 4th Grade Teacher
“Animation Chefs have created a really inspired program! My test group of (hardened gang members) like to laugh at the videos, and they love the simple clear explanations. They just have a blast...”
— G. Zucker Austin TX
"Thank you SO much for sharing your wealth of information and opening this world to every kid! I first learned about you when my husband introduced our daughter to you. Now I am bringing it into my after school program. I’m so psyched!" — Joy H. Retail After School Specialist
"Kids sign-up for robotics, coding, and stop motion sessions. After taking all three, they rate stop motion as their favorite track BY FAR. Animating Kids is key to our success." — Shane V. After School District Lead