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.
Meet Joe Summerhays: The Storyteller Who Makes Classrooms Cinematic
Joe Summerhays is the creative force behind Animating Kids, the globally adopted media literacy platform that turns traditional learning environs into movie studios and students into visual storytellers. With over 25,000 kids and educators trained across 20+ countries, Joe has redefined what it means to be literate in the 21st century — reimagining stop motion animation, storytelling, and digital production into a media making skill set for the next generation.
An award-winning creative executive in software, TV, publishing, and advertising, Joe brings a seasoned eye and playful spirit to education. Through his signature colored Animation Chef Hat Levels (inspired by karate belts), students and teachers alike progress from animation basics to full-on film production — all while hitting ISTE, AASL, and P21 standards for digital fluency and creative communication.
Animating Kids isn’t just a curriculum — it’s a movement. A toolkit for schools. A legacy for media coaches and tech specialists. And it all flows from Joe’s belief:
Media skills literacy is the new reading and writing for the Tiktok/Youtube generation.