Building Stories Together – Stop Motion for Inclusion
Participants collaboratively design and produce a stop-motion short film. Each group develops a short story related to a common theme chosen by the participants. Everyone contributes to different parts of the process: storyboarding, building sets, moving characters, shooting, sound, or narration. The emphasis is on collaboration and inclusion, not technical perfection.
THEME
Media, creativity, intercultural learning
COMPLEXITY
Intermediate – with some experience on stop-motion creation
GROUP SIZE
5-15
participants (working in small groups of 3–4)
AGE
15+
TIME
180-210
minutes (or can be split across multiple sessions)
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Warm-up (15 minutes)
- Short round of introductions: each participant shares their name (if needed) and one word that represents “community” or “living together” for them.
- Give a short explanation of what stop-motion is: e.g. “Stop-motion is a way of making a video by taking lots of pictures of objects or drawings and then playing them quickly one after another, so it looks like they are moving.”
- Show short examples of stop-motion films (e.g. LEGO or paper-based animations) to inspire participants. You’ll find many examples on YouTube.
- Highlight that participants can use LEGO, blocks, figurines, or simple paper drawings to create their own animations.
- Story Development in Small Groups (60 minutes)
- In groups of 3–4, participants brainstorm a short story related to a chosen theme that can be anything related to “community”.
- They sketch the main scenes on a storyboard template (3-5 key scenes are enough).
- Decide on the characters (objects), props, and settings needed.
- Groups create the sets and characters using LEGO/objects.
- They rehearse moving characters and testing camera placement.
- Stop-Motion Filming (40–50 minutes)
- Groups animate and capture their stories scene by scene.
- Each participant takes a role (animating, taking photos, directing, narrating, etc).
- The facilitator provides technical support and time checks.
- Editing (45-60 minutes)
- After shooting, each group reviews their captured frames and decides how to assemble them into a short film.
- Participants can use simple editing apps (e.g. Stop Motion Studio, iMovie, CapCut) to adjust timing, add transitions, titles, or background music.
- Encourage them to include narration or subtitles if they want to make the message clearer across languages.
- The facilitator supports the process.
- Screening & Sharing (20–30 minutes)
- Groups present their finished stop-motion clips.
- First screening: participants watch silently.
- Second viewing: creators explain what they wanted to express; others share their interpretations.
- Afterward, invite the audience to respond: they can share what the story meant to them, ask questions to the creators, or reflect on similarities/differences with their own experiences.
- Encourage focusing on meaning and feelings rather than technical quality.
- Sharing Beyond the Group (Optional)
- If participants feel comfortable, invite them to share their finished stop-motion films on social media or community platforms.
- Discuss briefly how sharing creative work publicly can foster dialogue, raise awareness, and celebrate multicultural perspectives.
Debriefing and Evaluation:
Reflection questions:
- How was it to create a story together?
- How did you decide on roles and responsibilities?
- Were there moments when different perspectives needed to be balanced? How did you solve this?
- What did you learn from the perspectives of others?
Closing:
- Each participant shares one word that represents their experience.
Tips for Facilitators:
- Ensure every participant has a role, even small ones.
- Emphasize inclusion and cooperation over technical polish.
- If disagreements arise about the story direction, underline that multiple viewpoints can enrich the final film.
- Encourage the use of metaphors and symbols through objects – stop motion is a playful way to express deeper meanings.
- Variations and adjustments:
Thematic focus can be adapted to the group’s needs, e.g environment, cultural celebrations, etc. - The workshop can be developed during more days for a more complex result.
- Cheaper materials can be used instead of LEGO such as colourful papers, cartons, clothes
- Alternatively, the objects can be replaced with people that play different roles.
- Use larger objects or pre-cut shapes for participants with limited fine motor skills.
- Assign different roles according to participants’ strengths, e.g., directing, choosing colors, suggesting story ideas, or moving objects while someone else operates the camera.
- Instead of moving objects, participants can use photos, drawings, cut-outs, or collage images to create a stop-motion style sequence.
- Participants who can move but may have difficulty with small objects can act out roles themselves as “living objects” in the animation.
MODULE 1 NEEDS ANALYSIS
Needs analysis activities
MODULE 2 MUSIC AND MOVEMENT
Contact
Iuliana Adriana PAVEL (project manager)
iuliana.pavel@a4action.ro
A4ACTION – Antim Ivireanu Culture House, Islaz Alley, Ghermănești, Snagov, Ilfov District, Romania, 077170
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ANPCDEFP. Neither the European Union nor the ANPCDEFP can be held responsible for them.
The project is conducted by the following organisations: A4ACTION (Romania) – coordinator, Udruga Delta (Croatia), InterAktion (Austria), Asociación Espacio Rojo (Spain) and GAIA Museum Outsider Art (Denmark).