Flip film dream

Flip film dream

by Luca Ruhri

Students use the FlipAnim web app to create their own animated film on the topic of dreams. It is up to the students whether they understand “dream” in the sense of an experience during sleep or in the sense of a wish (for the future, for example). As the basis for the animated film, they create a storyboard. The FlipAnim web app works according to the principle of a flip book and is easy to learn.

In one form or another, flip books have existed since the Middle Ages. Due to their simple and accessible production, they can be made by children as well as by established artists. Exhibitions have been dedicated to flip books, as in 2005 at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf: “Daumenkino – The Flip Book Show”. Today, thanks to various computer applications, it is even easier to produce flip books or stop-motion clips.

In film, storyboards help to visually depict information sequences – i.e. the different stages of a story – and thus to plan the scenes. Along an imaginary timeline, aligned cells show individual scenes and, as a whole, the course of a story. Usually, a storyboard consists of drawings and accompanying text. Creating a storyboard allows storytellers to break down a story into its essential parts.

  • Choose a dream
  • Short introduction to the subject of “storyboard”
  • Design a storyboard
  • Try out the FlipAnim web app
  • Create a dream GIF with FlipAnim
  • Premiere / presentation of the films
The user interface displays a digitally sketched bird chirping notes on a checkered background. Around the workspace with the sketch there are various tool icons to be used for the editing process.
Flip film dream

Daumentraum-Film © 2022 by Luca Ruhri is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Luca Ruhri, studies at the Department Art and Education, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Author’s Encouragement
The students gain insight into working in the field of animation. They learn about storyboards and animation software and have the opportunity to create their own animated film in a very short time.