What You'll Create
Create an animated scene within PowerPoint using custom animation and images of your choice. The key to the activity is to create transparent images (with the backgrounds removed) to use as the 'characters' in your animated scene. Depending on what you animate, the effect won't be entirely realistic, but that's besides the point if your message is clear.
Two examples: A background image of an airport, a plane takes off after a fueling truck drives away, birds and clouds are moving in the background. A hockey player takes a shot on net, the puck moves towards the goalie, the puck goes in, numbers on the score clock change when the goal is scored.
You can create your scene entirely on one slides, or spread it across several. The choice will likely depend on the idea you choose.
Why
Sometimes it's easier to be shown something rather than be told. Creating basic animations in PowerPoint is a great way to add to what you're trying to say.
Features to include
- A background relevant to the scene. E.g. Airport, sports field, outer space
- At least six images included in the scene (plus the background)
- At least four of the images must be animated (four of the six total)
- Animated images need to have transparent backgrounds
- All of the animation must be purposeful to the scene
- The animation must be at least ten seconds long
- Include the original unedited images in your slide show
See an example
The Activity 5 example is here.
Step by step tutorials
- The Purpose of this Activity (3:23)
- Planning Your Animated Scene (1:31)
- Turning One Image Into Two (3:03)
- Moving Clip Art from PowerPoint to Photoshop (1:07)
- Erasing Without Artifacts (1:45)
- Size, Position and Angle in PowerPoint (0:54)
- Animating Multiple Objects At Once (1:28)
- More Realistic Animation (1:22)
- Adding Sound Effects (0:55)
- Timing Is Everything (1:18)
- Finishing Up and Watching the Animation (1:41)
Note
Save your files in the GIF or PNG format if you want them to have a clear (not white or coloured) background.
Take the Quiz
Test your skills by trying the quiz. Depending on your class, you teacher may want to see the results right way. In any event, knowing the answers to these questions will help you write the post test for the module.