ABOUT ANIMATION CHEFS

We are four brothers teaching, and producing stop motion animation to the youngest members of the Youtube generation and their media mentors.

Think of us as a blend of Bob Ross, Tim Burton/Ray Harryhausen, and the Swedish Chef.

We show how anyone can cook up an animated movie. With a recipe (how-to videos), ingredients (paper, clay, legos), and an oven (tablet, smartphone).

Every Monday we post Animating Kids!, our stop motion "cooking show" where we do video demos of secret animation recipes with interesting ingredients.

Every Friday we post a new episode of Shark Vs Rabbit, our original cartoon series, animated in cut-paper on a mobile device.

We also offer our Animation Starter Kit for purchase, a step-by-step cumulative demonstration of the vocabulary, the thinking, and the strategies animators have used for over 100 years.

All delivered on an elementary school grade level.

Subscribe to our blog to catch all the lessons and episodes, and stay tuned for new installments every week.

**Three of the Animation Chefs with Guy Kawasaki after running a Hands-On workshop @ SXSWEdu**

Our Mission and vision (a.k.a - our evil plan)
This is an amazingly unique time in history.
This generation must be literate in media creation to participate and succeed in their future.
Put yourself in the shoes of a ten year old.
You are the same age as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
You are only two years older than a smartphone or tablet computer!
You have no idea what the world looks like without these technologies. Media saturates your world: texts, audio, animation, video, games.
Now look at that device you have in your hands, the one you use to watch other people play video games.
ALL of Hollywood's filmmaking tools are baked into that mobile device. In the history of the world, such a production tool has never existed.
When you were born, to buy all that technology cost as much as a house.
Now it is in your pocket. The camera. The microphone. Animation apps. Editing apps. The screen.
Even the distribution!
If you are an adult - let this settle in. Imagine being ten years old again with this kind of world in front of you.
A large part of our mission is to enable teachers, parents, and media mentors everywhere to scale animation and digital storytelling instruction without having to be a trained animator.
And we want to make it fun too! That's why the goofy outfits. That's why the silly cartoons.
We KNOW every elementary school aged kid can have the benefit of going to film school without leaving home, school, or any creative space.
We believe movie making is a basic literacy for our ten year old. This isn't a nice "extra" anymore.
So if you can take a picture, follow our lead.
We believe stop motion animation is the ideal vehicle for media instruction. Stop motion requires math skills, engineering, hypothosizing, improvisation, writing, reading, drawing, team work, manipulation, spacial thinking, acting, inventing characters, sound synchronization, kinesthetic posing, and a host of other diciplines.
It is NOT about fancy software, complicated coding, or genius drawing skills. Using traditional materials, blended with hi-tech tools, we have figured out fast and easy ways of getting a story on a screen.
Think - Make - Share!

Teaching an animation secret recipes at the Tribeca Film Festival Street Fair in New York City.

Although we still do events, like the awesome over-the-top experiences at SXSWEdu, Tribeca Film Festival, and at the Apple Flagship Stores in New York City, for past two years we put our heads down and started producing video lessons of everything we have learned and started testing them with kids in after-school classes and sometimes right in the classroom during school hours!

We have worked with professional animators, educators, parents, and most importantly, kids in creating and testing our secret recipes.

Animating Kids is the outcome. Two years in the making. And it animates kids!

Animation Chefs at the flagship Apple Store in Grand Central Station New York City. We made the Apple Store's employee Hall of Fame for in-store events!

It energizes adults as well:

"My mind is still spinning. I am so excited to get started on this with my summer camp kids." Robin L. Librarian

"This workshop exceeded my expectations...this curriculum is recommended not only to other schools, but children's museums, "maker" field trips, science fairs...this was an amazing day with much more than I anticipated learning." Kim G. Maker workshop facilitator

I was absolutely astonished at the finished films presented at the conclusion of the animation workshop. I frankly don’t know what I ‘really expected,’ but I did NOT expect to be honestly and truly entertained. The animation workshop really does open up a new world of expression for children – and for adults who ought to be interested in what their children have to say.” Richard W. Director of Family Media Conference

"The Animation Chefs have continuously been our greatest draw on the Tribeca Film Fest Backlot...a huge hit! Their stage presence was very well received." Scott G. Tribeca Film Festival.

We love to train trainers. We love leaders in digital media making for kids. We do custom workshops, demonstrations, and run our own programs. If you would like to know what we know, contact us at info@animationchefs.com or at animatingkids.com.

If you can't get to our workshops and want some place to begin a serious journey into animation theory, skills and practice, please go over to www.animationkids.com/products and purchase our starter kit. We have almost an hour of lessons on the essential vocabulary, concepts, and recipes to get going.

Please join us in helping the rising generation master the art of sound and motion!

This is amazing time to be alive!

Bon Animate!

Animation Chefs