BATH — For teens who might be too young to remember the California Raisins, Patten Free Library is offering the chance to make some claymation of their own during February school break.

The library will offer a free iPad workshop Feb. 18-19 that shows how to use the iMotion app to make short claymation films. The workshop, which is open to teenagers, will be held in the Community Room from 3:30-5 p.m.

Participants are asked to enroll in teams of two, and pre-registration must take place by Feb. 12. The first six teams to register can use iPads that the library has available, and students who have their own iPads can also enroll. Classes are capped at 12 people, and the library will provide the clay and other materials for creating the films.

Participants can also bring in their own figurines, or something else with movable parts, for the project.

“It’s really stop-motion; it doesn’t necessarily have to be claymation,” Laurel Cox, who teaches the course with fellow reference librarian Bev Gilbert, said last week.

The first day will include learning how to use the iMotion app, which uses stop-motion to take multiple frames per second. Students will also learn basic principles of claymation and animation, and begin work on their films. The next day the youths will complete their projects and share them with their classmates.

“Like a lot of educational institutions these days, we’re focused on trying to get kids to create, not just to consume, media,” Cox said. “And what I like about this claymation project is first of all, it’s got that sort of immediate satisfaction; you can see what you’ve created.

“But it’s also a great way to understand some of the basic concepts of filmmaking,” she added. “How to frame a shot, the concept of frame rate … it gives you a sense of that in a very short amount of time; what it takes to be successful in crafting the look of a film.”

Cox also noted that when someone is creating media, “it also allows you then to analyze the media that you see in a different way.”

Registration can be done in person at Patten’s information desk, or by emailing pflreference@patten.lib.me.us or calling 443-5141, ext. 12.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.

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