Inside a darkened classroom, students are carefully building scenes, moving small props and capturing frame-by-frame images as part of a course called "Lego Movie Magic: Grimm Tales."
The class introduces students to stop-motion filmmaking using Lego sets and characters.
"I really like stop motion Legos," said student Nathan Penner. "It's been one of my favorite things since I was a kid."
The course runs for a little more than three weeks and is part of the district's Career Technical Education summer program, which offers younger students early exposure to potential career pathways.
The class is led by Darren Grubel, a Managerial and Production Arts teacher at Clovis West.
"Really, we try to kind of combine a lot of things," Grubel said. "They're working on their English skills, whether it's reading aloud, whether it's acting, and that kind of stuff. They're working on just storytelling in general."
Students begin by writing their own scripts and recording dialogue. They then use cameras to capture each movement, adjusting their Lego figures slightly between shots to create animation.
Special effects are incorporated using lighting, fog machines and even spray bottles to simulate rain.
As they work, students learn both technical and personal skills.
"Patience is a virtue," he said. "It takes really long. You have to move one tiny thing at a time, and you have to keep doing that."
Program organizers say the goal is to introduce students to career technical education opportunities before they reach high school.
Even if participants do not continue in the same pathway, Grubel said the experience builds valuable skills.
"I just love that this is a chance for them to not be at home playing video games, but making their own movies," he said.
At the end of the course, students showcase their completed films for family members, giving them a chance to share what they created during the summer program.
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