Tiny Circus workshops and shows are the heart of our project and are each a unique undertaking. Tiny Circus, like any good circus, loves to travel!

Our general arrangement is that the rights to the final animation are owned by Tiny Circus.  We release our creations into the wild, posting them on our website and YouTube - and workshop participants and hosting institutions have free access to the animation and may use it for any non-commercial purpose. This arrangement can be modified if needed.

We would be happy to start a conversation with you about the feasability of a workshop or show - or answer questions in general. Contact us!

Read on to get a sense of our needs in terms of space, time, and fees in order to bring a workshop to your community! 

Tiny Circus often works with small groups of less than 25 people. This size group allows the participants to experience all the facets of the creative process - from concept to execution. A small-group animation can be completed in as little as 6 hours of workshop time, though 10-20 hours is ideal.  Tiny Circus can facilitate a project that will work in the amount of time the group has available. We find that workshop participants often stay “after class” to help with additional making and animating.  The steps in our process are detailed below.

1:         Introduce the Tiny Circus – 30 minutes. 

Tiny Circus members describe our mission and process.  We talk about collaboration, communication, and creative storytelling.  We view several Tiny Circus animations and discuss stop-motion animation in general.

2:         Choose a History for animation – 10 minutes.

The workshop group chooses a topic for the animation either at random or through discussion.  

3:         Brainstorm and Storyboard – 2 - 4 hours

Workshop participants and Tiny Circus members dream up a story for the history that we have chosen.  A storyboard is created with a timeline and visual map for what the animation will look like.

4:         Make Stuff – 1- 5 hours

Using the storyboard as a guide, participants make characters and scenes for the animation.  Tiny Circus travels with materials for creating sets and characters.  Different workshops have different needs, and the time necessary to make things for the animation can vary a great deal.

5:         Animate and Record – 1-10 hours

Animating is a collaborative process.  Lights and an animating station are set up with a camera for shooting the animation.  Individual participants become “directors” for particular characters.  A photograph is taken, the animators step in and move a character, then step out and another photograph is taken.  This is repeated using the storyboard as a guide. 

At the same time, sound effects and music are recorded.  This often requires a separate (quiet) space.   

6:         Edit - 1-5 hours

Editing is the final step in the process -- the raw photographs and sounds are put together to make a finished film.  This part of the process is often completed by Tiny Circus members, though editing can also be done in conjunction with workshop participants if time and facilities allow. 

Tiny Circus works with large groups – numbering at times in the thousands.  This kind of collaborative workshop creates certain obvious challenges in terms of space and time – but also great rewards for the circus participants as they get to be part of something huge.

With larger projects, Tiny Circus works closely with the hosting institution to brainstorm and develop a storyboard that will make for both an exciting experience for the participants and a compelling animation.  Whenever possible, TC keeps our process “open”  so that the participants can help shape the animation as it is shot – giving them a sense of ownership that is the hallmark of a successful Tiny Circus workshop.  Our initial story-boards are presented large-scale to the participants at the beginning of the workshop. 

Using participant’s bodies as elements in an animation is a great way to involve large groups in collaborative animating – adults and children alike find this to be a fun cooperative activity.  A large grassy field or a gymnasium can be used for the “animating studio” – and Tiny Circus can suspend a camera from a ceiling or use a scissor lift or skyjack to raise the camera above the scene.  This requires some additional planning, and potentially an additional expense for the lift (though we have often found that rental places will donate use of a lift for a day for our projects)

In general, our process is about collaborative problem-solving.  We’ve had a lot of success working with large groups –  and we can certainly work with your group or event in an exciting way.

Once the brand-new animation is complete, we present it as part of our show "The Other Histories of the World" – it’s a perfect celebration of all the hard work that goes into the animation.  The show allows Tiny Circus to debut the new animation in the context of several other short films.

Tiny Circus shows can be tailored to the period and space available.  Ideally the show will be held outside in the evening using the Tiny Circus Projection Pod – a 12’ long airstream rigged for sound and projection – as a mobile projector.  The audience might bring lawn chairs or blankets and often use the ground for seating.  The environment is something like a drive-in theater.

A dark and quiet location is ideal for the show - streetlights and security lights can interfere with the projection. It is usually dark enough to begin the show about 20 minutes after sundown.  The show can also be presented in a darkened gymnasium, theater, classroom, or simply burned onto a DVD for later use by the community.

Our projection airstream is lightweight and solar powered, it can be rolled by hand onto a lawn or park.  A space of 20'x50' is plenty for a showing

Materials:

Tiny Circus travels with a cornucopia of materials and technology, everything necessary for the creation of a new animation: cameras and computers, lights and extension cords, art materials and superglue.  The costs of these materials are built into our fee – though often a partnering institution offers up a box of “stuff” that might be used to create an animation – construction paper, cloth, figurines, clay, egg cartons, knick-knacks and doo-dads.  Tiny Circus can probably turn some of your useless stuff into an animation!

Space:

Tiny Circus is flexible!  What follows is an “ideal” workspace situation, but this rarely happens and we can work with whatever the partnering institution has to offer.

Brainstorming and making of props are best done in room with plenty of space where we can all sit facing each other.  A large white-board or table is good for storyboarding.  Tables and chairs help for making things – if it looks like an art-room it will probably work perfectly.

Shooting the animation is best done in a room that can be darkened so we can use artificial light to illuminate our set.  It is nice, but not necessary that this room be separate from the making/brainstorming room, so that additional making can continue once shooting begins.  Once shooting begins, a more controlled environment is necessary to avoid bumping cameras and lights and disturbing sets while they are in use.

Sound and music recording happens in a quiet place, free of hums from air conditioners or refrigerators, or noise from an adjoining room.  It can take some searching to find the right spot, but most buildings have a quiet space!  Smaller groups often people do sound recording at any one time, so a large room is not necessary. 

Tiny Circus is self-supporting and has expenses to meet both at home and on the road. These include food, housing and vehicle expenses, technology, materials, as well as the daily living expenses of our core members - things like insurance and phone, clothing...

We can help advise grant-writers and provide general support to help find funding for a Tiny Circus visit. Letters of reference are available from previous workshop communities.

We work on a sliding scale - and often our fee is partially determined by location and the other workshops on our schedule. Make contact, and discuss your community with us!