Film a Shadow Puppet Movie for Camp Play@Home Movie Week

How to Film a Shadow Puppet Movie

If your kids love telling stories (what movie maniac doesn’t?), you can stretch their  imaginations by having them build their own shadow puppet theater and film a movie of their own. Here’s everything you need to build a shadow puppet theater:

Start by making the cardboard box into your theater. On the bottom of the box, draw a square that’s about 2-inches from every side using your pencil. Use your safety scissors to cut along the outline of the square. When you’re done cutting, the bottom of the box should look like a TV without the screen in it. Put the tissue paper or bedsheet inside the box, covering the hole you just cut out, and tape it in place. Voila, your stage is set!

Next, have your kids cut paper figures, props, animals, and anything else they want out of the construction paper. No need to get super detailed, you want to make sure the outline looks a lot like what you’re imagining though. Try to give your figures distinctive features (like a cowboy’s lasso, a firefighter’s helmet, a shark fin, or anything else that makes their paper figures recognizable). Tape a popsicle stick to the back of each figure when your kids are done cutting them out to make it easier for to hold onto.

Put your box up on the table (you can cut the box’s flaps off if that makes it fit better) and position the lantern / flashlight high up behind the box and shining right through the tissue paper / sheet. This backlighting technique will help create the shadow puppets’ visual look while also hiding that your kids are ‘backstage’ putting on the show. Try tinkering around with the angle and distance of your lantern / flashlight until it’s just right. 

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to make sure your kids know not to block the light while they’re putting on the show!

Next, let your kids dream up the story they want to tell with their shadow puppets. Perhaps they want to recreate a silly story from real life, continue the events of their favorite movie, or recreate a beloved fairytale. Whatever pops into their brains, encourage them to keep building on it.

That’s it, you’re all set to start telling stories with your shadow puppets! Make sure to film your kids while they’re performing. These are the kind of priceless (and usually embarrassing) memories we know you’ll want to have on camera.