Canterbury Tales Prologue – Character Animoto

You will be assigned a character from Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” prologue to create a 30-second Animoto video on. Follow the steps below carefully to complete this assignment.

Step One: Find images online

  • Search for images relating to your character. Use the descriptive terms Chaucer uses in his writing when you search.
  • Annotate the following information for your credits:

“Name or Description of the Image.” By Photographer’s Name or Screen Name. Website.

  • A great place to search for Copyright Friendly images is Creative Commons
  • Save the images you find to your computer. You will need to upload them to your Animoto soon.

Step Two: Creating Title Slides and Image Credit Slides in PowerPoint

  • Open Powerpoint.
  • Save with a file name.
  • Select a background color and/or image(s) for your Title Slide.
  • Add your title in large text.
  • You do not need to add your name. You can do so with Animoto’s text feature later.
  • Save as and scroll down to the file type JPG or JPEG. Your slides will be saved as images you can upload to Animoto.
  • Credit slides
  • Select a background and text color that is easy to read.
  • Use large font.
  • Label “Image Credits” and list the credits for your images the way you annotated them when you saved them (see above).
  • Save this slide as a JPG or JPEG to upload to Animoto as well.

Step Three: Creating Your Animoto Account

  • Go to
  • Click “sign up” in the upper-right corner.
  • Choose “basic” account level (it’s the free one)
  • Click “try it now.”
  • Enter account information and click “sign up.”
  • You will be taken to the space to create your video. Click “create one.”
  • Choose one of the first seven styles (they are the free ones). This will be the background for your video.
  • When you choose a style, a pop-up box will come up with a big blue “purchase” button. Below that, there is an option to make a free 30-second video. Click there.
  • Now you can upload the images you’ve saved and the images from your powerpoint (title slide and credits slides)
  • When your images are uploaded you can click and drag to reorder them. A 30-second video will hold about 8-12 images, depending on the song you choose.
  • Use the buttons below the images to add a text image or modify what you’ve uploaded. Click done when you are satisfied with your images.
  • Note: “Add text” and include some of Chaucer’s descriptions of your character between images (like the sample I made and showed in class).
  • Choose music to accompany your video. Be sure it is appropriate and fits the description of your character.
  • Under “finalize,” enter a title and be sure to include your name in the “description” box.
  • Finalize and view your video. You can click “edit” in the lower right corner to make further changes if you need to.

When you are satisfied with your Animoto, email it to me (). We will look at the videos together in class to gain a better understanding of the characters in Chaucer’s prologue.