Stop Motion Animation

Get creative, use your imagination, and direct your own motion picture! Using single images, you will create your own movie using stop motion animation.

What you need

There are many great apps that you can use to create your animation. Here are a few suggestions that we have tried and are available to download for free:

Lego Movie Maker

Stop Motion Studio

StikBot

You will also need:

Backdrop – cardboard, whiteboard, or poster paper

Camera on a phone or tablet

Tripod to hold the camera

Toys or other objects

Clay to make claymation

What you do

Write your story. Start by building your story. What do you want it to be about? Use your imagination to think of a unique story. Having a storyboard to get your ideas out helps when you are capturing your images later. Each box in your storyboard has a drawing of the image you want to capture along with the actions you want to take.

Build your set. Create a backdrop that is stable and will not move. This can be done using cardboard or other heavy material. Draw or add graphics to create the background you want for your story.

Create your characters. Using your story as a guide, find your characters. You can use toys, action figures, or even make your own out of paper or clay.

Start filming. Be sure to have the app you are using already downloaded. Each app will be a bit similar, but it is a good idea to review any available tutorials or make a few test videos and practice using the apps features.

Tips and Tricks:

Be sure to have good lighting. Position the lights so there are no shadows as you take the images.

Use a tripod for the camera and a stable background. Both should be kept still for the entire scene. This really helps to make sure that all the images are consistent from picture to picture (or frame to frame) and the only things that move are things you want to move. Some apps will use something called onion skinning, which shows a shadow of the previous image. This feature helps to know how each object has moved.

Use scrapbook paper or posters as a cool background. You can also use a green screen with some apps to be able to change the background later. Here are a few examples of short stop motion videos.

Sample Stop Motion Videos

Explanation:

Stop motion animation uses multiple images connected together to make an animation. In each image something changes just a bit, making what you are watching appear as if it is moving. In most films, there are 24 still images (frames) per second. Your brain puts all those images together as a series of moving images.