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Homemade Stop Motion Animations

Technically, all film is stop-motion animation because what is being presented is simply a series of still frames whizzing by, usually at 24 frames per second. But in common parlance, stop-motion animation refers to movies made by stringing together a series of frames that depict puppets or clay figures moving by having the directors move the figures slightly between pictures. Stop-motion animation can also be done with live-action actors, lending the film an interesting visual appearance. Although not difficult to make, stop-motion films can be tedious to frame and shoot, so be ready for the hours of work ahead.

Things You'll Need

  • Digital camera
  • Tripod
  • Film subjects or actors
  • Computer with video editing software
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up the first scene, either with the figurines you'll be moving or with your actors. Make sure you have adequate lighting for your picture.

    • 2

      Set up your camera on its tripod so that you can see everything.

    • 3

      Lock the tripod in place.

    • 4

      Take a picture of the scene.

    • 5

      Move the scene subject very slightly as it would evolve if it were moving at a normal pace. To get a fully realistic appearance, you will need to take 24 pictures for what would amount to one second of movement. However, 5 or 10 pictures for every second of action will still make sense and make the film truly look like stop motion, almost like a flip-book.

    • 6

      Upload all the files that will make up your film to the computer.

    • 7

      Drag the clips in order into the video-editing application of your choice, such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. You could also use animated GIF-creating applications for short stop-motion animations.

    • 8

      Set the display time for each clip in the video-editing application. Make the clips display for the right amount of time so that it plays at however many frames per second you had in mind when shooting.

    • 9

      Export the film either as an .mp4, .mov, .gif or other movie/animation type.

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Film Production

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