STOP MOTION

ANIMATION

What is stop motion animation?

• A frame by frame animation technique that makes a physically-manipulated object appear to move.

• Can be done with any type of camera, both photographic or video.

THINGS!• Anything can be stop-motion animated, giving it

a personality.• Professional stop motion movie characters often

require an ARMATURE (a plastic or metallic skeleton that allows for the character to be posed). Rubber or clay can cover the armature.

TIPS FOR GOOD STOP MOTION

• MORE MOVEMENTS & SMALLER MOVEMENTS = SMOOTHER MOTION– Video has either 30 or 24 frames per second– If your frame rate is set to 24 or 30… 24 or 30

small movements of your object will only create 1 second of smooth motion!

TIPS FOR GOOD STOP MOTION

• USE MANUAL SETTINGS & TRIPOD– MANUAL FOCUS: Auto focus can go in and

out as hands are moved in front of the camera, so some pictures could be blurry

– MANUAL EXPOSURE: Lighting can change based on background elements, making some pictures darker/lighter than others

– Using a tripod will keep the items steady when played back, selling the illusion of movement.

TIPS FOR GOOD STOP MOTION

• PACING CHANGES & MULTIPLE ANGLES– Extend the time of your animation by having

characters pause, think, react. (duplicate specific pictures over and over).

– Use rules of composition and matching action to cut closer to or farther away from your characters; much easier than doingall of the animation from one angle.

TIPS FOR GOOD STOP MOTION

• PATIENCE!– Creating even just a few seconds of usable

stop motion animation can take hours. – For example

• The Nightmare Before Christmas used almost 110,000 pictures

• The Fantastic Mr. Fox uses 56,000 pictures