PixelClerks

Tips on making stop motion videos



Write the reason you're deleting this FAQ

Tips on making stop motion videos

My son enjoys watching stop motion videos of toys over the Internet. He wants to do one on his own. I tried making it with him but seem to not get things right when it comes to moving the toys smoothly. Any suggestions on how and what I could use to make a stop motion video?

Comments

Please login or sign up to leave a comment

Join
MomoStarr16
A very detailed animation is what you need. A normal or cheap camera can't do that. Try a good and high cost super camera. There are lots in the net.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

bienn05
Is there any possible ways for budget friendly way? I am here to see tips from people who also is interested in this. I just wanted to gather some tips from the experts before I use my money.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

mdayrit
Same here. Will settle with my camera phone first. Just need some tips on application I can download as well as ways to make it work with the camera I currently have.

Stop motion video that we'll be doing is just for fun and for kids viewing. I might consider buying expensive camera and tools in the future if I'll be doing it for a living or as a serious hobby.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

jennyfermanuel
Try to search about it on youtube. If it's just for fun and kid's viewing, there is an application named Stop Motion Studio. Watch the video, it might help you. You don't need an expensive camera with this one, you just need a bit of your creativity and imagination.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

kammy143
I agree, there are some great tutorials about this topic on youtube. You can get a lot of tips from there and also find what best material can be used in his stop motion video project.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

lei08pineda
Thanks for the tip. I am looking for something like this. I don't have any expensive camera so this one really is a good help. I will check it on youtube.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

jennyfermanuel
You are welcome. It's great to know that I was able to help someone with just a simple tip. I hope you do great with this one.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Kakashi2020
Here's a link to everything you need to know when your a beginner in stop motion animation as well as examples of stop motion works.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/50-incredible-stop-motion-videos/



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

fishbate
Great link there, i love the western spaghetti its very funny. My kids gonna love it. Although the videos are very professional and complicated, the videos are great to encourage kids to improve their skills and ideas.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Martinsx1
I just took a look at the link that you just shared on how to make a great stop motion videos. It's pretty amazing the hints that were discussed in the article. I really find it very helpful, so should I have any need for making such stop motion pictures or have anyone looking for information on how to go about this, I have somewhere to refer to the person.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

mdayrit
I just opened the link that you gave and it is so entertaining to watch. Will definitely ask my son to watch the videos there. He is so much into using lego and other action figures as subject in his video. I want to encourage him in this hobby since it is a good way to enhance his creativity and might lead him to earning from what he loves doing.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

fishbate
I suggest using clay's as the primary modeling material. Its very flexible and safe for kids. Clay's are also good for adjusting specially in movements, you can easily mold it to your specification without changing or adding a material. Perfect for kids.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

theresajane
I agree with you. I have seen so many stop motion videos that use clay for their subjects. They are very convenient and easy to handle.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

treecko142
I think you can do a good stop-motion animation (I believe you're just doing this for your son and nothing too professional) with just a good quality camera (even those in smartphones) and the imagination and creativity for a story. Take a lot of photos, like every inch of movement of the toys can be a big difference in making the animation smoother.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Barida
This is true as he is doing it for the son. I believe that there should be a lot of fun to catch instead of having to depend on what he can do to make it top quality. Maybe after making the motion pictures, there will be avenues to make amendment to lots of things.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

treecko142
Yeah, it's all about the experience and bonding time together with the child, and if it's just for personal enjoyment there's no need to spend a lot of money on something that can be done with just free software.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Barida
Exactly the point. I mean this is for mere fun and nothing serious. We might end up doing some things the wrong way when we are looking at making everything to be perfect.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

DenisP
Unless you mean how to actually, physically move the toys smoothly, smooth animations are simply going to depend on how many frames of animation you compose in a video. The more frames you have, the smoother it's going to look. If you want super smooth results (I'm talking professional level stuff) you're going to want at least 30 frames of animation per second of footage. The problem is that working with such detail requires a fairly decent knowledge of animation.

For a start, you can try to cut it down to something like 15 frames per second. I'd also recommend getting a tripod, a budget DSLR camera, and a wired shutter release. The release is going to be necessary in order to avoid subtle camera movements when taking the actual pictures, because this way you're not touching the camera itself.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

mdayrit
Will definitely check out the links and applications you have suggested. I also realized that I would need a tripod and a shutter to keep the camera stead because in just holding it, it would be difficult to really achieve a smooth movement. This is because aside from taking care of moving the object, you would also be taking care of keeping your hand holding the camera steady. I will surely keep all your tips in mind.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

DenisP
A tripod and shutter release are going to be absolutely essential for keeping the camera steady shot after shot, but the problem is that I don’t believe shutter releases exist for neither phones nor standard digital point-and-shoot cameras.

I say this because those are the most common photo apparatuses that people have, and I don’t know if you have a DSLR. A budget DSLR would be your best bet at making high quality stop motion films.

Also another crucial thing I forgot to mention is lighting. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated, even a standard desk lamp can help, but try your best to get as much light in the shot as possible. The more light, the faster you can make your shutter speed.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

edencaga
I have tried the stop motion video before because that was our project when I was in college. Our subject was Animation so it was part of or final exam. My professor told us to create a character made of clay and animate it thru taking pictures and edit it using video editor. I have got a grade of 98 but I expected my grade to be low because it was rushed. So there, you can use clay for that because you will be able to adjust the shape and the form of character.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Barida
Making use of clay can work well, but the fear is when you make use of the ones that are not dried enough to remain stable all through the animation video. That you got something like 98 in the test is a sign that you did the right things and rushing it doesn't have to count here.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

edencaga
Yeah maybe. It really depends on you how you will execute to make it creative and smooth your work. There are a lot of ways actually not only clay. You can create stop motion video out of yourself and bring your friends with you. Create first story board before you execute. You can use any thing tho, you just have to be creative for it to work smoothly.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Barida
That is what I was saying as taking out time to focus on doing the things that matter when creating such animations is all that matters. Being creative is basic and something that should be done when we are looking at doing the things that will make the animation better.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

treecko142
Clay is a good medium but it's also a case of having the skill to mold the clay into a recognizable figure, otherwise your video will look bad just because your clay model also looks bad.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

edencaga
Yeah, you are right. You should have skills in molding clay because if you created the figure or parts inconsistently, it will really be mess.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

DenisP
Clay is a good medium for starting out with because it (literally) allows you to be more flexible with your animations. It doesn’t limit your creativity in the way that stiff action figures might. But none the less, it’s still possible to make really high quality animations using action figures as well. Maybe you’ve heard of it, but there’s a show called Robot Chicken which uses action figures for stop motion animation, and they do a fantastic job of it. It’s not only hilarious, but worth taking a look at for the creative achievements on the part of the team behind the show.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

edencaga
I haven't heard the Robot Chicken, but I'm trying to search for it now. I like how the Corpse Bride created but they really took a lot of effort for it to produced.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

DenisP
Well yeah, I’d definitely say it takes a boatload of effort to produce, and not to mention a whole team of extremely talented artists. I mean, it’s Tim Burton of course. The guy basically introduced a generation of kids to stop motion animation.

A good example of Claymation though are the Wallace and Gromet films. They’re some of my favorite stop motion animated films and I’m pretty sure they strictly use clay. Wonderful films though, that no doubt took a lot of time and creativity to make as well.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

edencaga
Yeah,It really requires patience of each of individual. It might took so much time but the output of what they have done was so amazing and excellent as you can't imagine. From sketches to molding of clay made it smoothly as if it was not made by clay. Yeah true, those movies were so great and excellent to watch.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

ballyhara
Honestly, check tutorials online. Of course getting better quality equipments will give you best results, but you're just getting fun with your kids, so is not like you're going to make a living of it. Also, you would have to be professional on the area, or get a proper training, so you can use all the features that equipment brings, and you can get the maximum use of it. My younger sister did some short stop motion, and she got all the information from books and tutorials, the result was good and we had fun watching it.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Martinsx1
Exactly my suggestion on checking out tutorials online especially from credible YouTube channels that offers high quality and informative videos that can go a long way in teaching you what you intend learning about. I have personally learned a lot from using online tutorials to master what I had no knowledge of before.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

theresajane
Yes you are right. There's nothing more effective than learning from people who can ace stop motion photography. There are a lot of information and suggestions online that you would drown out of the big waves that they give you. All you have to do is browse and be patient in the process.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Martinsx1
There is a good reason why YouTube channels are very popular in the world today. It's as a result of of having credible, reliable and informative videos that are very useful in teaching on almost all topics. I don't think that there is a topic or learning experience that you won't find it's video on YouTube online tutorials.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Zelmontero
More pictures means more frame. The movement of the toys will be more smooth if there are more frames. We did a stop motion video in the past just using a high quality phones. The trick that work for us is we add more frames.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Barida
Thanks for this useful suggestion. I don't really know that the more photos that we use then we should add more frames to it. However, with this, I am sure that I am going to have a successful stop motion videos in the future when I have the need to do so.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

stbrians
Here is what I found on google. Let me hope it will be helpful.
5 Tips for Making a Stop Motion Video
  1. Brainstorm your visuals. Through stopped motion you have thousands of images to shoot, but you need to place the same kind of focus you had with one image, and apply it to many. ...
  2. Create a storyboard for your stopped motion piece. ...
  3. Shoot to NOT edit. ...
  4. Add audio to give emotion and connect the story. ...
  5. Consider output.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

ajahcuizon
I suggest you should find a goodspot wherein the set will not ve easily moved by any external movement. Because sometimes it becomes a reason for the inconsistency of a stop motion video. My brother used to do stop motion video before and he give attention into it, he looks very anxious about every detail. Also, I suggest that you should use clay as your base for your set (characters, props, background, etc.). Clay is a good material that could be easily mold with too much movement. You can just stick it to a glass table and movement will be minimal. It can help you to have a good stop motion video.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

theresajane
Yes, you are right. I was always frustrated before when I was younger that I didn't have something that would make my footage steady when I click 'pause' and 'continue' buttons on my mother's phone. It's good that there are a lot of ways that you can capture something without destroying the consistency of the footage



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

romyter013
Yeah even my kids love to watched stop motion cartoon. Their favourites are Coraline and the Box trolls. Everyone's correct you can try tutorials from youtube now so they can guide you with steps and materials that you will be needing by doing your stop motion video.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

jetselle
Take a solitary photograph of the items or figures in the beginning position. Move the figure a little bit at a time, by a little sum each time, and take another photo after every development. You can move one piece at any given moment, for example, an arm waving forward and backward, or make a few developments on the double a more liquid walk including legs and arms, or a few items moving in a bustling scene. Attempt to move a protest by about a similar separation each time.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

stbrians
This seemsto be aca good aspiration your son has. I have learnt something from here.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

anyone01
Are you making the stop-motion video to your very own? in that case, there are many methods to move ahead. You may use anything to film it flip cam being probable the least suitable, given the shakyness. Adobe After effects is a excellent software program to assist on this method. And be cautious about the tune. make certain to be aware of copyright.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?

theresajane
I had tried making a stop motion video before. But, after watching the final output, I decided to stop and never pursue it. Unless, I could get a good camera, a high quality one, then I'll go back to trying it.



Are you sure you want to delete this post?