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You’ll also want to cut in some audio or speech to make the film more dynamic from an audio perspective.
#STOP MOTION SOFTWARE#
How you go about this comes down to which stop motion animation software you’re using, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure the individual stills are all of equal length.
#STOP MOTION HOW TO#
One of the biggest pitfalls that many people fail to consider when working out how to do stop motion animation is the storyboard. Software developers have become attuned to the needs of stop motion animators in recent years, so there are a number of options that will help make the editing and file management part of the job a lot easier – check out our guide on Stop Motion Animation software here.Ībove all, you’ll need a clear idea of what you want to achieve. A simple desk lamp can suffice in many occasions, but make sure you don’t have natural light coming into play which will change over the course of the shoot. If the tripod isn’t 100% stationary for the duration of the scene (or the slightest knock will move it), you’ll end up with very chaotic footage in the final edit. Although the overall image quality may not be as sharp, there are apps out there that can automate the editing process (we’ll come to this a bit later on.) Also make sure that you’ve got a big enough SD card or storage space to store all the images during the shoot.Īnd ‘stable’ is the operative word here. Using a phone or tablet is also an option. Given that stop motion animation is as much about animating as it is an exercise in photography, you’ll want the best camera you can get your hands on. A green screen can also be useful if you’d like to experiment with digitally inserting backgrounds in post production. You can also hand draw imagery or use other props to build a backdrop to the scene. PES uses a simple kitchen counter and lets his props and models take the main focus. Many people just starting out figuring how to do stop motion animation find a lot of use and versatility in Lego, although the downside is that it can be fairly expensive to buy a large set from scratch.Īgain, the setting can be just about anything. The props and models you’ll need can vary wildly, and depend wholly upon your vision for the animation and what you’re hoping to create. … the reward for these is a level of job satisfaction that is simply off the scale.Īssuming you’re already in animation school or ready to embark on your first stop motion animation project, let’s take a look at how to do stop motion animation by first looking at the essential things you’ll need: It is something that should only be attempted by those with patience, dedication, and an extreme amount of attention to detail… Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: stop motion animation is extremely time consuming work, which is instantly apparent to anyone who has ever seen even a basic film created in the medium. Adam Pesapane – more famously known as PES – is a great example, with his work having delighted animation fans for over a decade:Īlongside the numerous accolades and awards PES has picked up over the years, the above animation (titled ‘Fresh Guacamole’) was also the shortest film ever to be nominated for an Oscar.īut how to follow in his footsteps? Join us as we explore… How To Do Stop Motion Animation If anything, it’s becoming even more appreciated as an artform as people push the boundaries of what can be achieved with stop motion.
#STOP MOTION SKIN#
If you wanted to create something involving 3D models, stop motion animation was your only option.īut even though there are now many more ways to skin the proverbial cat, stop motion hasn’t waned in popularity.
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Before the advent of fully-blown CGI animation, traditional animation – in which every single frame is drawn by hand – was the industry standard.
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