Stop Motion: A New Hobby

Stop motion is an art form that has become more popular as the years go by. Many beloved films have

used or are composed completely of stop motion animation; it is an art form with many tips, tricks, cons, and pros to it. It is a very accessible form of creating film, which has attracted many potential artists. Many popular and beloved movies are stop motion, such as Coraline and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. On a smaller scale, there are multiple channels on YouTube that are known for their stop motion animations, such as Guldies and MICHAELHICKOXFilms. An ever-growing and expanding media form, it has encouraged many amateur artists to try their hand at this type of film. Knowing where to start can be daunting, however, so in this blog we will explore some techniques, tips, and advice on how to create your own stop motion films.

First, A Brief History

Stop motion animation is a media form that has been around for decades. According to the Nashville Film Institute, the first documented stop motion media was created in 1898 and was called The Humpty Dumpty Circus. It was a very short film about acts of a circus, complete with horses and other animals performing acts and tricks. The film is a lost piece of media with only a few stills existing to prove its existence, but it nevertheless was an important step in introducing the world to the idea of stop motion animation.

The industry quickly grew since that first film, with the first fully animated stop-motion film being The Cameraman's Revenge in 1912, a film about a beetle having a fair on her grasshopper lover with a dragonfly, and the grasshopper getting revenge. The Gumby Show was an entire film series that aired between the years 1957-1969, starring a claymation character and his horse Pokey.

The industry continued to boom, and eventually stop motion became the animation style in many beloved movies, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and, more recently at the time of writing this, Pinocchio, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Laika Studios is an especially well-known studio for their eery stop motion films.

The animation style also thrived on YouTube, with many people trying their hand at the animation

style (myself included). There even came out a company in 2015 called Stikbot, a company that create collectible figures that children could both play with and also manipulate for their own stop motion films. Included with the collectibles was a phone tripod, as well as the QR code for their app that allowed people to create and edit their own videos.

What is stop motion?

According to Masterclass articles on the topic, stop motion is a form of media where you photograph a still object frame by frame, moving said object ever so slightly in between the frames to give the illusion of movement. On average it takes 12 frames for one second of video, making the process very time consuming and tedious. Though the development of technology has aided the process and created more potential and opportunities, the core aspect of this art form still takes a lot of time and care.

The Nashville Film Institute also includes the different kinds of stop motion that exist. These types include:

• Object-motion: taking a photo of and moving objects frame by frame. This is the basis of and true to every other type of stop motion animation.

• Claymation: moving clay objects frame by frame. Clay is easily manipulated and allows for different creative techniques, allowing a lot of freedom, variety, and imagination.

• Pixilation: taking a photo of (real) people moving frame by frame. This method is especially tedious, as it includes real people/actors to complete.

• Cutout animation: taking pictures of cutouts moving frame by frame. This is similar to claymation, in the sense that the creator is "cutting out" paper or other material to make the characters/objects of the animation.

• Puppet animation: using puppets as the characters/objects to take frame by frame photos of. This is not a suggested method for beginners as it is more complicated, but it is favored by some more experienced animators.

• Silhouette: a technique involving illuminating shadows that are placed on a thin white sheet with a backlight.

Now that you've gotten some history and information about the different types of stop motion animation, you may be inclined to try it for yourself. But it can be overwhelming to know where to start: luckily there are a few tips and tricks that help anyone get started on their own creations.

Deciding on an idea

Deciding on an idea may seem like a second step after gathering equipment, but with all the different types of stop motion animation out there, it can be beneficial to decide on a style and idea before getting started. There are many places that you can get ideas from:

• Watching stop motion movies or animations on YouTube or other platforms. Learning from the greats or even from others in the profession/hobby can be very helpful in getting ideas. There is no shame in getting inspiration from someone, even copying someone's style can be helpful to developing your own or getting new ideas (as long as you credit them and don't plagiarize!).

• Engage with media you already enjoy. It does not have to be stop motion related: you can get ideas from any type of entertainment you enjoy. Trying new things is also a great way to get the creative juices flowing.

• Try a brainstorming exercise. Writing down the first word or thought that comes to your head, and doing that over and over is a technique that helps develop new ideas in unlikely places. There are also plenty other brainstorming techniques on the Internet; pick one that works for you and get to thinking!

An idea can be vague and just specific enough to get you started; there is no right or wrong way to go about it. But once you do get one, it is then important to choose what kind of stop motion you would like to try. This is important for the next step, equipment, but it can also be helpful for the planning process. There may also be unlisted or new and different techniques you would like to try: the only limits are your imagination and potentially your budget, though those restrictions could also inspire something great.

Equipment

Now that you have an outline of what you want to create and what kind of stop motion technique you want to use, it's time to look into gathering the equipment. There is some baseline equipment that will be needed for all of these types, including:

• Camera, for capturing the frames. The camera does not have to be the highest quality or most expensive one out there: just your cellphone can be fine for a casual project.

• Tripod. Keeping the camera still and stable is an important part of making the animation look smooth and consistent. There are plenty of options that fit any kind of camera you may be using, and there is also the option of a DIY home tripod using materials available to you.

• Editing software. Whether you want to add special effects or not, an editing software will help at the very least keep all the pictures together and in order. In a chapter titled "Stop Motion Animation" by Angela Thomas and Nicole Tufano, they list a few software suggestions for editing, such as Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, and Stop Motion Pro, to name a few. These are all installable on PC, though there are plenty more options to choose from that can be found with a quick search on your editing device's app store. Some of these programs cost money, but there are also free services, like the aforementioned Stikbot Studio application for mobile devices.

• Lighting. This can include something as simple and cheap as a flashlight, an overhead light, or something more costly like a ring light or spot light. This is more of a suggestion, but important to improving the quality of your animations.

• Materials/Objects. Finally you will need the actual subjects of your animation, whether that is a sculpted clay character, cut out puppet, or something else. Props are also included in this step: basically any of the subjects or items that will be in the video.

There are a variety of options for equipment that range in price. Depending on your financial standings and investment in this hobby, you can opt for more expensive equipment right away or go for things that are more budget-friendly. Stop motion does not have to break the bank, and can be a relatively cheap or expensive hobby depending on your preferences.

Getting Started

There are a few steps to get into filming; Masterclass again gives a few tips on what to do:

• Find a setting. Figuring out where the camera, lighting, and objects are going to go is an important first step. A flat surface of some kind is recommended to make moving objects easier, though you can fix and create your set in whatever way suits the scene.

• Set up the camera. Once everything is in place, putting the camera on its tripod is important to making sure the film will be steady and stable.

• Fix the lighting. Now that you know where the camera is, you can fix the light accordingly to best illuminate the scene.

Filming and Editing

Now that everything is set up and ready, it's time to film! This process is very time consuming and can be frustrating at times, so do not be afraid to take breaks or step back from the project. There are some tips to filming, as well as the subsequent step, editing.

• Move the object in very small increments. Keeping in mind the 12 frames per second rule (or suggestion, you can always change this based on your preference or abilities), small movements will help the animation look smooth. Make sure you are consistent with where the object is and how much you move them: a helpful tip is using an overlay of the previous image on your camera, so you can see where your last movement was (some aforementioned phone applications have this feature, and will give tutorials on how to utilize it).

Time to edit! This is the step where you take all the pictures of the project and view them through an editing software on your phone or your computer. You can adjust the framerate to the desired number and watch your film play out. This can be the last step, or you can add other editing effects, including:

• Sound effects,

• Voice lines,

• Visual effects,

• And much more! There is no limit to what you add or subtract to the scene. The use of a green screen can be a helpful addition, or even frames in between that are placeholders for a different scene or affect. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube and Google on how to edit these videos, so explore what you like most and implement whatever ideas you like. The sky is the limit!

Congrats, you did it!

Now that you've completed all the steps, you've got yourself your first stop motion animation! You can choose whether to download it for your private viewing, share it with friends, or even share it to social media platforms like YouTube or TikTok. Whatever you decide to do, know that you have created art, and the fun along the way is what matters.