Throughout the history of film, one form of animated filmmaking has made an impact on audiences and impressed them with their vivid detail. In movies like King Kong and the Nightmare Before Christmas, Stop Motion animation was used to create incredible life-like creations that entertained audiences. The make a figure come alive using stop motion, get ready to use your imagination and put a lot of time into your film.
Instructions
1. Figure out what kind of stop motion movie you want to make. You can create stop motion movies with any kind of object, or have actual characters like action figures or customized clay figurines.
2. Write a script. Creating stop motion movies successfully requires every detail planned out, so make sure that you have a solid script that you want to create material out of.
3. Form your characters or “stars” of the stop motion movie. Use a wire frame to build your own clay characters or use already created action figures for the movie.
4. Set up backdrops and settings for the stop motion movie. Be aware of shadows, lighting and anything that might get in the way of the actual production.
5. Organize your equipment. Even though you are actually creating a movie, the best thing to use for a stop motion title is actually a high quality digital SLR camera.
6. Start filming your scenes. Every picture actually only represents one frame of the movie so it will take approximately 24 pictures for only one second of footage.
Filming the Movie
7. Be patient while you are filming. Stop motion movies take a long time to create, so take your time to create the best product possible. One tiny flub can be easily noticed when viewing the movie later.
8. Use multiple cameras if possible. You can become so involved in your production that only one camera will create a boring and static shot. Different angles and movements of the camera can add a lot to the scene.
9. Plan a lot of special effects and other tricks during editing. In editing you can add several special effects and other elements to make the film look more professional.
10. Compile all of your footage and put it on your computer. There will be thousands of pictures, so make sure that you hard drive can store all of the pictures and consider upgrading or purchasing more hard drive space.
11. Edit together the movie. Separate the pictures into separate shot folders so you can stay organized while editing. String the shots together, render the video, and then speed up the rendered video for real time video.
12. Add in any titles, special effects, or other features as needed. Make the production look as professional as possible.
