Close

Stop Motion Video

Leave a comment
  1. What is Stop Motion Video?

It's an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on it's own. An object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. It's also known as "stop frame" or "stop action."

Read through this  Stop Motion Video Presentation for background information about Stop Motion.

Let's Watch Some Examples

Watch through some of these examples of Stop Motion Videos, from the simple to the elaborate. Be sure to use your headphones. As you watch these, I want you to consider what it takes to create them.

  1. Hallway Cruise
  2. Clay Flower
  3. Whiteboard
  4. Fireworks
  5. T-Shirt War
  6. Human Skateboard
  7. Lego Build
  8. Human Tetris
  9. Deadline Post-It's

Homework

Come up with 5 ideas that you would like to see made into a Stop Motion Video. Write down your ideas and describe how they would work on a piece of paper, put your name on it - you'll turn it in for a grade. This is due when you walk in the room tomorrow.

Typically a stop motion video is used to animate an "inanimate object," such as Post-It's, Legos, candy, socks, etc. However, it is possible to use humans, posing them in a way that makes them move in ways that they couldn't actually do - like the human skateboard or the Tetris.

What is Needed?

In order to create a Stop Motion, you need:

  1. An idea
  2. A story, script, storyboard
  3. A camera with tripod
  4. A computer with video editing software
  5. Background Music and/or Sound Effects

Stop Motion videos require TEN photos per second of animation. That's why it is important to have your idea planned completely first so that you know how many photos are required to get from point A to point B.

A tripod or other steady surface is important so that the camera remains still. In some cases, you might deliberately move the camera to get a different angle or scene. But, you don't follow the subject, otherwise your inanimate object doesn't look animated.

Planning

Part 1: With your group, you will pitch each of your 5 ideas and the group will discuss options and vote on ONE to complete. Get my approval.

Part 2:  You will need to prepare a storyboard for each and every video you create. It is a graphic organizer of illustrations displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing your Stop Motion video. Think of it as a visual script. You need to know how much time it will take for your object to get from point A to point B, to point C and so on. This determines how many photos you take between A and B, B and C and so on. You should be able to draw up your idea in a way that anyone else could come along and shoot it exactly the way you imagined.

Part 3:  You will break into groups and shoot the storyboard as a video. You must follow thestoryboard exactly.

Your group will have specific jobs, but you need to understand that each person is responsible to make sure that each job is being done correctly. If a person is absent, then someone else in the group will take their spot. If you have 3 people, the editor and director job is combined. If you have 5 people, there will be 2 prop managers.

  1. 1 photographer (will shoot everything)
  2. 1 prop manager (in charge of moving objects)
  3. 1 director (makes sure that prop manager, photographer & editor are following the storyboard, also will assist with props)
  4. 1 editor (will edit the footage in Adobe Premiere)

Shooting

Part 4: You will shoot your video.  You should be able to complete shooting in 2 class periods according to your storyboard.  REMEMBER - your video must match the  storyboard to get an A.

The Photographer is responsible for picking up and turning in the camera with the battery, SD card, clean lens, and the card reader.

The editor should create a folder on his/her desktop called Stop_Motion_day1 and if you are shooting on day 2, create another folder for it. This will help keep your photos in numerical order.

Editing

Part 5: Follow the directions below to edit your images into a video. You'll use Adobe Premiere. REMINDER: even though you have 1 person editing, ALL OF YOU are responsible of making sure the video meets the requirements.  So all of you need to be involved, not off socializing.

  1. Workspace, Importing Media & Timeline | Video
  2. Adding Title & Credits | Video
  3. Adding & Editing Audio | Video
  4. Publish & Share | Video

This should be saved as #_all last names in alpha order_Title of stop motion video

Turning it in

You will need to copy the finished video.mp4 to the Campus Share Drive > Samuelson_Drop > Stop Motion folder so that I can put it on Youtube. Then, watch this video to see how to put your video on your Canvas ePortfolio. EACH MEMBER OF YOUR GROUP needs to post this on their ePortfolio!

  1. Open your Canvas ePortfolio and click on Manage/Organize pages to add a new page. Call this new page: Video.
  2. Write about the assignment on the Video page.
    • Title
    • Complete these questions?
      • What is a Stop Motion Video?
      • Why is it important to plan your video on a storyboard before you begin shooting?
      • What did you find the most challenging about this assignment?
    • Embed Video
  3. Save it, check it, and show me when you've finished.