Learning Resources
Lesson
Stop-motion animation is an animation process that records film or video, one frame at a time, with incremental changes to the objects or 'actors" for each frame. Stop motion is typically associated with physical models made from clay or other materials. Characters are built up from wire armatures with clay or other material placed on it. Commercial movies, such as Chicken Run, and the TV show Walter and Grommet are excellent examples of this technique.
Less sophisticated animation can be done much more simply by using ordinary objects like teacups, rocks, brushes and so on. A number of children's shows use stop motion animation with every day objects. Stop motion animation has the same requirements for successful animation as any other form
- good story
- good planning (storyboard)
- good timing (how many frames for a sequence, how far do objects move in each frame
- continuity (attention to everything in the scene from one frame to the next, to ensure things don't appear-disappear, change look or position unless you want them to)
- good editing
Stop motion animation has similarities with movie making
- It uses a set. Since the animation is done with a camera, everything in view needs to be part of the animation. The set can be as simple as a seamless background, or as complex as a full model of a city.
Figure Simple Set for Stop Motion Animation.
The background is usually white. The camera is mounted on a tripod. An even simpler method is to put the table against the wall, and use the table top / wall as the set.
The size of the set depends on the size of the objects you are animating. It can be very small if you are animating matchbox cars, a little larger for Barbie sized dolls, or very large for sets like those used in the movie Chicken Run.
- It requires good lighting. For example, lighting needs to be bright enough to record the frames accurately, and you need to make sure objects outside the scene don't cast shadows on the scene. Lighting need not be complex. It can be as simple as light coming in the window, with a reflector behind the scene to get rid of shadows.
Figure Use of a White Reflector (white paper/cardboard or a mirror) to Reduce Shadows
For Additional Information
Try some of these sites
- Animate Lumps of Clay
- Stop-Motion Animation
- At last, Foam Puppet Animation Explained
- Animation World: Stop Motion Articles
- Getting a Handle on Direct Lighting
- Clay Animation and Stop Motion How To Page
- The Wallace and Grommet Site
Activity
Assigned Activities
The purpose of this activity is to develop understanding of the basic procedures for stop-motion animation. This activity will require the computer, Dazzle hardware, a video camera and something to place it on (tripod is preferable), and Anasazi Stop Motion software to capture the frames. You will need to record 30 or so frames. That would make 1 second of animation.
Please complete all activities.
When you are done, create an entry in your course portfolio and import the animation video clip. Publish the entry to your course portfolio web.
Test Yourself
There is no self test for this lesson.