Stop Motion Animation

What Is Stop Motion?

Stop motion is an animation style that captures just one frame at a time, moving objects between each frame to create scenes and stories. While traditional animation uses drawings and computer illustrations, stop motion is unique in its use of different physical objects to create movie magic. Filmmakers take single photos of each scene, moving their subjects very, very slightly to create the visual of action and movement on screen. 

Whether using hand-crafted clay sculptures, paper creations, or toy figurines, the creative possibilities with stop motion filmmaking are nearly endless. Modern animators can make entire films in stop motion—such as Henry Selick's Coraline or Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox—or can choose to blend elements of live-action with 3D stop motion effects. While this type of animation does require quite a bit of patience, it also allows for a lot of creativity and ingenuity. Filmmakers can choose their own props, design their own sets, and work alone or with a team to bring their stories to life. 

History

This style of animation has been around for a long time, with the first stop motion movie being dated all the way back to 1805, opens a new window! While modern stop motion still requires a good amount of time and patience, it used to be even harder before the invention of digital cameras. Animators had to keep track of their movements through physical markers and could not see the results of their work until the very end. Now, things are a little easier! 

Stop motion has changed and evolved quite a bit over the years. Thanks to the work of visual effects artists and animators like Willis O'Brien, there are now infinite possibilities for bringing animation to life. O'Brien paved the way for modern animation and special effects techniques with his invention of 3D stop motion for the classic adventure films The Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933).  

How It Works

Stop motion uses still photography and the manual movement of on-screen subjects between each picture to create the animation. 

Frame rate, or frames per second, means the number of images that we see in a single sequence. A lower number of frames per second means slower motion on screen, while a higher number means faster. So, when filmmakers are bringing their stop motion creations to life, they must choose the right number of frames per second for the type and speed of action they are hoping to create onscreen. To do so, they change the number of single photos they take per second. Here's a short video with a more in-depth explanation:

YouTube video titled Understanding Frames Per Second (FPS) in Stop Motion Animation by BrickFlicks Academy.

Now Try It Yourself!

Perhaps the most exciting part about stop motion is how easy it is to replicate on your own. 

Here are some tips and tricks for bringing your very own stop motion creation to life:

Clay Figurine Stop Motion, opens a new window

Toy Stop Motion, opens a new window

Paper Cut Out Stop Motion, opens a new window

Making Movies, opens a new window

The LEGO Animation Book, opens a new window

In need of some inspiration for your film? Check out these stop motion flicks:

Fantastic Mr. Fox, opens a new window

Wallace & Gromit, opens a new window

ParaNorman, opens a new window

James and the Giant Peach, opens a new window

Chicken Run, opens a new window