Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The 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. Clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Motion animation using clay is called clay animation or clay-mation.

Stereoscopic stop motion

Stop motion has very rarely been shot in stereoscopic 3D throughout film history. The first 3D stop motion short was In Tune With Tomorrow(also known as Motor Rhythm) in 1939 by John Norling. The second stereoscopic stop motion release was The Adventures of Sam Space in 1955 by Paul Sprunck. The third and latest stop motion short in stereo 3D was The Incredible Invasion of the 20,000 Giant Robots from Outer Space in 2000 by Elmer Kaan and Alexander Lentjes. This is also the first ever 3D stereoscopic stop motion and CGI short in the history of film. The first all stop motion 3D feature is Coraline (2009), based on Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel and directed by Henry Selick.

Go motion

Another more-complicated variation on stop motion is go motion, co-developed by Phil Tippett and first used on the films The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Dragonslayer (1981), and the RoboCop films. Go motion involved programming a computer to move parts of a model slightly during each exposure of each frame of film, combined with traditional hand manipulation of the model in between frames, to produce a more realistic motion blurring effect. Tippett also used the process extensively in his 1983 short film Prehistoric Beast, a 12 minute long sequence depicting a herbivorous dinosaur, being chased by a carnivorous dinosaur. With new footage Prehistoric Beast became Dinosaur! in 1985, a full length dinosaurs documentary hosted by Christopher Reeve. Those Phil Tippett's go motion tests acted as motion models for his first photo-realistic use of computers to depict dinosaurs in Jurassic Park in 1993. A lo-tech, manual version of this blurring technique was originally pioneered by Wladyslaw Starewicz in the silent era, and was used in his feature film The Tale of the Fox (1931).

Computer generated imagery

The almost universal use of CGI (computer generated imagery) has effectively rendered stop motion obsolete as a serious special effects tool in feature film. However, its low entry price, and still unique "look" and "feel" on film means stop motion is still used on some projects such as in children's programming, as well as in commercials and comic shows such as Robot Chicken. The argument that the textures achieved with CGI cannot match the way real textures are captured by stop motion also makes it valuable for a handful of movie makers, notably Tim Burton, whose puppet-animated film Corpse Bride was released in 2005.

Still motion is a method of displaying many images one after another as frames, using the technique of "Frame-by-Frame", similar to the concept of Stop Motion. The difference between this and Stop motion, however, is that still motion is not a method of animation and therefore, each frame does not have to be related in any way. It is a style of editing which is usually used to create an intense effect.

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Create a Stop Motion Animation

If you were wondering how they create movies such asWallace and Gromit or those groovy Lego shorts onYouTube, your search is over! Although creating stop motion animation is not difficult, it is time-consuming, repetitive and requires patience. As long as you're forewarned and keen, this makes a fantastic hobby and sometimes even grows into a career.

1. Get objects and figures to use in your movie. Some good choices include clay, wire, Lego or similar building block figures, Playmobil™ figures, small dolls with a lot of flexibility, or string and wooden bead characters.Some people even use Peeps! Be imaginative in the types of objects and figures that might work for your movie. For amateaurs, it's best to use a toy rather then making a figure, as it is easier to animate.

2. Link titlewill be doing -- walking, raising an arm, nodding yes, moving something, or whatever. Note that if you are using Legos that they cannot nod and are not as movable as regular action figures.
3. Set up the figures (characters) in a particular position and within their set. This photo shows a Lego set.

4. Place your camera in front of the "set" that you are going to take photos of. Check that it can view the entire frame. It is very important to support the camera or place it so that it is sitting steadily and cannot shake as you take the photos. Otherwise, the end result will appear chaotic and lack continuity. Keep in mind that the more photos, the smoother the video results. If you do not have a tripod, good alternatives include balancing on solid books, poster tack on the surface of the set or a piece of solid furniture at the same height. In single frame, 24 pictures equals one second of film. It's best to take two pictures of the same shot, so you only require 12.

Set up a good source of lighting. It might be a lamp or a flashlight. If your light is flickering, you need to shut off other sources of light. Close the blind, or curtains etc.
6. Take a single photo of the figure in the selected position. This photo shows the Lego set being readied for photographing.
7. Begin the movement sequence. Move the figure bit by bit - very small movements each time. It may be the entire body if the figure is walking, or it may just be an arm, head or leg. If you are moving only one body part and you find that the figure is tilting or threatening to fall over, make use of poster tack under the feet or other area touching part of the set.
8. Observe the following sequence of a Lego figure shoot to see how very small the changes must be (and remember that this is only a few of the frames to be taken!):

9. Repeat the movement sequence until your action step is completed, or your camera's memory is full.

10. Save the pictures onto your computer in an easy to remember place.

11. Use your movie-making software as instructed (or see two popular software methods below). The basics involve:

Import the pictures into the desired program.
Make sure the pictures are at a very small duration so they flow very fast. If you are disappointed by the speed at which your program can animate, try exporting the project as a video file (before adding audio), then importing it again, and using a speed effect on it, such as double speed (these effects only work on video clips). Then, if the resulting speed is sufficient, you may add your audio.
Add titles and credits if you would like.
Make sure you like the end result of your stop motion animation. Keep going if you need to complete more actions to create a story.
Save the video. If you plan on having multiple stop motion segments, save each segment as a separate movie. Once the entire group of segments is completed, you can import all the segments into the final movie, and it will look much better and be a lot easier to finalize.

12. Add effects or transitions, or whatever else you feel makes it look good.

13. Share your movie by burning it into a CD or place it into an iPod. Continue making other ones!

Virtual Dub Method

Virtual Dub will be used for saving the multiple image files as a movie, ready for editing with another program.

Have all your pictures in 1 place, all named in the correct order

In Virtual Dub go file > open, from the File type drop down select 'Image Sequence'. Select the first image, Virtual Dub will then automatically import all other pictures that follow in numerical order (E.g, DCM1000, DCM1001, DCM1002)

Go video > frame rate and choose a frame rate for your movie. The higher the frame rate, the more images are shown per second (25FPS will show 25 pictures per second). Change the frame rate and keep testing until you are happy with it.

Change video and audio compression if needed.

Finally go file > save as avi. Now your images are a movie sequence, ready for editing in another program such as Windows Movie maker, Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere.

Windows Movie Maker Method

Please note; Windows Movie Maker does not 'officially' support converting images into a movie sequence, if possible use a different program.

Open up Windows Movie Maker.

Import the pictures.

Click "Tools", then "Options". Do this before placing the pictures into the timeline.

Click the "Advanced" tab.

Change the picture duration to 0.125 seconds a frame (the lowest setting). This is found under "Picture Options".

Ensure that the pictures are in the correct order.

Load the pictures into the storyboard.

Add titles and credits if desired.

Go to "Finish Movie" and click whichever option is suitable.

Capture Video Method

Go to "File", then "Capture Video..."

Go to the "Capture Screen" - you need a camera plugged into the computer, click "Start Recording". When a second goes by, click "Stop".

Move your object.

Click "Start". Do it for a second more. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Move the video clip(s) onto the timeline - you will need to go to timeline view if you are on the storyboard.

Right click the first video clip, and click "Video Effects."

Choose the "speed up, double" selection. You will want to do this 1 or 2 more times (you can choose it multiple times with one action; you don't have to keep right clicking). Do this for each clip. Now you will have each frame without using space in your documents.

Tips

Make sure your battery is fully charged.

Stay out of the way of or position the light source so you don't create distracting shadows over your animation that change with each frame.

To reduce flicker and create a smoother animation, set your camera's white balance and exposure settings on manual mode so they don't change with each shot.

If you use clay as your medium, try putting wire inside the clay; this will help you move the figures more easily.

If objects are going to be moving limbs, make sure you can keep them in that one position without holding on to them. Poster tack works well for this, or even looped over adhesive tape.

If your computer is slightly slow, and you try to preview your video in the editing stage, all the pictures may not play and the film will get stuck on one image. It's okay for this to happen, as when you save it, it will flow fine.

If you want your object to look like it is going away or being eaten, such as in the video at the third link, just simply make it almost being eaten then take out the object altogether.

Add music and sound effects for additional interest.

If you do not want every frame saved on your computer, then you can delete them.

You do not need Windows Movie Maker. There are some programs specifically for stop motion that are better. Windows Movie Maker is free though, which is often a compelling reason!

This way of making movies can take probably half an hour to maybe 2-3 hours, depending on how long the movie is, so make sure to have a lot of patience when making a movie.

Watch other stop motion animations for inspiration. These may give you some new ideas about how to do your own animation. Wallace and Gromit, Fantastic Mr Fox and Knox are fresh and popular animations.

You will become faster at moving the figures and judging the distances the more you practice.

If frames in Windows Movie Maker are too long/short, you can use the double (x2) speed or half (x0.5) speed effect on the video for longer or shorter frames.

When you are beginning, try shooting the sequences where characters are moving, fighting, etc. in stop motion. when they are talking, just take single shots of their faces. It speeds up the process, and it actually looks okay.

If you want to make a toy fly (such as a pterodactyl or a bird), attach clear string to it. Hold it up in the air for every shot that you want it to fly. Make sure you have 2 people working on this part.

Make sure that your camera is compatible with any movie maker you are using. If the movie maker will not find your files, you might have to download a different software for movie making.

Warnings

Doing this too long will cause a case of extreme boredom and you may feel frustrated. Give it a break after a sequence is completed if you feel this way and note down on paper where you have suspended the process so that when you come back, you know where to pick up from.
Don't get discouraged if your video turns out to be very short. An hour's worth of work may turn into a 30 second video. It all depends on the frame per second rate. You can use anywhere from 6-30. the more frames per second, the smoother, but more time must be invested.
Make sure to frequently save your video in case the program freezes or turns unresponsive. If you have to close your video in the middle of editing, don't worry. Note that Windows Movie Maker does have an automatic saving feature.
Set your camera resolution low enough that your individual frames are not huge files. If you've already shot and each picture file is too big, you can reduce file sizes in batches in PhotoShop. Large file sizes for images are likely to overwhelm the computer's memory. Best to keep each frame close to half a MB unless you're using professional software. You can also compress the images using some form of compression software.