How to Create a Stop Motion!

Have you been wondering how to create a stop motion of your own? Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Brainstorm
First, you're going to want to brainstorm ideas for your stop motion. What will it be about? What is the mood: happy or sad? What is the plot? What is the conflict? How does it get resolved?

Step 2: Set Building
Next, you should think of a set. Where does your stop motion take place? Be creative, you don't want your set to look sloppy. Sometimes your sets are natural, like a hill if your stop motion is about sledding. Dress your subjects accordingly. You may also need props.

Step 3: Begin Filming
Now, it's time to film. Set up your subject for the first scene. Place your camera or device on a tripod or, stack boxes and make your own tripod. Take a picture. Then, move your subject a tiny bit, and take a picture. Don't move the subjects too much or the stop motion will look choppy. Keep moving your subject and taking pictures.

Step 4: Editing
Once you're done filming (usually 700+ pictures), upload your pictures to the computer. Once the pictures are on the computer, you can load them to an editing system (Movie maker for Windows, imovie for macs, etc.) I think Movie Maker is great, because it is very easy to use, though it has limited effects.  After your images are in your editing system, set each one's duration to about 0.10 seconds, usually no more than 0.20. (0.08 if you want to have a particularly fast scene, for instance running or jumping.) Then, add music, narration, and a title. Save the movie so you can upload it easily to YouTube.

Step 5: Upload to Youtube! 
Now that you're done creating your stop motion, you can upload it to Youtube! Once you click upload and insert the final movie file, you can add a discription and tags (which help you find your video by searching certain key words).

We hope you found this helpful! 


- The Laughternoons Team