stop motion is a technology for creating videos based on frame-by-frame photography. She is especially popular when creating advertising, TV shows about cooking and cartoons. Even a beginner can make a Stop Motion video. To do this, you will need a script, a camera, a tripod, props for filming and "PhotoSHOW PRO".
Step 1. Getting Started
Arrange the objects in the frame according to your idea. Before shooting, be sure to select the optimal white balance and turn off the flash. Mount your camera on a tripod and make sure the scene is in focus. Take the first frame. Make a small change to the scene. Take a second frame. Repeat these steps until you have captured all of the footage. As a result, you will get a lot of photos.
Step 2. Mounting the video
Launch "PhotoSHOW PRO" and add photos to the timeline. Next, you need to disable the added transitions by default. It is very easy to do this. You need to select all the frames: hold down the Shift key and click first on the first picture in the project, and then on the very last one. Next, right-click on any transition. Select Remove Effect.
Now go to the "Project Settings" menu and set the photo display time to the minimum value. Video is ready! View the result in the player. Then you can save the video or continue working in the program.
Step 3. Putting the finishing touches
The video will become much more fun if you supplement it with bright titles and voice acting. Record voice comments directly in the program or select musical accompaniment in the program directory. Also in the slide editor, you can add captions to photos.
Step 4. Save the video
To save a video in the Stop Motion style, go to the "Create" section. Choose your preferred save method. You can create a video for publication on the Internet, burn it to a disc, or simply save it in any video format. The conversion will take some time. After its completion, you can view the finished video in the player.
I am glad to welcome you, dear readers!
Have you ever been on a shoot? Those magic words on set: "Light camera motor monster high." Where are the monsters from??? It's okay, because I'll tell you how to make stop motion monster high. It is interesting to observe those who saw the dolls for the first time monster high. They expected to see some scary and terrible zombies, orcs, trolls or other fantasy characters.
And they see cute dolls, slightly stylized and very convenient for filming, because they have all parts of the body on hinges. They can be given any pose, change outfit, jewelry, makeup, hairstyle. Moreover, frame-by-frame object animation is available to everyone and does not require computer miscalculations, rendering, but only enough time, patience and imagination of the author. The technique of time-lapse photography began to be used as early as the end of the 19th century, when photography became widespread.
This is the most old technology effects used in the film industry. But in our time, she got a second wind, the animators looked at her from the other side and found in her a lot of new and great potential of undisclosed properties. Combining it with various modern techniques, you can demonstrate great taste and great ingenuity, express yourself and show your inner world.
How to make frame-by-frame animation
(The work experience of Lena Nikolaeva, who shot more than one video using the stop motion technique.)
I made my first cartoon in this technique for the Best STOP-MOTION Monster High contest. There are two characters in this video: the daughter of werecats Toralei Stripe and the daughter of sea monsters Laguna Blue. They decorate the room with tinsel. their cheerful new year mood corresponds peppy, energetic melody. This brings you to the first item on the list of necessary things that you need to know about if you want to make a successful project.
The idea of the plot, the selection of characters, the production of costumes
You have a creative idea, you think how to bring it to life, what characters will be, how they will be dressed, what kind of relationship they have with each other. Clothing should correspond to the plot, emphasize the character of the character, the cut should not interfere with movements, the color should not merge with the background.
Distribution of roles, if there are several characters.
We look at the assortment of “actors”, from what is already available and used in previous shootings. We need to think about which ones are suitable, which ones need to be purchased, and what needs to be changed in their appearance to suit their role. How they will be located during shooting., at what time and in what place to appear in the frame.
Character casting
Ask someone to help voice or change your own voice for a certain character in special program. While working on the characters, you need to think about whether they will speak, sing, or just be silent. Who can voice them, are there friends whose voices are suitable or can be changed on a computer. Sometimes the audio track is written first, and then the movements during shooting are adjusted to the text.
Choosing the brightest and most comfortable place in the room.
Light, its quality and quantity, as well as its direction, greatly influence the choice of location.” film set". The light should not be too bright, so that there are no very strong shadows. It is not advisable to shoot under yellow or any other colored lighting, unless the plot requires it, otherwise the color reproduction will be greatly distorted and this will prevent the audience from correctly perceiving the cartoon.
Assembling scenery for the video.
So, the plot is ready, the actors too, it remains to set the scenery in which the film will unfold. They need to be well fixed. Most importantly, the characters should look organically against their background. If chromakey is used when shooting, then the scenery is not really needed in principle, then you just need to mark where the actors appear from and in which direction they are moving.
Lighting setup
It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of human vision. The object is best perceived if it is well lit from the top left. Several light sources are desirable so that objects are perceived more voluminously, and also to avoid sharp contrasting shadows. Light sources must be secure and securely fastened to prevent them from falling during puppet shooting.
Installing the camera in the desired position
You can use a tripod or make your own camera stand. For stop motion, you can use the simplest camera or even a camera mobile phone. The main thing is that it cannot be moved during shooting, otherwise the movement of the characters will be jerky, the picture will be jumping. Movement will be obtained by changing the pose and position of the object being photographed.
Shooting start
Start shooting according to your subject, no need to do too much sudden movements characters ( small amount frames per 1 movement), but too smooth (a large number of frames per 1 movement) should not be done either, because the movement will turn out to be too slow, in general, the speed can be edited in the program, but this is not always convenient.
Tag frames
In order not to get confused in the frames, mark the end of each movement of the character or moment with an inscription, that is, next to the character in the same position, make a frame with the name of what is happening or some kind of label, so that later it would be convenient to edit the video. At the end of the work, these frames are deleted.
Light and focus
So that the image does not flicker and it is pleasant to look at, follow the light. It should not change every frame, and if possible, the source should remain static throughout the video, unless you have the intention of changing the light in the scene. The color scheme in the frame depends on the focus, shooting the same subject, but with different parties you will get different illumination, sometimes it is necessary to express some idea, to show the mood of the character, but it is better not to abuse it.
Installation and assembly of frames
You need to install gradually. Having removed some part, we immediately glue the frames in the program and look for errors and shortcomings. Of course, your hands, feet, unnecessary objects can get into the frame. The movements are not correct, not quite the way you need. For example, the light did not fall correctly until you get attached to the shooting. The end result is a finished video.
Voice acting and video production
We overlay voices, music, titles, title and everything you think is necessary. The soundtrack should fit the main plot, rather complement it and create a mood for the audience. You can put a channel splash screen, opening credits, an announcement by the author with explanatory text or a voice about your goal and idea.
And finally, we make a preview of what we got. If everything suits, then we post the video on some Internet resource and share it with friends and acquaintances in social networks.
The other day I was puzzled by the question: how to make a stop motion from a finished video? I searched in Runet, but there was no sensible information. The first thing that comes to mind is to manually select frames from the video, make a photo of them and then mount them. But it is very long and tedious. I searched for a long time, and finally found a hint on some English site. I decided to describe this process in Russian, suddenly it will be useful to someone. Since I'm editing in Final Cut Pro X, I'll use it as an example to explain. You will also need the Motion program from the same package. So, in order:
1) Create a project in Final Cut Pro X, transfer the necessary video to the timeline.
2) Open Motion. In the Project Browser window, select Final Cut Effect. On the right, select the settings that match the format of your video. In my case, this is HD 1080, 25 fps, the duration can not be changed. Click Open.
3) Select the Library tab - Filters - in it the Time folder - select the Strobe effect. Click on the Apply button to create the effect.
4) Go to the Inspector - Filters and do click on the little arrows next to each effect setting and select Publish so that Final cut can see and manage them.
5) Save the effect by pressing Cmd + S - create a folder in which the effect will lie and drive in its name. You can check the Save Preview Movie checkbox to have Final Cut show an example of the effect applied to your video in a small preview window.
6) Open Final Cut and look in the effects for ours, under the name you saved it with. Drag and drop the effect on the video.
7) We select the necessary settings in your effect, these are the ones that suit me (in my example there are other additional settings that I added to Motion, but you are unlikely to need them).
8) The duration of your video will not change. If you apply Retime, then your number of frames in the video will remain the same, their duration will simply increase. Therefore, I made a New Compound Clip from the video (alt + G) and already applied speed change (cmd + R) and color correction to it.
9) At any time, you can open your video on a separate track to change the frame rate.
In this article, we will talk about how to shoot stop-motion animation. More collected here technical advice to create stop-motion animations, which are aimed at avoiding twitching and flickering of the video, because stop-motion animation is a sequence of photos.
To create an elementary stop-motion video, you will need digital camera With manual settings, computer, and tripod (or any holder that can hold the camera).
But first, let's note that there are specialized programs for creating stop motion animation, such as iStopMotoin, Dragon Frame/Dragon Stop Motion, StopMotion Pro. These programs allow you to immediately see the image on your computer through your camera and have a number of settings and functions that help you follow the sequence of frames, compare frames, etc. You can also use conventional programs that allow you to immediately capture an image from your camera to your computer. But we will talk about all these programs later. And now let's talk about the case when you do not have such programs.
Shooting preparation:
1. Decide on the light
To create a stop-motion animation, you should use a constant light source, you can use daylight, but you need to watch the appearance and disappearance of clouds from the sky, and in the room there may be light reflections from you and from the walls.
In short, just turn on enough light for indoor photography and always stand in the same place when you press the camera shutter button. And don't use the built-in flash as it creates too harsh shadows.
2. Set up your camera by making all settings manual
M mode
ISO (50-400)
White balance manual
It is recommended to use manual focus
3. Mount the camera on a tripod or any flat surface so that the camera has a support throughout the shooting
4. Fix the tripod or something on which the camera rests so to the ground so that in no case do you move your legs or hands to this miracle of construction
5. Secure the subjects you will be filming and secure the stage you will be filming on so that nothing twitches
The stage is something that we will constantly touch, so it must be firmly fixed.
6. Calculate the approximate time of your animation
The video is shot at 24 or 30 frames per second, if your first video is at least 6 frames per second, then you can already see something interesting, but in the future try to get at least 12 frames per second
Calculate how many seconds each movement should last, then multiply by your frequency, how many frames you need to take
Shooting:
1. Adjust focus on the animation object
It is better to use manual focus to avoid flickering light.
And in the future, you can remember about beautiful game with refocus when main object gradually enters the focus area or, conversely, goes out of focus
2. Press the camera shutter with the remote control, if you have one, or use the two-second shutter release mode (the camera will have time to suppress vibrations caused by your pressing the button in 2 seconds)
3. Always keep in mind how many frames you need to take for a certain action in your animation
Installation:
1. Download photos to your computer and import them into any editing program (iMovie is the default on Mac OS, Windows Movie Maker is the default on Windows, Final Cut, Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, Pinacle also exist)
2. Place all photos on the "timeline" (timeline), set the frame rate or the duration of each frame (the concept of "duration")
Example: When shooting at 6 frames per second and a frame rate of 30 frames per second (in editing software), the frame duration per second is 5 frames.
3. Add titles and "sugar to taste"
4. Export to video format
This is a list of the most elementary rules for creating the most basic, but high-quality animation. With these rules applied, your animation should be pleasing to the eye, smooth and even in light.
If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer.
In the past few years, videos using the Internet have gained particular popularity on the Web. Initially, it was advertising and inserts for clips and various films, then bloggers picked up the idea. This animation looks rather peculiar, but spectacular. In addition, the creation of such videos is now available to almost everyone who has a minimal set of equipment (at least a phone with a camera and a tripod). In this article, you will learn how to shoot stop motion at home. In addition, consider what you need to know and be able to do this.
What is stop motion?
This is a technology for creating a video, the basis of which is frame-by-frame photography. To create a one-minute video, you will need to take about 120 shots. Therefore, before shooting a stop motion, be patient. What to do? First you need to shoot the scene, then - to bring into it minor change(turning the head or hands of the doll) and shoot again. It is in this way that the effect of movement is achieved. Then all these pictures are mounted on a computer or in a special program on the phone.
Advantages of stop motion
You don't need an expensive camcorder to shoot. It is enough to be the owner of a minimum set of amateur photographers and good imagination. Almost all special effects you can create at home.
Required Tools
First, before, for example, how to shoot a stop-motion "Monster High", you will need to purchase a camera that can be set up in manual mode. So you can adapt to almost any shooting conditions and in the future do without lengthy processing in Photoshop.
Second, you will need a tripod. It will be very difficult to do without a tripod: otherwise, you will have to look for a static surface in order to avoid the shaking effect and shoot from one angle.
Thirdly, you should think about lighting. The best option of all possible is a constant light source. You can buy both professional studio lighting and get by with enough power table lamps. You can also shoot in daylight. It is advisable not to use the flash, as it will definitely give too sharp shadows.
Fourth, you will need a computer, this is what happens on it. Therefore, before shooting stop-motion with puppets, you will need to learn how to work in one of the editing programs.
How many shots to take
After you have written the script and decided on the production, you need to calculate the approximate time for each movement. A typical video consists of twenty-four frames per second. But for stop-motion, 12 frames will be enough. It is at this frequency that the movements of dolls and objects will not seem too jerky and sharp. For stop-motion it is better to take pictures with a margin. For example, if you made a calculation for 300 shots, it would be better to take 350 or even 400 photos.
Beginning the process
Before filming a stop motion with puppets, secure the scene carefully. It is to her that you have to touch a lot during filming, because of which she can move. Then mount the camera on a tripod and take a few shots with different angles. Choose the most successful one. It is better to use a remote control to control the shutter release. If it is not there, you can turn on manual mode with a set shutter delay, for example, two seconds.
Installation and post-processing
You need to use those programs that allow you to do processing a large number pictures at the same time. Photoshop and Lightroom do this very well. If you do not need photo processing, you need to import the pictures into the editing program. If you are a beginner, it is better to use a simple program like Corel VideoStudio. If you are no longer a fan, Vegas or Premier Pro will do. Moreover, in "Photoshop" at the stage of processing photos or already in the editing program, you will eventually learn how to create a variety of special effects.
How to shoot stop motion with voice acting?
And finally. If you already know how to shoot stop motion, you might also want to voice it. To do this, you will need a microphone, a sound card and a computer with the program installed on it. You need to record the voice already under the edited video. For recording, a deaf room is suitable, in which the reflection of sound waves will be minimal.
After recording the voice, you can proceed to sound design. You can find the necessary sounds (the noise of the city or the singing of forest birds, the conversations of the crowd in a cafe, the noise of traffic, and so on) in any noise library. To correctly insert noises into the project, it is necessary to make time codes (the beginning and end of a certain sound). After you have inserted voice and noises into your recording, you can apply a compressor to the audio track so that there are no sounds that are too loud. After that, the audio track is exported to the editing program. Ready! Now you know how to shoot stop motion.
