How to make stop motion with words. Distribution of roles if there are several characters

Stop Motion is a technology for creating videos based on time-lapse photography. It 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, filming props and “PhotoSHOW PRO”.

Step 1. Let's get started shooting

Arrange 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 shot. Make a small change to the scene. Take a second shot. Repeat these steps until you have captured all the material. As a result, you will end up with a lot of photos.

Step 2. Mount the video

Launch "PhotoSHOW PRO" and add photos to the timeline. Next you need to disable added transitions by default. It's very easy to do. You need to select all the frames: hold down the Shift key and click first on the first image 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. The video is ready! View the result in the player. Then you can save the video or continue working in the program.

Step 3: Adding 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 from the program catalog. You can also add captions to photos in the slide editor.

Step 4. Save the video

To save a video in the Stop Motion style, go to the “Create” section. Select your preferred saving method. You can create a video for publication on the Internet, burn it to disk, or simply save it in any video format. The conversion will take some time. After its completion, you will be able to view the finished video in the player.

In the last few years, videos using video clips have gained particular popularity on the Internet. Initially, these were advertisements and inserts for clips and various films, then bloggers picked up the idea. This animation looks quite peculiar, but impressive. In addition, creating such videos is now available to almost every person who has a minimum 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, we will consider what you need to know and be able to do for 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 photos. Therefore, before shooting stop motion, be patient. What to do? First you need to shoot the scene, then you need to put it into it minor change(turn the doll’s head or hand) and remove it again. It is in this way that the effect of movement is achieved. Then all these pictures are mounted on a computer or in special program on the phone.

Pros of stop motion

You don't need an expensive video camera to take pictures. It is enough to be the owner of the minimum set of an amateur photographer and a good imagination. You can create almost all special effects at home.

Required Tools

Firstly, before you shoot the stop motion Monster High, for example, you will need to purchase a camera that can be adjusted manually. This way you can adapt to almost any shooting conditions and in the future do without lengthy processing in Photoshop.

Secondly, 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 to avoid the shaking effect and shoot from one angle.

Thirdly, you should think about lighting. The best option of all is a constant light source. You can buy professional lighting for the studio or get by with table lamps of sufficient power. You can also shoot in daylight. It is advisable not to use flash, as it will certainly produce too harsh shadows.

Fourthly, you will need a computer, this is what happens on it. Therefore, before you shoot stop motion with puppets, you will need to learn how to work in one of the editing programs.

How many frames do you need to take?

Once you have written the script and decided on the production, you need to calculate the approximate time of 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 abrupt and abrupt. For stop motion it is better to take photos with a reserve. For example, if you calculated for 300 photos, it would be better to take 350 or even 400 photos.

Start of the process

Before filming stop motion with puppets, carefully secure the scene. This is what you will be touching a lot during filming, which can cause it to move. Then set up your camera on a tripod and take several photos from 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 adjusted release delay, for example, two seconds.

Installation and post-processing

You need to use programs that allow you to process a large number of images at the same time. Photoshop and Lightroom cope very well with this task. If you do not need photo processing, you need to import the photos into an editing program. If you are a beginner, it is better to use a simple program, for example "Corel VideoStudio". If you are no longer an amateur, "Vegas" or "Premier Pro" will suit you. Moreover, in Photoshop, at the stage of photo processing or already in the editing program, you will eventually learn how to create a variety of special effects.

How to shoot stop motion with voiceover?

And finally. If you already know how to shoot stop motion, you might want to consider doing voiceovers as well. To do this, you will need a microphone, a sound card and a computer with the program installed on it. You need to record your voice under the edited video. For recording, a quiet room in which the reflection is suitable is suitable. sound waves will be minimal.

After recording your voice, you can begin sound design. You can find the necessary sounds (the noise of the city or the singing of forest birds, crowd conversations in a cafe, traffic noise, and so on) in any noise library. To correctly insert noise into a project, you need to make time codes (the beginning and end of a specific sound). Once you've added voice and noise to your recording, you can apply a compressor to the audio track to keep the sounds from getting too loud. After this, the audio track is exported to the editing program. Ready! Now you know how to shoot stop motion.

I am glad to welcome you, dear readers!
Have you ever been on a shoot? These magic words on the set: “Light camera motor monster high.” Where do the monsters come from??? It's okay, because I'll tell you how to make stop motion monster high. It's interesting to watch those who saw it for the first time Monster dolls 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 all their body parts are on joints. They can be given any pose, changed outfit, jewelry, makeup, hairstyle. Moreover, frame-by-frame animation is accessible to everyone and does not require computer calculations or rendering, but only enough time, patience and imagination of the author. The technique of time-lapse photography began to be used at the end of the 19th century, when photography became widespread.

This is the most old technology effects, which was used in the film industry. But in our time, it has gained a second wind, animators looked at it from a different perspective and found a lot of new things in it and great potential for undiscovered properties. Combining it with various modern techniques, you can demonstrate excellent taste and great ingenuity, express yourself and show your inner world.

How to make stop motion animation

(The work experience of Lena Nikolaeva, who has shot more than one video using the stop motion technique.)
I made my first cartoon using this technique for the “Best STOP-MOTION” competition Monster High" 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's mood is matched by a cheerful, energetic melody. This brings you to the first item on the list of necessary things that you should know about if you want to make a successful project.

Plot idea, character selection, costume making

You have creative idea, you think about how to bring it to life, what the characters will be like, how they will be dressed, what kind of relationships they have with each other. Clothing should correspond to the plot, emphasize the character's character, the cut should not interfere with movements, and the color should not blend into 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 filming. We need to think about which ones are suitable, which ones need to be purchased, and what needs to be changed in them appearance so that they fit their role. How they will be positioned during shooting, at what time and in what place they will appear in the frame.

Choosing Voices for Characters

Ask someone to help voice or change your own voice for a certain character in a special program. While working on the characters, you need to think about whether they will speak, sing, or simply remain silent. Who can voice them, do you know anyone whose voices are suitable or can be changed on the computer. Sometimes the soundtrack 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 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 in yellow or any other colored lighting, unless the plot requires it, otherwise the color rendition will be greatly distorted and this will interfere with the correct perception of the cartoon by the audience.

Assembling the scenery for the video.

So, the plot is ready, the actors too, all that remains is to install the scenery in which the action of the film will unfold. They need to be well secured. Most importantly, the characters should look organic against their background. If chromakey is used when filming, then in principle there is no particular need for scenery, then you just need to mark where the actors appear from and in which direction they are moving.

Lighting settings

It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of human vision. An object is best perceived if it is well lit from the top left. It is advisable to have several light sources so that objects are perceived more voluminously, and also to avoid sharp contrasting shadows. Lighting sources must be safe and securely fastened to prevent them from falling onto the dolls while 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 characters’ movements will be jerky and the picture will be jumpy. Movement is achieved by changing the pose and position of the object being photographed.

Start of shooting

Start shooting according to your story, don't do too much sudden movements characters (small number of frames per movement), but also too smooth ( a large number of frames per 1 movement) should not be done either, because the movement will 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 character’s movement 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 mark, so that later it will be convenient to edit the video. At the end of the work, these frames are deleted.

Light and Focus

To ensure that the image does not flicker and is pleasant to look at, follow the light. It should not change every frame, and, if possible, the source should remain static throughout the entire video, unless you intend to change the light in the story. The color scheme in the frame depends on the focus, shooting the same subject, but from different angles you will get different lighting, sometimes this is necessary to express some thought, to show the mood of the character, but it is better not to abuse it.

Installation and assembly of frames

It needs to be installed gradually. Having filmed some part, we immediately stitch together the frames in the program and look for errors and shortcomings. Of course, your arms, legs, and unnecessary objects can get into the frame. The movements are not correct, not exactly what you need. For example, the light didn’t fall correctly until you positioned yourself for the shoot. The result is a finished video sequence.

Voice acting and video creation

We add voices, music, titles, titles and everything that you consider 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 preview what we got. If everything is satisfactory, then we post the video on some Internet resource and share it with friends and acquaintances on social networks.

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In this article we will talk about how to shoot stop motion animation. More collected here technical recommendations on creating stop motion animations that are aimed at avoiding jerking and flickering of the video, since stop motion animation is a sequence of photographs.

To create a basic stop motion video you will need a digital camera with manual settings, computer and tripod (or any holder that can be used to secure 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 monitor the sequence of shots, compare shots, etc. You can also use regular programs that allow you to immediately capture an image from your camera to your computer. But we will talk about all these programs later. Now let’s talk about the case when you don’t have such programs.

Preparing for shooting:
1. Decide on the light
To create stop-motion animation, you should use a constant light source, you can use daylight, but you need to monitor the appearance and disappearance of clouds from the sky, and in the room there may be reflections of light from you and from the walls.
In short, just turn on enough light to photograph indoors and always stand in the same place when pressing the camera shutter button. And don't use the built-in flash, as it creates too harsh shadows.
2. Set up the camera, making all settings manual
M mode
ISO (50-400)
White balance manual
It is advisable to use manual focus
3. Mount the camera on a tripod or any flat surface so that the camera has support throughout the entire shoot.
4. Strengthen the tripod or whatever the camera is supported on so that it is positioned on the ground so that you do not move this miracle structure with your feet or hands.
5. Secure the subjects you'll be shooting and secure the scene you'll be shooting in so that nothing moves.
The stage is something that we will constantly touch, so it must be firmly fixed
6. Calculate the approximate timing of your animation
The video is shot at a frequency of 24 or 30 frames per second, if your first video is at a frequency of at least 6 frames per second, then you will already be able to see something interesting, but in the future try to reach 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. Set 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 using a remote control, if you have one, or use the two-second shutter mode (in 2 seconds the camera will have time to suppress the vibrations caused by your pressing the button)
3. Always keep in mind how many frames you need to make for a certain action in your animation

Installation:
1. Download photos to your computer and import them into any editing program (on Mac OS the default is iMovie, on Windows - Windows Movie Maker, there are also Final Cut, Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, Pinacle)
2. Place all photos on the “timeline”, set the frame rate or duration of each frame (the concept of “duration”)
Example: When shooting at 6 frames per second and the frame rate is 30 frames per second (in the editing program), the duration of the frame per second is 5 frames.
3. Add credits and “sugar to taste”
4. Export to video format
This is a list of the most elementary rules to create the simplest, but high-quality animation. Using these rules, your animation should be pleasing to the eye, smooth and even in light.
If you have questions, we will be happy to answer.