|
Stop Motion Animation has become hugely popular in recent years, especially across the Web. Stop motion music videos, animation clips have given sites like YouTube and Vimeo in millions of views. With stop motion practically taking over the Internet in certain categories, a lot of creative animators are being inspired to try this technique out for themselves. But where do you start? Stop motion animation can be described as the process of adding a long series of still images or photographs to create the illusion of an moving image or animated movie. Stop motion animator use all sorts of materials when animating such as plasticine or clay, articulated puppets or anything that you can easily take a snapshot of and easily manipulate. Given our focus on student stop motion projects video creation at iKITMovie, our software and tutorials promises to unlock student animation creativity in unique and right ways, making it an ideal fit for the creative and education community. Kids love the freedom to express themselves, teachers can see learning outcomes being achieved, and parents get a kick out of seeing their children using technology creatively. Although creating stop motion animation is not difficult task, it is time-consuming, repetitive and requires patience, but it allows you to create whatever their imagination can offer up. Tools needed to animate: • A camcorder or Digital still camera or USB Webcamera • Animation software or movie editing software that allows still image capture • A computer PC/Mac with sufficient storage capacity • A location to build a set where it can be left for a period of time without being disturbed • Subjects – that is to say puppets / characters / models to animate Here are some simple creative techniques for kids at home or in school 1. Write out your story – Outline in words what your story will relate to the audience 2. Create backdrops for each scene – These do not have to be highly detailed or complex. Often a simple set backdrop is enough to evoke the setting 3. If you are using drawn animation then concentrate on basic motion - Draw your object or character , take a snapshot , erase and redraw only the section that moves and move on 4. Add sound fx, music and voiceovers. Build them up in layers to create atmosphere. 5. Use human traits and expressions - Use human or animal like shapes to express emotions, actions, thoughts 6. Vary the speed or pace of the action, Don't settle on a single pace or tempo..vary it, otherwise you will loose the attention of the viewer 7. Change the camera angle. If you want to shake things up a bit then zoom in/out or pan left and right – even if you never move your image capture source or your drawing page or board 8. Multiple things happening - This can be far more engaging for the viewer to look at if more than one thing is happening at a time 9. Tell a story! This is the real point of any animation. What is the story? Final Tips: Don’t forget the camera, create a story obviously, then if it's a short story, start animating, but if it's a long complicated story, so you can usually write a script using Celtx. Kids animate at 10-24fps depending on their animation. And always make sure camera is securely fixed to the desk in case you bump against it when you are animating. First always test your setup, never bump the camera and exposure of the camera and no changes in lighting while making animations, don’t try to attempt to shoot scene in one session. If you have a set make sure that it is also secure by taping it to a solid desk or countertop. There is nothing worse than an entire set moving in the middle of a shoot. But most of all ..have fun. About Author: If You Want To Find Out More about Stop Motion and Animation Software Visit at: Creating Great Stop Motion with Ikitmovie Animation Software, and make a great Stop Motion Animation
Related Articles -
stop motion software, stop motion,
| 
