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How to Make Paper Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion animation is the practice of photographing an image that is being slightly altered between shots. This results in a moving image when joined together. This technique was famously used in the 1933 movie King Kong, and even with the introduction of CGI, recent movies like Corspe Bride and Coraline prove there is still life in the art form. You don't have to be a professional to have a go. A simple paper stop motion animation is easy to make but very time consuming; two hours of work can result in less than 40 seconds of film.

Things You'll Need

Scissors
Camera
Tripod
Table
PC
Windows Movie Maker

Instructions

Setting Up
- 1
  Set a camera up on a tripod to ensure it stays still throughout the process. Place it close to the edge of a table but also central to your work area. The higher the tripod the more room you will have to make the animation.
- 2
  Take a picture of the work area to demonstrate how much of it will be shown in your pictures. This will give you an idea of the space you are working with.
- 3
  Position a lamp near the work area because light is important in stop motion animation.
- 4
  Draw the character you want to animate on a piece of paper. Separate any parts that you want to move freely. For example, draw the top and bottom of a person's arm as separate objects, leaving a small space between them.
- 5
  Cut out each of the character's individual parts.
- 6
  Make a plan of what you want to happen in your animation.
Taking Pictures
- 7
  Set up your character on the table in its starting position for your animation.
- 8
  Remove your hands from the work area and take a picture
- 9
  Move whichever parts need moving, about 1/2 an inch. Smaller amounts will result in a smoother animation but will add time onto an already time consuming task.
- 10
  Take another picture.
- 11
  Repeat this pattern of moving the character's parts and taking a picture until the animation has ended. As 12 frames per second is a good rate for a first time animation, remember that 12 of these photos will only be one second of animation.
Creating the Animation
- 12
  Upload the photographs to your PC
- 13
  Start up" Windows Movie Maker."
- 14
  Click "File," and then "New Project."
- 15
  Click on the "Advanced" tab.
- 16
  Set the Picture duration to "0.250" seconds. Change the Transition Duration to "0.25" seconds.
- 17
  Click on "Import Pictures."
- 18
  Locate your stored photos. Click on the first picture, hold down "Shift" on your keyboard and click on the last picture to select all pictures. Select "Import."
- 19
  Click on the "Show Story Board" button. A series of white boxes will appear.
- 20
  Click and hold the first picture in the collections screen to select all pictures. Drag and drop these into the first white box. Now every picture is placed in a white box and in the correct order.
- 21
  Press "Play" in the Movie Player to watch your stop motion animation.
- 22
  Click "Finish Movie" in the Movie task Panel and then choose "Save to My Computer."

Photography