How to Film Stop Motion Like a Pro

Stop motion animation represents a unique style of filmmaking. In which single camera frames are captured one-by-one to visually tell a story. The process involves filming people, live-action objects, and characters which are then edited into the final story. Early uses of stop motion, like Claymation, represent the beginning of a long era. In which many stop motion classics have been produced over the years. As a cinematographer, you’re probably interested in learning how to film stop motion animation – why wouldn’t you be?

Filming stop motion animation is all about patience and taking your time to shoot each frame while maintaining constant framing, exposure, focus, and lighting. If you’re interested in learning how to film stop motion, follow these steps for success.

Prepare for Your Shoot

The first step to shooting stop motion is to prepare your equipment and area for the shoot. All you really need is a camera, a tripod, and a computer to get started.

Make sure that you setup your shoot area in a place where there will be no movement in the background. And where there is no wind that might shift your setup around.

Remember, much of this process is about keeping things constant, therefore you want to ensure a stable shoot environment.

Smartphones

While you can use just about any camera when you’re learning how to film stop motion, you’ll want to use a camera that can take good pictures, even in lower light settings.

Today’s smartphone cameras are largely capable of this if you don’t have access to a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Most importantly, you need to be able to download your photographs so that they can be worked with in your software.

Labeling Photos

Before you begin filming, and definitely before you upload any photos to your software, it’s important to have a labeling system in place so that you can keep track of all of your image files.

You’ll want to label your photos by scene, and shot angle, so that you can work with them in the later steps of editing stop motion.

Setup Camera System

Filming in stop motion isn’t hard, in fact it is incredibly simple. You’ll want to first setup your scene, and then your camera. A study tripod is required so that your camera doesn’t move during the entire shoot process.

Make sure that you have affixed your camera to the tripod and that nothing will jeopardize the steady location of the camera placement.

Once you’ve framed your shot and you can see your subjects, lock the tripod down so that it is secure. Then, you’ll be ready to set your camera settings. To prevent your exposure or focus from changing, you’ll want to set them to manual NOT auto.

Setup Lighting

Once your camera system is set, you’ll want to consider your lighting. Learning how to film stop motion requires careful attention to the constants that are required – camera placement, framing, exposure, focus and lighting.

You don’t want your lighting to change from shot to shot so it’s important to use controlled lighting. Do not attempt to film stop motion with natural daylight, there are too many changes that occur with natural light which will change the visuals of your shots.

To ensure constant lighting, do your best to eliminate any outside lighting that may be coming in from a nearby window or door. Ideally, you want to start with a completely dark room that you then use artificial lighting to create the desired balance for your scene.

If you want to show passage of time, simply manipulate the lighting to your desired degree. The same goes for changing seasons – manipulate the lighting for the desired effect.

Use a Timer or Remote to Take Pictures

Again, going back to the importance of constants in stop motion, you will want to use either a remote or a timer to take pictures when you’re creating stop motion pictures. This way, your camera doesn’t shift at all from your pushing the button to take the photo.

Using a remote device or other hands free option to capture your images will also prevent your shadow from impacting the lighting of your shot which could negatively impact your scene.

Start Shooting

The next and final step on how to film stop motion is to begin filming. Consider the fact that you will need approximately 12 frames per second of stop motion footage.

Therefore, if you’re shooting a 1 minute stop motion, you’re going to need 720 shots. While you can get away with fewer frames per second, the movements might appear jerky if you go below 12fps. 

Capture each shot, moving your character or subject ever so slightly for each subsequent shot. Remember to label your shots so that you can organize them into your software for post-production editing. Most important, as you’re learning how to film stop motion like a pro- have fun!