STOP MOTION ANIMATION SET-UP
Stop Motion Animation is a process by which you can make still objects appear to move
by themselves. Animation takes a lot of patience. Each second of video is made up of
approximately 30 frames in the United States. This means, every second we see 30 pictures.
In making these pictures slightly different from each other, we are able to create the illusion of
movement.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
• Video camera (doesn’t need any tape) preferably plugged into the wall
rather than powered by battery.
• Computer with firewire connection
• Firewire cord from camera to computer
• Tripod
• Objects to animate and a background (example objects: clay, cut
paper, sand, wire, toys, office supplies, food, drawings, or refrigerator
magnets)
• Lights are optional but a very good idea. Sunlight will change over the
course of your shoot and this will likely look strange in your animation.
THE SET UP
1.Set camera on a tripod
2.Plug firewire from camera to computer (make sure camera is in OFF position, computer can
be on)
3.Turn on Camera
4.The computer should recognize the camera and ask you what you want to do now. Choose
capture and edit in Premiere Elements. If this choice is not offered open the software and go
Get Media From > DV camera. NOTE: Set HDV cameras to record in DV for best results.
5.Go to Edit>Preferences>Stop Motion Capture to choose stop motion playback settings and
set to 30.
6.At the top of the capture window click to capture in Stop Motion.
7.Click Create New Stop Motion.
THE PROCESS
1.Frame your shot as you like it. Be sure to look at it on the computer as well as in the camera.
The computer tends to see slightly more of the frame than the camera.
© 2014 Adobe Foundation / Education Development Center, Inc.
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2.Take your first shot by hitting the red record button. It is best to have a friend sit behind the
computer to capture your shots.
3.To animate your object you will want to move it as little as possible between shots. Think
about how far the object needs to go and how much time it will take. Don’t forget, you have
30 shots in a second so a minute of footage will take 1800 small moves and shots!!
4.You will notice that after you have moved your object and before you take the next shot you
can see a “ghost” of the last image. This is called Onion Skin and it’s a very helpful way to
show you how much you have moved your object. It disappears as soon as the shot is taken.
5.Make sure all hands are out of the frame and shadows are off the picture, and take your next
shot.
6.If you take a shot that you don’t want, you can go back later and delete the image.
7.When you are finished shooting close the capture window. Premiere will ask you if you want
to make a stop motion sequence. Say yes.
8.You have made the impossible seem possible! Now you can edit your footage in Premiere as
usual.
© 2014 Adobe Foundation / Education Development Center, Inc.
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