Even in the era of CGI and computer-generated effects, nothing quite overcomes the appeal and fascination of stop motion animation. Stop motion films are easy to do at home and are the perfect way to keep kids occupied! This could be an ideal activity during the lockdown as a project for your kids to take up several days. All you require is a whole lot of patience and you could create a remarkable feature film from play-doh or lego. There are lots of simple ways to create a stop motion movie at home which can be fun for the whole family. Let’s get the kids rolling on producing their stop motion animations!
About Stop Motion Animation Activity
Stop motion animation is a method that uses two or three-dimensional figures such as clay models and poses them across a series of photographs. If your children are not familiar with stop motion animation, have them check out the clay-animation TV show Shaun the Sheep. Many children are familiar with classic flipbooks, which use a series of drawings to create an animated “cartoon.” This is an excellent way to show to kids the basic rules behind stop motion animation. Stop motion has remained almost intact in terms of the process since its discovery in the 1800s, although modern technology including high-quality cameras and computer programs has made it much easier and accessible for kids and non-professionals to operate it.
Supplies You’ll Require To Get Started
- Foldable foam core display board
- Collection of objects to animate
- Smartphone or iPad
- Small tripod or stand to hold your device steady
- Stop Motion Animation App
Steps Involved In The Stop Motion Animation Activity
- In stop motion movies, location plays a crucial role. Make sure to help your kids set up their “animation studio” parallel to a window. Natural light will help to enhance the quality of the video.
- Now, set up the foam core as a background to shed extra visual clutter. and you may put some wrinkled sheets to create the Caribbean Sea.
- Now plug in your headphones and make sure to use the volume button on headphones for snapping photos without having to touch and possibly move the camera set-up.
- Now open your stop motion app for example Stop Motion Studio and check your camera location. Make sure the camera frame stays within the boundary of the foam core. Once the area is fixed up, it’s time to start snapping pictures!
- The secret of making a perfect video is to move the inanimate objects a very small amount between each frame captured. If you observe your kids making this mistake, simply inspire them to preview their movie so they can see the mistake of their ways before they’ve spent too much time.
Stop motion animation is meant to be an entertaining activity that shouldn’t be taken too seriously, particularly when starting out. Making it feel either to yourself or your child as being a task or something they ‘need’ to do will mean that they will lose interest or not find it enjoyable anymore. Seriousness is for the professionals, and even then, it is crucial that you still love what you do. Moreover, you may discuss with your kids about improving ways they can use their screen time and give them tips for mindful usage of technology.
