build IT is all about promoting creativity. Just because we’re not currently open doesn’t mean that has to stop! Making your own stop motion video can be a fun way to spend your time.

This video was made by student assistants Patrick Coh and Chris Potente working from home. Patrick created the animations and edited the video. Chris created the music.

3D printed objects were found on Thingiverse and linked below:

“Eunny” “Flexible Person with Tinkercad” found on Thingiverse- https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3879833

“alockey” “Creality Ender 3 Dog” found on Thingiverse-https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3067755

Things you’ll need for your own stop-motion video:

• A camera with a tripod– it can be a phone camera and anything to hold it in place while you take pictures.
• Inanimate objects– it helps if the object has a degree of flexibility or if you’re able to create multiple copies of the object in different poses.
• Tape, glue, play-doh, fishing wire, pebbles– anything to help you secure the object in different poses while you take pictures
• Your imagination

Steps:

1. Come up with a story. Write down story beats and create a storyboard so that you have an idea of how you’ll frame your object and set up your camera before hand. Creating a storyboard can also help you figure out where you’ll hide your securing apparatuses in each scene. They can be simple, like stick figures or blobs, but they should be detailed enough so you get an idea of how your object will move.
2. Split the storyboard into different shot sequences. Note when you’ll move your camera and what’s going to happen in between each camera movement.
3. Play with your inanimate object, see how it moves and figure our how you’re going to shape it and hold that shape for each frame. Do some simple camera tests to see if your poses will read to the audience.
4. Set up your scene. See if you’ll need any props or if you’ll need to adjust the lighting to liven it up. Maybe take some test pictures to make sure every action in your scene can be captured.
5. Make a stop motion! This part can be tedious but it will pay off. Move the object from pose to pose keeping transitions in mind. Snap a picture between each movement. We found it helps to do several “takes” by animating and snapping pictures all the way through one sequence then resetting it. Make sure you watch each take before you move on! This way, you won’t get confused by trying to perfect every shot and you’ll get to see if the sequence works all together.
6. Assemble your video. Drag your images into a video-editing software. The key here is organization! Make sure to separate different takes and scenes as you’ll likely have an overwhelming number of pictures. Depending on what video-editing software you’re using you may find it easier to either create image sequences or just put your images in one by one. There are pros and cons to both. With discreet images, while you may have a ton of photos, it may be easier to delete unnecessary frames, extend the length of a frame, or duplicate frames. With image sequences, your images are contained in one clip so while you can still do all those things, it may take longer to find frames within the clip.
7. Add any music or sound effects. Create your own or read up on creative commons and reusing content in our article here.
8. Add any other embellishments like visual effects, create a larger interactive project, or whatever else you can think of. The sky is your limit here!