Frame Animation (Stop Motion)
It's fascinating to see the result of a series of step-by-step shots. Each movement photographed to form a continuous story is hard work and challenging.
What is stop motion animation?
Stop-Motion animation can be any animation that uses objects photographed in a sequence to create the illusion of movement.
The stop-motion animation process is very long, as each object has to be carefully moved inch by inch while photographed in every frame to create a fluid animation sequence.
Early stop motion was captured with film cameras. Animators could not see how their work looked until they processed their films. They used surface gages to track where their characters were and how far to move them.
If the animation was not fluid, the set had been bumped, the lighting was bad, the work was lost, and the animator had to start all over again.
To learn a little more about the technique and about a movie that we are sure will be a benchmark for the method in the use of Puppets, which is Guillermo del Toro´s Pinocchio and that together with El Taller del Chucho in the city of Guadalajara have created part of this marvelous piece of cinematography, we went to talk with 3 great talents who injected it with their skill and creative ingenuity. Let's see:
Types of stop motion animation.
Object animation.
If you don't have a budget, don't worry. Grab the first thing that comes to hand and cheer him up.
Animation in clay.
Model characters and accessories in (polymer) clay to create extraordinary new worlds.
Pixilation.
Incorporate real actors and prepare them to hold the pose while you photograph them.
Cutout animation.
Create the cast and their surroundings on paper and photograph them with a two-dimensional overhead perspective.
Puppet animation.
To enhance the aesthetics of your project, you can create fancy puppets that pose for frames. Some animators use regular Puppets instead of clay ones, usually also built with some skeleton rig. The faces of the characters can be replaced based on the expression or controlled within the rig.
Animation with silhouettes.
Backlight the cut silhouettes and play with the mystery of the shadows.
Animation is an increasingly significant business in predominantly youth-populated Mexico, leading among the region's top three animation markets.
Under her new shingle, Home Films, Astorga is developing Anabel Caso’s coming-of-age fiction feature debut, “Trigal,” and Ricardo Lozano’s doc, “DMX.” She’s also co-producing the Brazilian feature “Señoritas” by Mycaela Plotkyn. Another doc in development is “Los Colores de la Tormenta,” a live-action doc with some 2D animated scenes about a refuge for marginalized people –gays, trans, HIV-infected people – in Honduras. And now the star we are proud of: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, where he participated in the production of El Taller del Chucho.
Stop-motion animation is becoming more and more popular by the year, and it’s not surprising. This style of making animated films is done by taking objects, either dolls with joints or soft clay items, and manipulating them. The physical manipulations and changes are then photographed. Each photograph acts as a frame, and when you play the structures together quickly, it looks like the objects have been animated.
If you want to make this type of animation, then you want to find the best stop-motion animation software that you can find. Some options out there are even free! In this article, we will share the 8 best options for stop motion animation software, separating them by whether they are for Macs or PC.
Wondershare Filmora
Dragonframe
Stop Motion Studio
Boinx iStopMotion
Stop Motion Pro
Frames
iKITMovie
MonkeyJam
How many photographs does it take to create a one-minute stop-motion animation?
If you're working at about 24 frames per second, the norm for motion pictures and TV, you would need to produce 1440 frames for a one-minute stop-motion animation. We are not saying that all the frames have to be different since the usual thing is to make a series of two or three identical images to double or even triple the edges of the same pose when the characters move at an average pace. To capture faster movement, more different individual frames are needed.
After seeing the interview and the movie, you are interested in learning and participating in Stop motion projects; Taller del Chucho is a great option; in the next chapter, we will talk about everything that El Taller del Chucho international studio does in the film.
We are incredibly grateful to Taller del Chucho, Mayrení Senior, Gilberto Torres, David Mancillas and Netflix , for all the facilities they have given us to carry out this chapter.
If you want to be part of this movement to show your talent through the technological innovations you have made, contact us, and we will be happy to meet you.
And if you want to be one of the 1000 engineers, remember to send us your great profile.