STOP MOTION!

   Man have I been hit by this craze! It seems like I have been experimenting with stop motion ever since I was 7 or 8. But this weekend (and week) I have been going crazy and making a whole bunch of them. I am inspired by a lot of different videos that I have seen lately. So far I have made some just for fun like this one:

Want it bigger? Click here.

And then I have made some more:

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And I even made one to show how to make a pretty cool, and wayyyyy too easy kind of stop motion. I used a high-to-medium speed shutter, as if to skip every other frame. ( I hope this is making sense) I just held the button down while we were walking, jumping, or skipping... so it made for a pretty cool kind of effect. Me and my friend Taylor acted like crazy people jumping all around my backyard (with the neighbors also outside). 

Want it bigger? Click here.

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN?!?!?!

Well if you feel that something is dragging you to your camera and/or post-its then listen up! I have a few tips for making these.

1. NEVER EVER EVER move your camera... Its a real pain in the butt not to move your camera around a lot but you don't want your pictures to be very shaky (besides the small shakes that give stop motion its charm). So, use a tripod or tape your camera to the counter or something.

2. CLEAR IDEA... I definitely did not have a clear idea on some of these. For example, the first one (and my first complete short film) I was making up on the spot. You can probably tell because the plot is fuzzy and makes pretty much no sense. But nonetheless I like sock monkeys and the fact that I stood in the scorching heat of my backyard that day all alone shooting it. It was worth the 18 seconds of video though.

3. PATIENCE you need it. so get it. I am probably not the one that should be telling you this as this is a problem of my own... sometimes... but just to run off some numbers for you:

SOCK MONKEY STOP MOTION: Probably around 300+ pictures


POST IT STOP MOTION: 212 pictures


THAT LAST ONE:  Easily 200-400 pictures

Ok so I am not absolutely positive on the exact number of pictures for each but I do know that it was more than I thought there would be.

So, another trend thing is using Legos to make a stop motion. Here is one amazing tutorial on how to get them look like there walking.

• click here for tutorial •

I made a stop motion with legos and also took some funny pictures and stuff using the undeniably lovely little characters. Here are some of my favorite shots throughout the process:

Here they are.. you might be able to see that they have little uniforms. Nothing special, just black and white.

This one had a face on each side so it makes for a more diverse character.

The expression on this one? I love it!

I love how I could just rotate the heads and hair out to make a completely new person!!!

Here was my set up. I used my light box and my new $10 each construction lights. It pretty much worked amazingly in my opinion.

And I really really like this song called Carol Brown by Flight of the Conchords. Its funny and quirky I love the vid. too!So why not combine a good song and stop motion to make a great stop motion video!! I have made a little teaser for it. Sadly but understandably there are all these copyright issues and stuff so the video is only available on a computer rather than also on mobile devices or tvs.

to see the video on YouTube you must...

• CLICK HERE •
• OR CLICK HERE •
• OR MAYBE EVEN CLICK HERE •

I am obviously disappointed in the fact that this limits the amount of people that can watch it, but it cannot be changed :(. Happily, (in another format) I am able to upload this version which even though is smaller, is still the video and thats what matters! Here it is:

I am going to post the finished video sometime in the future (So check back here!) but for now you are left with only a sneak peek!

Hope this helps with all your little stop motion wants and needs when it comes to ideas and inspiration!