Stop Motion

animation · filmmaking · puppets · special effects

Photos Make Magic. Stop motion artists take a photo, move their puppet or clay figure just a little bit, then take another photo. When they play all these photos really fast in a row, it looks like the object is moving all by itself.

Many Types Possible. You can stop motion almost anything, but puppets with bendy joints and clay figures work best. Some artists even use paper cutouts, fabric, or old photographs to make them move on screen.

Built on Armatures. Inside every stop motion puppet is a skeleton made of metal or other sturdy materials called an armature. This frame holds the puppet together and lets animators pose it in different ways for each tiny movement.

People Can Be Stop Motion Too. When filmmakers use stop motion with real actors instead of puppets, it's called pixilation. The actor holds a pose, a photo is taken, then the actor moves slightly for the next shot.

Tons of Patience Needed. A single second of stop motion film takes about 24 individual photographs. That means a 10-minute movie needs over 14,000 separate photos and can take many months to make.