How to Edit Frames in iStopMotion

Edit frames in iStopMotion to change an individual frame or to change how a selected group of frame functions in your iStopMotion movie as a sequence. Moving, rearranging, adding and deleting are just some of the individual frame commands available to you. Knowing how to edit your frames makes the difference between a movie that looks thrown together and one with a professional edge.

Instructions

1. Move the "Overlay" slide bar located just beneath and to the right of the working animation window all the way to the left.

2. Click the small round "Time Display" button below the "Overlay" button to toggle between your frames and your time display.

3. Select the small square button next to "Frame" just beneath the "Time Display" button to bring up a clock that gives you a frame of reference for how far you are into your animated movie as you edit individual frames.

4. Place your cursor over the series of gray boxes located beneath the working animation window and between the "Overlay" button and the "Time" button. This brings up individual frames within the movie's time sequence. The frames are presented in a configuration like a smear of playing cards. Select individual frames for editing with your cursor.

5. Delete a frame. Click on the frame and then drag it to the trash can.

6. Cut frames to change the order of the frame display. Click on a frame to edit. This brings up that frame in the animation working box. Select cut.

7. Paste the cut frames back into the frame sequence at a new location. Place the cursor at the point in the fame sequence you want the frame to appear, then select "Paste."

8. Reverse the order of a sequence of frames. Click on the first of the sequence and hold down the "Shift" button while highlighting to the end of the sequence. Click "Edit" listed in the Options menu at the top of the page and selecting "Reverse Order."

Tips & Warnings

• Users of Mac OS X v10.2.x users are instructed by Boinx Software to stay with iStopMotion 1.5. Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" users are instructed to get iStopMotion version 1.8.1 or later.

Resources

• IStopMotion overview and purchase from Boinx Software