How to Make Your Own Short Movie With Stick People

A digital camera or web-cam can be used

Using only pens, paper, a camera and the free software on most laptops, it is easy to create a fun short film, using a technique called stop motion animation. Stop motion uses the same principal as a flip book. Small movements flicked through quickly give the illusion of movement. By capturing each drawing as a photograph and editing them together on a computer, much longer and much more ambitious sequences can be made than those that are flicked through on paper.

Things You'll Need

• Pen
• Paper
• Digital camera or web-cam
• Desk light
• Windows Movie Maker

Instructions

1. Plan your story. For any film to work it needs to have a good story. Make some notes, plot your idea. Keep it simple--it will be easier to animate.

2. Draw out your film. Draw your first picture, then place the next page over the top, so your stick figures stay in the same places and draw the next. Each new drawing should show a small movement from the last. The simpler you keep the scenes, the easier it will be to keep movements smooth. Each picture will last half a second, so decide how long in seconds you want your film to be, and draw twice as many pictures.

3. Prepare the filming area. Fix the camera or web-cam in place so it cannot move between photographs and mark out where your drawings will be placed. Use the desk light to light the area evenly.

4. Photograph each drawing. If using a web-cam, capture each photograph directly into your computer. If using a digital camera, take the photographs, then upload to your computer.

5. Open Windows Media Player. Click Tools, Options, Advanced, then set the picture duration to 0.5 seconds. Start a new project and import your pictures. Highlight, drag and drop your pictures onto the time-line at the bottom of the screen. If you have music to add, import it and add it to the "Audio/Music" section of the time-line. When you have finished arranging pictures and music, click File, Publish Movie, and save it to your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Windows Media Player is not the only software you can use. There are a number of free softwares you can download, and Mac computers come with iMovie, a similar program to Windows Movie Maker, already installed.

• Be careful of copyright laws when adding music to your movies. If you are planning to publish your movie you cannot use copyrighted music.

References

• Stop Motion Animation: The Stop-Motion Handbook