In case you couldn't tell, we love stop-motion animation at Tongal. There’s something beautifully simple and rewarding about watching a great execution of the medium. We love that anyone with a desk, a camera, a couple lamps and a strong imagination can jump in and start creating.
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Perfecting this medium, however, is anything but simple. We’re all aware of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours concept, but how many frames do you think it takes to reach excellence in stop-motion animation?
Well, we don’t have the answer to that question, but we asked Somethings Awry Productions to help you get started with frame 1. You can check out all four videos that cover the important methods to keep in mind when starting out as a stop-motion animator on our YouTube channel, but in the meantime let’s explore a couple key concepts. And if stop-motion isn’t your jam, needn’t you worry, these tips are universal to all genres of video content. Let’s take a look…
Ease In / Ease Out
Ease in/out is a fundamental animation tool that is used not only in stop-motion, but in all sorts of motion graphics. It adds a realistic flow to objects as if they’re actually being affected by gravity and force. You can tell when Ease in/out (or “easy ease” for all you After Effects kids) isn’t implemented correctly; the movements will feel rigid and stale.
This theory doesn’t just apply to objects however, it applies to anything that moves - including titles. One way to increase “slickness” in your title work ten fold is by adding some ease. Notice how the bars and titles slide smoothly into place in this clip:
After Effects is the go-to program for 2D animation and gives you full control to achieve the slick movements seen above. Once you’ve added keyframes to the position markers on your objects click on the grid icon on your toolbar.
Notice with this view and how much control you now have over the speed and ease of your movements and how they “land.” Try messing around with the slider positions and see what you get. After enough practice with this tool you can really nail down what I like to call “Hip Title Sequences.” A great title sequence is something you can essentially create on spec at little cost and in your spare time to take your reel to the next level.
Removing Animation Supports (aka masking)
Masking is such a wondrous invention essential to any special effect. It’s literally magic. You can make things disappear at the click of a button. The number 1 tip to keep in mind when filming (animation or not) is to get some clean footage at the same camera angle of your background, aka a “background plate.”
This not only enables you to create fun stop-motion tricks like a taxi driving off a cliff, but also can cover your butt when you’re in pinch on set and need to fly an actor or object in via green screen at a later date.
In this case, Somethings Awry shot a background twice so they could put the taxi with the wood support on top and anything they take away from that layer won’t leave an empty hole on the screen.
In theory, they could have moved the taxi anywhere on the screen. Think about what other fun things you can mask; a super hero leaping off the ground into the sky, a basketball star dunking from half court etc...
Hopefully these videos inspire you to create your own animations or even live action videos. Get out there, shoot and experiment in post!
Check out the the full playlist here and comment with any tutorials you'd like to see!
