5 tips for shooting incredible stop-motion videos

Stop-motion animation is an incredible way to bring inanimate, static objects to life. It requires a lot of patience, attention to detail, and a slightly different approach than regular photography.

If you are familiar with my work, you probably know that I love stop-motion videos and incorporating movement into my images. Making people wonder how I created a particular effect feels like creating magic, and that’s what I love most about this type of content. Besides, it’s almost therapeutic to create them.

Recently, I had the opportunity to create a stop-motion video for Superoot, a brand that offers an electrolyte drink mix designed to enhance energy, focus, and immunity made with natural ingredients like ginger, turmeric, maca, beet, and ginseng. The task was to create a short, catchy video showing these ingredients. While shooting, I thought it’d be great to share some behind-the-scenes secrets and tips on how I make these animations look so smooth.

So, here I am, ready to spill the beans on the top five things I always keep in mind while creating stop-motion videos. Let’s dive in!

Tip #1: Use continuous lights

Lighting consistency is key in stop-motion to ensure smooth, flicker-free videos. Using continuous lighting instead of flash or natural light helps maintain the same light throughout the shoot. This eliminates flicker or light shifts that can affect the smoothness of the animation. Investing in good-quality continuous lights can significantly improve the overall look of the video by providing steady, flicker-free illumination.

For this particular video, I used three continuous lights, including the Godox Knowled M600D, Amaran 300c, and Godox VL 300. These mono heads allowed me to fully control the lighting environment by cancelling out all ambient light, ensuring that only the artificial lights influenced the animation.

Tip #2: Use Dragonframe stop-motion software

Dragonframe is the industry standard for stop-motion animation. It has features designed to make the process easier and more precise. It allows you to control your camera and view onion skin overlays to see the previous frame while setting up the next one. This level of control helps you avoid errors and maintain consistency in your animations, leading to smoother, more professional videos.

For quick and simple animations or GIFs, you can probably skip Dragonframe, but for anything more complex, it’s pretty much a must-have. Big studios use Dragonframe to create movies like “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and, more recently, “Pinocchio.” You can imagine how robust this software is! I mostly use it for the onion skin feature, which helps me align frames perfectly.

If you’re serious about diving into stop motion, I highly recommend getting the wireless keypad controller. It’s about $300 (including the license), but it’s worth the investment for the added ease it brings to the workflow.

Tip #3: Use an AC adapter to power your camera

I should have started this post with this tip because I think it’s the most crucial for successful stop-motion: Never, and hear me when I say never, touch or move the camera while shooting a stop-motion video. This is the golden rule.

Stop-motion shoots can be lengthy (they are always lengthy, to be honest), and having to change camera batteries disrupts the workflow and leads to shifts in camera position. I learned this the hard way when I was shooting the last three frames of a video, and the battery died. I almost died that day, too! From that day on, I never rely on batteries when shooting stop-motions. Using an AC adapter to power your camera ensures a constant power supply, allowing you to focus on the animation without worrying about battery life. This small gadget can save time and help maintain consistency throughout the entire process.

I recommend this Nikon AC adapter if you shoot Nikon. I’ve used this generic one, which is way cheaper but probably won’t work with some camera models.

Tip #4: Use a tripod

Using a tripod relates directly to our previous tip about consistency between shots. Just as an AC adapter is vital for maintaining power without interruptions, a sturdy tripod is essential for keeping your camera locked in place. Any movement, even slight, can affect the flow of the animation. A good tripod ensures that once you’ve set your camera’s position, it won’t move, which is crucial for getting flawless and seamless sequences.

I recommend any tripod from Manfrotto. The one I use is the Manfrotto 055.

Tip #5: Shoot from the same position

As you may have noticed, consistency is a theme in stop-motion animation. Just like maintaining consistent lighting is crucial, keeping your position consistent is equally important. Moving around the set and shooting each frame from a different position can change how light falls on the scene, leading to shifts in lighting that cause flickering in your final video. By staying in a fixed position, you minimize changes in light direction and intensity, helping to ensure that your stop-motion sequence remains flicker-free.

Additionally, wearing black minimizes light reflections or light bounce caused by clothing, which can also affect the lighting consistency. I personally always wear black when shooting photos or videos, and to ensure consistency in my position, I even mark the spot where I stand to ensure everything remains the same between frames.

Here’s the final stop-motion video I created for Superoot:

Stop-motion is truly a labour of love, demanding both patience and an extraordinary eye for detail. While the process might be complex and time-consuming, the results are always worth the effort.

The tips I’ve shared focus on what to keep in mind before and during the shoot, but we didn’t even talk about the animation process itself. You can imagine how creating a good stop-motion involves controlling various factors, adding to its complexity.

I understand that this might sound a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re a business or brand looking to leverage this type of content. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! You can count on me to handle every aspect of your next stop-motion project, ensuring your content makes people stop and stare.