Multimedia – Stop Motion Animation My First Animation with Frames – Level 1

What You’ll Learn… Stuff You’ll Need… What You Should Know… Learn the basics of creating an animation with Frames software Learn to add frames Learn to add text, transitions and more Learn to export your animation as a movie Stuff You’ll Need… Frames Software What You Should Know… How to launch Frames software

What You Should Know… Stop motion animation is a series of pictures played as a movie. The picture might be played fast or slow depending on the application. A good example of stop motion animation is claymation. Another example is a series of pictures played slowly to show a process that you might go through in the learning environment such as building a model, or using a piece of equipment. When narration, music, and text are added, stop motion animation can be a powerful way to show a process or tell a story. Gumby and Pokey are famous characters that are made of clay. Gumby starred on television in 223 episodes over a 35 year period. King Kong, a famous movie about a giant ape was filmed in 1933 utilizing stop motion animation.

What You Should Know… Depending on the animation different frame rates are used. The measurement of the frame rate is fps or frames per second. This means that every second a certain number of frames are shown. Standard video is about 30 fps and film is 24 fps. The frame rate of stop motion animation varies depending on what effect the author/artist is going for. What frame rate will you use when you design your own stop motion animation? How will this impact your project? The Star Wars movies were all shot at 24 fps.

A Note About Frames The following Tutorial is very step-by-step Make sure you are following along, completing each step. This tutorial is for an older version of Frames. However; things will still be there. They just may look different or be in a different area.

Do It… Launch Frames software Add a folder of images When Frames opens, you will see an empty animation. You will need to add frames to the animation to begin. You will add sample images from the Library that originally installs with Frames. Click the Library tab. You will see folders in the Library. Double-click the Tutorial folder to open it. Library Tab Tutorial Folder

Do It… Click the Clay Animation Folder to select it. Click and drag this folder into the preview area. You will see the cursor change to show that you are adding the frames in this folder. You will see each frame in the Frames List. You will see the last frame in the Preview area. If you see the Storyboard, click the Frame List tab. Frame List Tab

Do It… Preview the Animation The timeline is currently set to the last frame. Click the First Frame button in the Preview area. Click the Play button in the Preview area to watch the animation. The preview will stop at the last frame of the animation. First Frame Button Play Button

Do It… Copy and Paste Frames… you can copy and paste frames to make part of the animation repeat The last frame of the animation is selected in the Frame List. Press and hold down the Shift key on the keyboard. Click the first frame of the animation. All of the frames will be selected. Click the Copy button on the toolbar. Click the last frame of the animation. Click the Paste button on the toolbar. A copy of each frame will be pasted at the end of the animation. Copy Button Paste Button

Do It… Add a New Frame… you can add more frames to an animation, such as a frame for a title. Click the New Blank Frame button at the bottom of the Frame List. You will see the new frame added to the end of the animation. You will see a blank frame in the Preview area. The last frame in the Frame List is selected. Click and drag the last frame to the top of the Frame List. You will see a black line above the first frame in the Frame List. The blank frame is now the first frame in the animation. New Blank Frame Button

Do It… Change the Background Color Click the first frame in the Frame List. Click the Options tab to see the editing options for the frame. Click the Fill color box in the Options panel. You will see a color palette. The preview will show this new color on the frame. Options Tab Choose the color you want here Fill Color Box

Do It… Add a Text Object… you can add text to create a title for the animation Click the Text button on the toolbar. You will see a text object in the middle of the frame. Double-click the text object. You will see a blinking cursor. Type: What’s the Idiom? Click the frame outside the text object when you are done. Text Button

Do It… Format Text… you can change the way text looks Resize the text object so it is about as big as the frame. Click the Font pull-down menu in the Options panel to choose a new font. Click and drag the Size slider on the Options panel to the right to make the font larger. Click the Fill color box to choose a new text color. text object is about the size of the frame Font pull-down menu Size slider

Do It… Change Frame Duration… you can change the length of time a frame is shown. The title frame should last longer than other frames in the animation. You will see the frame duration in the Options panel. Click and drag the Duration slider to the right to make the frame show for 3 seconds. This will give viewers time to read the title What is the frame rate when the duration is set to .5 seconds? What is the frame rate when the duration is set to 3 seconds?

Do It… Add and Edit Another Frame Click the last frame in the Frame list. Click the New Blank Frame button at the bottom of the Frame list. Change the background color of the new frame. Add the new text: Get Your Ducks in a Row! Format the new text.

Do It… Add a Transition… transitions are a great way to move from the title to the first frame in the animation Transitions are added after the selected frame. Click the first frame in the Frame List to add a transition between frames one and two. Click the Transition button on the toolbar. Select Blend from the transition list and click the Apply button. You will see the frames being processed, and see the transition in the Frame List. First Frame Transition list Apply Button Transition Button

Do It… Add Audio Click the First Frame button in the Preview area to select the first frame in the animation. Sound is added at the selected frame, so this sound will start at the beginning of the animation. Click the Library tab. Click the Home button. Double-click the Sounds folder. Double-click the Music Folder. Find and click the Cartoon sound. You will see buttons on the sound. Click the Add button. You will see the sound in the sound track. Add Button

Do It… Make a Movie… Click the Make button on the toolbar and you will see the Export Animation dialog. Click the Presentation radio button. Click the Export button. You will see the Save As dialog. Choose a place to save the file. When the file conversion is finished, you will see a Finished Exporting dialog. Click the Launch button to watch your movie.

Questions/Research Watch the YouTube video on the class website Describe why it is important to Storyboard Storyboard your movie Describe Your movie in at least five (5) bullet points What items/materials you will use How many pictures you’ll take

Do It… It’s Time to Make your own Movie! Before you make your own movie, you need to have completed the sample movie with the ducks. Items you may use: Zoob, K’Nex, Chairs, books, etc. Things you bring in If you have another idea, ask Mr. Ochs! Requirements for your movie are on the next slide Example of Zoob

Do It… It’s Time to Make your own Movie! Requirements Utilize at least one (1) slide transition. Have a title. You MUST use a tripod Must be at least 100 pictures (more pictures, the better!) Export your movie and save it into your Teams’ Folder. Suggestions for your movie Move only your characters or pieces, not the camera! Move your characters or pieces as little as possible Use the portable light studio