STOP MOTION: ANIMATION TUTORIALS

 

STEP 1: SETTING UP A FILE STRUCTURE

STEP 2: IMPORTING PHOTOS INTO PHOTOSHOP

  • Sequence Photos: Before importing your photos to Photoshop check that the image numbers are in sequential order > If images are not sequential open Bridge to sequence and renumber your photos or see link below

  • Importing Photos to Photoshop: File> Open > Select photo folder> Select first image> Click "options" > Check the box titled “Image Sequence” > Open > Set frame-rate window to 15fps > OK

  • Scrubbing: Select the play head in the Timeline window> Drag the playhead back and forth to scroll through your images > Confirm all your photos were successfully imported

  • Saving your project: File > Save As... > Select your project folder > Title your project > Format as a Photoshop doc (.psd) > Check "Layers"> Hit Save

STEP 3: CROPPING AND RESIZING STOP MOTION PHOTOS

  • Reducing/Changing the Size of the Images and Frame: Image > Image Size... > Adjust height variable to image size requirements> Hit OK > Click Confirm

  • Zoom in/out of image with the magnifying glass icon or use

  • Crop Tool: Select crop tool in left-hand bar > Use handle on the edges of your image to manually crop image

  • Escaping from Ratio Selection: Escape if you do not like the cropping adjustments - Enter applies the changes

STEP 4: BASIC PHOTO AND IMAGE ADJUSTMENTS

  • Make Images Black & White: Image > Adjustments > Select Black and White filter

  • Adjust Contrast: Image > Adjustments > Select Levels... > In the Levels dialog box pull the sliders along the x axis > Click OK to apply adjustment

  • Adjust Color: Image > Adjustments > Color Balance... > Pull sliders to adjust contrast between colors > Click OK to apply adjustments

  • 4. Edit/Reorder Image Adjustments: Go to Layers panel > See Adjustments under Smart Filters Layer > Turn adjustments off/on by clicking the eye icon > Click and drag a filter (up or down) to reorder > Double-click a filter to edit specific adjustments

STEP 5: ADDING AUDIO TO PHOTOSHOP TIMELINE

Make sure to select your audio clip before you take photos or begin animating

To Import Audio into Photoshop:

  • Note: Save audio in your project folder

  • In Timeline window click the arrow in "Audio Track" > Hit Add Audio... > Find audio in your project folder and select it > Open

Cutting Audio in Photoshop: Bring cursor to the beginning/end of audio to crop> Pull the beginning of the audio bar to where you want it to begin

Fade In/Out: CTRL-Click anywhere on the green audio bar > Pull sliders to adjust fade in/out to however many seconds you set> Hit ENTER to apply fade

STEP 6: EXPORTING THE IMAGE SEQUENCE AS A VIDEO

IMPORTANT: Always keep a saved version of your base photoshop files before rendering/exporting your video file

  • Export Video from Photoshop: File > Export > Render Video... > In the Render Video dialog box input the name, select export folder, set Format to "H.264," set Preset to "High Quality," don't change frame rate, under Range select “All Frames” > Render

  • Checking You’re Video: Go to the folder of your saved video > Open the mp4 to play through and check your video before uploading online

  • Upload to YouTube or Vimeo - you will submitting a link to your video, not the video itself

  • BE SURE TO SAVE + BACKUP ALL FILES, not just the exported video

Also, a few reminders of your options with this different video format:

  1. Pop out of Canvas and watch in a new tab if any of the features aren't working

  2. There are fullscreen and CC (Sub-title) options available in the right hand corner. For being YouTube auto-captions, these are pretty clear. I think they must have improved their algorithm. Please email me with any accessibility needs.

  3. If you are feeling pressed for time, but don't want to miss anything, you can watch with audio in 1.5 speed by hitting that little gear icon.