Documentation:Stop Motion/What is stop motion animation

Stop motion is an animation technique which allows static objects to appear as if they're moving, by taking individual pictures. Between pictures, slight adjustments are made to the objects being photographed, creating the illusion of movement when the pictures are run together, like the frames of a film. Examples of stop motion used in education include Slowmation and blackboard animations. Stop motion is a good choice if you want to create a small number of videos conveying complicated physical processes.

Stop motion can be extremely time-consuming: a video shot on a video camera usually runs at 24 fps (frames per second). Each photo taken for a stop motion project is one frame. If each photo takes 30 seconds, creating a five-minute 24 fps video will take 60 hours. While 24 fps is a much higher frame rate than you have to use (2 fps will work well in most applications) stop motion projects take a long time to create.

However, stop motion animation doesn't require a video camera, can be done with almost anything, and allows for a fine degree of control over the subjects of the video. It's also naturally engaging: people love watching inanimate objects come to life!