How to create cool content with animation?

What is stop motion

Stop motion is a system based on time-lapse where objects are moving in a certain sequence and photographed at each stage. Then the succession of shots is wrapped together and an audio track may be added on the background.
Basically, it represents a video of a series of fast moving images. Remember notebooks with pictures that began to come to life when quickly scrolled? The principle is the same.

The technique itself was invented over 100 years ago for puppet animation. One of the first was Vladislav Starevich. Since 1910, he has shot several films about the life of beetles. He needed only dead insects, fishing lines to give the legs the right poses, a camera and a lot of patience. These films look interesting even a century later, and at one time they caused a real sensation.

In this article, we clean up what kind of animation are used in the stop motion technique, how to create it, why this is a good format for Instagram and you should start using it right now. You can always check our articles for more information in order to be up-to-date to IG news.

New is well forgotten old: Stop motion new Instagram trend

Over the past 10 years, stop motion has once again gained popularity with active steps in clips, advertising and animation. People were fed up with complex graphics, which increased the need for creative change.
It sounds strange, but even the accessibility to modern technology and sophisticated 3D animation, global brands and top bloggers are using technology that has already celebrated its centenary.

Stop motion: Faster and easier than regular video

It takes much less time and effort to create a stop motion that will bring more interest rather than a regular video. You just need to correctly position and move objects.
Having filled your hand, in 2 hours you can shoot 10 seconds of finished material, which is a lot. There is nothing difficult in editing either - a beginner can handle it.

In fact, these stop motion videos look simple, slightly "torn" videos look stylish and help to convey the desired message without being distracted by unnecessary details. And this is for a much smaller budget.

IKEA posts a lot of stop motion videos on its YouTube channel . They share storage ideas and show the functionality of the furniture. It looks concise and understandable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4knPavbK84&list=PLZKweYqjSlQTbISJoke5tqJ1oNx2RHjlP

Why stop motion is good for Instagram:

• Allows you to show something from a different angle.
• Allows you to illustrate a service or product from different points just in one piece of content. Especially relevant for FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) products, beauty services, culinary channels, etc.
• Attracts attention.
• People are subscribed to hundreds of channels on Instagram and rarely scroll to the end. In the first 30 seconds, the publication loses about 33% of the audience. The main task is to attract the attention of subscribers. Stop motion is an easy way to grow your audience.
• Suitable for Instagram format.
• Instagram severely limits the length of video content. The maximum length of a video in a post is 1 minute, on IGTV it is 10 minutes. Short animated videos with a simple plot can be easily squeezed into seconds. This way you do not force subscribers to study the content for a long time and save their time.

How to create a stop motion video

First you need to decide what you want to show. There should be an idea and a concept, especially if you are filming a video for a reason, but as part of a video marketing strategy . Write a script, think in advance of the background, props, characters (if any).

For example, in an advertisement for Amazon Kindle ebooks, the idea is clear: the character of the video travels in his imagination, reading books. Many books, many different worlds. All in one small device.

The best option is to use a neutral background so as not to distract attention from characters and things. When shooting small objects, you can use a photo box (sometimes called a light cube). It is a portable cube-shaped design for lighting and image enhancement.
The props depend on the plot and are limited only by your imagination.
The next step is storyboarding. The more detailed the better. It will streamline the plot and simplify the shooting process.

How to make a storyboard

• Draw by hand. Draw 8 by 8 frame borders on the sheet. You will have 64 frames on one sheet. You don't need to draw all the details, just make a sketch.
• Download a ready-made template on request "Storyboard template".

Don't forget to set the timing. The scene in the video lasts about 2-3 seconds. If you have a 10 second short video, you can only show 5 scenes. Consider this.

How do you know how many frames you need? Think about how many scenes you want to show and how long the video will be. For example, you have 5 scenes, each 2 seconds long. This is 10 seconds of video. Then multiply the number of frames per second by the duration and get 120. It is advisable to make frames with a margin to make editing easier. It turns out you need 150 frames.

The audio track is superimposed at the end of the editing. Make sure it matches the footage. It happens that when overdubbing, the audio sequence is unsuccessfully cut off at the end and you have to select the music again.

Edit the stop motion video

You don't have to use a video editor. There are professional desktop programs in which you can make gluing, but this requires skills. If you are editing for the first time, simple animation can be done in the mobile editor. Free - Stop Motion Studio, Life Laps.
Not all mobile editors allow you to add text or add effects, but for the first time they are enough.

Stop motion will raise a lot of interest among your Instagram audience. Bring more Insta followers to your content and views on your masterpiece by using trustful services of Instagram followers and Instagram views on InstaShop.