Have you ever wanted to try stop motion animation but been put off by how long the process takes?

When you consider that professional stop motion animators usually capture between 12-25 frames (photographs) to create a single second of animation, you can only imagine how long it would take to make a full feature film! With lengthy production processes, complex puppets and scenes featuring multiple characters, it can sometimes take world-class film studios such as Aardman Animations years to create a single movie.

“The output of animation (per animator) was around one second each day, with 40 seconds taking roughly 18 weeks. A single puppet took between 30-50 weeks for a crew to work on. Multiply that by 15 for the hero puppets and another 50 for background characters of lesser detail. Then there are the sets: Chicken Island took two years to build and a single week to take down.” – Animation Magazine (Issue No. 336)

There is no denying stop motion animation can take a long time to do… but it doesn’t always have to. Stop motion can also be a quick, fun, easy activity suitable for different time frames and skill levels. 

In this article, we will share ideas for simple micro-movies that can be made in 5 minutes, as well as information for tackling more complex filmmaking productions. Whether you have a few minutes, an entire day or more, there are stop motion ideas here for everyone! If you’re looking for equipment to start creating animated movies, the HUE Animation Studio kit, designed for animators aged 7 and up, makes it easy to capture and edit your videos.

Quick tips for short films:

• Keep your story idea simple.
• Don’t make complex backgrounds or puppets (objects and toys can play the starring roles in your movies).
• Limit the number of characters and scene locations.
• Avoid dialogue and lip-synch.
• Avoid using special effects or complex video edits.
• Use a low frame rate.

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Five Quick and Easy Stop Motion Ideas for Kids!

1. 2-frame flip books

OK, so this example isn’t technically stop motion, but it is a whole lot of fun, and a fantastic way to demonstrate the concept of animation to children with just a sheet of paper, and a pencil.

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2. Object animation

There’s no need to spend time making puppets and sets with object (or toy) animation. Just look around on your desk, in your kitchen cupboards, toy box or recycling bin and you will find ready-made subjects just waiting to be animated. The most fun aspect of this activity is making up characteristics for different objects. A cable could be a snake, a dish sponge could be a dog, a blob of clay could have an adventure on your desk, and a leaf could be a fish – all through the magic of stop motion animation. 

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3. Pixilation (animating people)

Animating people is a popular stop motion technique, so much so it even has its own special name: ‘pixilation’. With a pinch of creativity and a dash of concentration, it is possible to make hilarious short stories in 5 minutes with the pixilation technique. If you need some inspiration, we love these fun pixilation examples by YouTuber Sarah de Gaudemar.

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4. Play with your food

Stop motion animation and food go together like movies and popcorn; perfect for when you’re craving both entertainment and a snack! You can save even more time by making food animations on your lunch break. With animation you could eat a 12 inch sub at super speed, clean your plate through the power of telekinesis, or magically morph the ingredients for your weekend margarita, like animator and artist Evan Hilton in his short film Cucumber Lime. 

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5. Whiteboard animation

While this Egg And Chicken 🐣 Stop Motion White board Animation might have taken more than 5 minutes to make, it would be easy to create something simpler and quicker with the same technique. You could animate a birthday greeting to send to a family member, or create a cute illustrated character waving to a friend.

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Resources 

If you try any of these ‘5 minute ani-makes’ and would like to tackle some more ambitious, film-festival-worthy projects, we have a whole host of detailed articles, FAQs, and tutorial videos on the HUE blog to help you in your movie-making adventures:

• Digital storytelling and HUE Animation
• Stop motion set making for beginners and kids
• Free resources included with HUE Animation Studio
• Stop motion studio for HUE software tutorial videos
• Stop motion techniques for beginners
• HUE Animation Activity Guides
• Free HUE Animation resources on our Teachers Pay Teachers store
• Discover the animation activities included in the HUE Book of Animation 

Have you made any micro-movies with your kiddos? Let us know in the comment section or Contact Us with your video links. We will post the best submissions in a playlist in this blog post. 

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