OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Stop-motion animation is a special way to make movies. Instead of drawing pictures or using a computer, filmmakers move real objects just a tiny bit, take a picture, move them again, and take another picture. When all the pictures are played fast, the objects look like they are moving on their own!

You can make stop-motion movies with almost anything. People use clay, toys, paper cutouts, and even food. It takes a lot of patience because you need to take many, many pictures to make just a few seconds of a movie.

To make a stop-motion movie, you need something to animate and a camera. Here is how it works:

1. Set up your character or object.
2. Take a picture.
3. Move the object just a little bit.
4. Take another picture.
5. Keep going until your scene is done!

When you play all the pictures fast, your object looks alive! Most stop-motion movies show about 12 to 24 pictures every single second. That means to make one minute of a movie, you might need over a thousand pictures!

Some of your favorite movies might be stop-motion! The Nightmare Before Christmas is a famous stop-motion movie about a skeleton named Jack who discovers Christmas. All the characters are little puppets that were moved by hand.

Wallace and Gromit is a funny show about a man and his clever dog. They are made out of clay! The movies Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep are made with clay too. A studio called Aardman in England makes these movies.

Coraline is another stop-motion movie about a girl who finds a secret door to a mysterious world. A studio called Laika made this movie and many others.