Stop Motion

The team at Syrp adds a stop motion feature to its motion control Genie 2 App.

One of the stranger titles I've written, but the subtitle would be stranger: Lithuanian man uses stop motion to make insects dance and influences some of the most iconic films of all time.

If you were a time-lapse photographer about to buy yourself a shiny new camera, what would be your choice? Time-lapse aficionado Matthew Vandeputte was contacted by Panasonic asking him to try out the new S1, and to say that he’s impressed is something of an understatement.

The stories told in stop-frame movies usually tap into our childhood imagination. Even though we know the characters are represented in a fictional way, they're able to make us believe and experience the story with the characters.

Wes Anderson's latest animated offering looks set to be another visual feast. In this video by Entertainment Weekly, we get to take a peek at how the animators created such detailed characters.

With today's photo and video tools at hand, and science in mind, filmmakers, and biologists Rob Nelson, and Jonas Stenstrom set out to teach us how to use our gear to their fullest potential. Every week, 52 Things (get it?), releases a video that aims to tell an engaging story that will not only entertain, but educate us on how to be better storytellers ourselves. I love this concept. It reminds me a little of Lee and Patrick's efforts to post 30 videos in 30 days (shameless self promo).

Sex sells. This basic advertising trick could be the number one rule of any marketing textbook. Unfortunately, as uninspiring as it seems, associating brands with provocative half-naked bodies draws people’s attention. Pushing this logic to the extreme, French Musician Hiérophante created a short stop-motion video showing naked women’s bodies being covered by brand logos. The result leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling of watching some sort of livestock branding.

LA-based rock band OK Go is no stranger to innovative music videos. Their single, “Here It Goes Again,” was accompanied by a treadmill-orientated dance routine that sent the clip viral upon its release in 2006. Now, the band is hitting headlines once again for their creative and resourceful visuals for "Obsession."

The art of animation in any form can be a long an tedious process however doing so with traditional stop motion techniques, manipulating your subject one frame at a time takes serious commitment and determination. Brett Foxwell takes this practice to a higher level creating amazing alien like organic worlds by slicing away one layer at a time from various pieces of wood in his newest short film "WoodSwimmer".

Frame Order is a Netherlands-based animation studio that normally creates cartoons. With their latest short film “Golden Oldies,” the team took on the challenge of pixilation using real people. This stop motion technique blends human actors with animated scenes, and this video is the perfect example of the creative potential and fun that can be had with it.

You think your camera is fast? Check this out. A group of researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a camera that is way faster than yours. I guarantee it. Their camera captures at a frame rate equivalent to five trillion images per second, a rate faster than previously thought possible. It’s so fast that even captures light in flight.

Today was a day of much needed motivation, so I decided to grab one of my speedlights and shoot a portrait with an element of motion. In this case, water.

You fall into one of two camps when it comes to Wes Anderson films. You either absolutely love his stylistic, quirky work, or you don't. And while those of you who fall into the latter of the two are entitled to your wrong (very wrong) opinion, we should all be excited about his latest film announced today, "Isle of Dogs."

Lately, I've found myself watching lots of stop motion films. It's something I've always wanted to try (I've tried very simple things thanks to Vine), but never really dove into. Now, after watching "Infinitude," my head is spinning at the possibilities of what you can create with stop motion.

Stop motion animation is by far one of the most forgotten mediums for filmmaking, yet it holds high respect for what it is and how it's done in large motion pictures today. Those pushing the envelope in 2016 are the geniuses behind Laika Studios where they blended hand crafted puppets, CGI, and 3D printing to build a world filled with imagination and story.