Create a Stop Motion or Step One video animation

Documentaries broadcast on television, very often, are not real videos, they are just photo sequences edited with a special technique called Time Lapse Movie or stop motion or Step One.

For example, when a flower is shown growing, it is photographed several times and then all the sequence of photos is edited in an accelerated way, so that it looks like a real video. If we have taken several photographs depicting the same slowly changing scenario, we can assemble the photos with this technique, compress times and create a video made up of these fast-flowing images.

Stop motion can also be used for make short animated videosusing as models the sequential photos in our possession or the videos that we have already made with the camcorder or with our mobile phone.

Let’s see in this guide how create an animation video with Stop Motion or Step Oneusing free programs and apps that can apply time lapse or stop motion to the photos inserted in the app or program and thus create effective slow-motion videos.

READ ALSO -> Slow Motion Video Maker App

1) Clipchamp

The best PC program to make stop motion animated videos (starting from sequence photographs) is Clipchampwhich has become the official video editor on Windows 11 and can be downloaded directly from Microsoft Store.

To immediately create the stop motion video, open the app, log in with your personal Microsoft account, press the button at the top left Create a new videowe press on Import media itemsload all the captured photos and drag them one by one to the timeline at the bottom.

Once all the photos (or video frames) have been loaded, press the button at the top right Exports to export the video, so we can enjoy our short film in stop motion.

2) Clideo (online)

If we have already made a video and want to transform it into stop motion we can rely on the online application Clideuscapable of recreating the One Step effect on any normal speed video (consisting of both photos and actual footage).

To proceed with the transformation, press the button Choose filesload the video by choosing it from the computer’s memory, wait for the loading to finish and, in the editor screen, choose the speed that the video in Stop Motion must have and the frequency per clip.

After making all the necessary adjustments, we start playing the preview (just press the Play button under the video screen) and, if we are satisfied with the result, press on Export at the bottom right to save the new Stop Motion video to your PC.

3) Dragonframes

One of the best programs for making stop motion movies and cartoons is Dragonframea point of reference in the sector also used at the cinematographic level.

Its use is not simple but it allows you to create new stop motion videos with absolute precision starting from live recordings with a camera, modifying the videos already made or inserting a series of photographs.

The program offers numerous tools to change the speed, frame style and stop motion effect for any frame, so that we can unleash the full potential of the animated video we are making.

4) Eclipse

Another professional program for making stop motion videos is Eclipseavailable in free trial (free trial).

As already seen for Dragonframe we can use Eclipse to create the stop motion during shooting (by connecting the video camera to the PC and creating the stop motion video due to the shooting), upload a video to be divided into many frames or upload a series of photos in sequence, successively using the numerous filters and tools to change the speed of the video or the sequence per clip.

5) qstopmotion

The first free program that we can use to create stop motion videos is qstopmotion.

Using this video editing program we will be able to quickly create stop motion videos using you know the camera or webcam connected to the computer or by loading the series of photos in sequence, so as to be able to place them on the lower timeline and see the effect it has with the stop motion, making sure to set Single Capture Frame as an entry for the catch.

At the end of the creation of the video, start it by pressing the button play and, if satisfied with the result, click on Save to save the stop motion video.

6) Make stop motion videos from your phone or tablet

We have a group of photos captured with the smartphone using the stop motion technique? Do we want to dynamically create stop motion videos using the camera directly? In this case we recommend using the app Stop Motion Studioavailable for free for Android and for iPhones/iPads.

By starting this app we will be able to capture in real time the frames with which we will generate the stop motion video, taking care to move the subject we are filming with a jerky movement (we will have to move it every second with a small jerk), so as to dynamically generate the frames or frames that will make up the final video.

Another app that we can use on Android devices is PicPac Stop Motion and TimeLapseavailable for download from Google Play Store. With this app we can immediately capture stop motion movies, using the rear camera to frame the subject and using the app options to choose the interval time, autofocus activation and the presence or absence of sound.

If we use an iPad and want to create stop motion animation videos we can rely on an app like Animation Creator HDavailable onApple App Store. Using this app we will be able to immediately draw the animations for each frame of the video using the drawings possibly already made in the first frame or by uploading our own collection of stop motion photos, so that we can arrange them in the timeline below and animate them with the step one technique . This app is probably the best tool to create a stop motion or stop motion animation video.

To discover other useful apps for video editing, we can read our guide 30 Apps to Edit Videos and Edit Movies (Android and iPhone).

Conclusions

The One Step or stop motion technique is very old, since in fact cinema was born with it and only later were faster scenes added to create a much more fluid video effect. This shooting technique however, it is still very beautiful for making cartoons or for making animated home videosperhaps using one of the programs or one of the apps seen in the guide.

To continue and look for other alternatives, we can try i best free video editing software or i online video editing sites and to edit videos with remixes and special effects.

Always on the subject of free video editors we can read our guides Features of Video Editor for Windows, the app for creating custom videos.