Stopmotion is an incredibly fun, hands-on way to make amazing films, using simple software, inexpensive equipment, and stuff that's already lying around your house. Stopmotion Explosion will have you making your first stopmotion film within minutes of picking up the book. It's that easy Stopmotion has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, as the tools required are now widely available to anyone with a story to tell. Filmmakers, animators, and artists have reached new levels of visual creativity using Stopmotion Explosion's techniques. Now you too can join the revolution Unlike traditional cel and 3D animation, which both require a high level of artistry and technical skill, stopmotion films can be made by nearly anyone. Using Stopmotion Explosion's techniques, stopmotion films have been made by animators as young as 8 (with adult supervision). Stopmotion Explosion contains 292 pages of example projects, hundreds of illustrations, and detailed step-by-step instructions for screenwriting, video editing, animating, audio recording and video processing software, no prior expertise required. HISTORY Learn stopmotion science through an illustrated history of film and animation. See how stopmotion was first used in the special effects industry. Learn how "stopmotion" solved a heated debate among artists, and changed the way paintings were created forever. ANIMATION Make animations with inexpensive webcams, digital point-and-shoot cameras, and digital camcorders. Learn how to adjust camera settings to achieve the best image, and what features to look for in a stopmotion camera. See breakdowns of walk, run, and speech animations. Build your own wire stopmotion armature, and learn about some of the best toys to animate. Animate intense battle sequences with frame-by-frame breakdowns of roundhouse kicks, uppercuts, and punches. Add gigantic explosions, gunfire, laser blasters, lightsabers and rocket-launch effects. Make your characters fly like Superman with special flying rigs and photo-editing magic. Complete instructions for two stopmotion programs. Grab frames from your camera, preview your animations and make detailed tweaks using onion skinning. Export movie files that can be edited and uploaded to YouTube. STORYTELLING Ready-to-go movie ideas, story mashups, and proven techniques for creating memorable characters. Learn how to write for film and draw storyboards. Adapt scenes from your favorite films and video games. Use your screenplays and storyboards to plan camera angles, design sets, build characters, even organize your files while animating. AUDIO Record great-sounding audio and character voices, then enhance and morph your sounds using hundreds of audio effects and free recording software. SETS & LIGHTING Build stopmotion movie sets using household items and construction toys. Light your sets Hollywood-style with three-point lighting techniques, desk lamps, clip lights, flashlights, lasers, and colored cellophane. CINEMATOGRAPHY Add punch to your animations with our illustrated guide to image composition, Learn about the rule of thirds, the rule of triangles, depth of field, and the differences between standard and widescreen video frames. VIDEO EDITING Edit your animation, combine multiple video files, and add video effects, transitions, sounds, titles, and rolling credits using free video editing software. Quickly perform common stopmotion tasks, such as transforming a series of still images into a video file, learn the best settings for encoding online video, and definitions of common digital video terms and technology. Start your own movie studio with Stopmotion Explosion today