My first Stop Motion Animation experience

I'm so excited to be working with the students this year on stop motion animation! This is my first time playing around with it... but I found a very easy (and FREE!) app! I used the Stop Motion Studio and I loved it!

​My first try was a little sad... since I was trying to hold the iPad with one hand and make the stop motion changes with my other hand... total disaster!
​Here was the outcome: 
*Disclosure: this video is VERY jumpy, and might give you motion sickness! 

As you can see... it was horrendous! So, I decided to research some cheap and easy ways in order to stabilize the iPad camera. I stumbled upon this YouTube video, and decided to try out this strategy! I was able to make a decent tripod using 7 pencils and 9 rubber bands! Here it is: 

Now, the bottom pencil wasn't doing a spectacular job at holding the iPad in place, so I used two more rubber bands to "hug" it to the tripod. Here was my final product: 

I don't like how the pencils were pre-sharpened, so I will be going and buying some pencils. I might get ambitious and use a little superglue to reinforce the stability. For the next video, I used my new tripod creation, and I taped the Lego base to my desk.
Here was my final product:  (which I'm pretty proud of!) 

Not too shabby, right? So... here's what I learned: 
1. You definitely need a tripod or some sort. 
2. Make sure the camera is focused when it takes the picture - so none of your frames are fuzzy. 
3. Lighting can be a little strange - so it might help to have a fixed lamp on your scene. 
4. Definitely tape or secure your base to your desk! 
5. The more hands the better - it's pretty difficult to change the scene AND work the camera! 
6. The smallest movements you can make, the better! 
7. Have a plan! I just started moving Lego figures and my story doesn't really make sense (this is when storyboarding will come in handy!) 
8. You have to be PATIENT, PATIENT, PATIENT! 

So, there you have it. My first experience with stop motion animation! It was fun, but definitely a learning experience!