Stop-Motion Music VideoYou have TEN classes to complete this project, plus whatever time you put in at lunch / after school.
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The major project for this course is going to be a stop-motion music video!
The audio for you to use is an edited version of Mr. Scruff's Kalimba. Fun fact: the full track is found in the Sample Music folder of every computer shipped with Windows 7!
>>> HERE is a link to the .mp3 file you will use in your project. <<<
Your goal -- get ready for this -- is to take 136 photos that you will sync up to the beat of the song. 136 beats = 136 photos. That works out to 17 segments of 8 beats each.
The final video will be just over a minute long.
You will use Adobe Photoshop CC and a Video Timeline to create your video project.
So.....where on earth do you start? HERE>>> (PHOTOSHOP ANIMATION CC TUTORIAL)
HOW TO CREATE YOUR PROJECT:
1) Brainstorm. A lot. Check out all of the examples at the bottom of this page.
2) Consider the total number of shots you will need, and decide on a few major shots / sequences. You will want to organize your shots in groups of 8 (the basic rhythmic loop heard in the music).
3) You need to create a storyboard for this project. Doesn't have to be fancy, just a guide to how your shots will be ordered. (See example from previous project).
Keep a paper copy of your storyboard, as you will need to show it to your Teacher before going out to shoot. You can always revise it later!
4) Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot some more! Be very careful about composition and be aware of how many shots you need per "scene". You really need to have this planned out fully before shooting. A tripod is highly recommended for consistency between shots!
5) You can always manually "try out" the pacing by scrolling through your images in Windows in time with the audio. Go back and re-shoot as necessary.
6) In Adobe Premiere, import the audio, create all of the markers (tutorial linked at bottom of page), and start inserting your images!
7) Export your video and hand in. Don't forget the rubric on Classroom!
STUDENT EXAMPLE:
Click HERE for a link to a student example.
(Credit: Harkaran Singh)
Click HERE for a link to a student example.
(Credit: Peighten Dawson)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The major project for this course is going to be a stop-motion music video!
The audio for you to use is an edited version of Mr. Scruff's Kalimba. Fun fact: the full track is found in the Sample Music folder of every computer shipped with Windows 7!
>>> HERE is a link to the .mp3 file you will use in your project. <<<
Your goal -- get ready for this -- is to take 136 photos that you will sync up to the beat of the song. 136 beats = 136 photos. That works out to 17 segments of 8 beats each.
The final video will be just over a minute long.
You will use Adobe Photoshop CC and a Video Timeline to create your video project.
So.....where on earth do you start? HERE>>> (PHOTOSHOP ANIMATION CC TUTORIAL)
HOW TO CREATE YOUR PROJECT:
1) Brainstorm. A lot. Check out all of the examples at the bottom of this page.
2) Consider the total number of shots you will need, and decide on a few major shots / sequences. You will want to organize your shots in groups of 8 (the basic rhythmic loop heard in the music).
3) You need to create a storyboard for this project. Doesn't have to be fancy, just a guide to how your shots will be ordered. (See example from previous project).
Keep a paper copy of your storyboard, as you will need to show it to your Teacher before going out to shoot. You can always revise it later!
4) Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot some more! Be very careful about composition and be aware of how many shots you need per "scene". You really need to have this planned out fully before shooting. A tripod is highly recommended for consistency between shots!
5) You can always manually "try out" the pacing by scrolling through your images in Windows in time with the audio. Go back and re-shoot as necessary.
6) In Adobe Premiere, import the audio, create all of the markers (tutorial linked at bottom of page), and start inserting your images!
7) Export your video and hand in. Don't forget the rubric on Classroom!
STUDENT EXAMPLE:
Click HERE for a link to a student example.
(Credit: Harkaran Singh)
Click HERE for a link to a student example.
(Credit: Peighten Dawson)
EXAMPLES:
See more examples and a good tutorial HERE.
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HOW TO TURN INTO A VIDEO AND HAND IN:
1) Open Premiere Pro CC, select NEW PROJECT
2) Name it, choose the appropriate save folder (i.e. F:\), hit OK
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HOW TO TURN INTO A VIDEO AND HAND IN:
1) Open Premiere Pro CC, select NEW PROJECT
2) Name it, choose the appropriate save folder (i.e. F:\), hit OK
3) Edit > Preferences > General
4) CHECK the box next to "Default scale to frame size" AND set "Still Image Default Duration" to 0.5 seconds. Hit OK. The reason I chose 0.5 seconds per image is because that roughly lines up with the speed of the beat in the sound file you've been given. This will save you time later!
5) Import the sound file by going to File > Import and selecting the .mp3 file. It will automatically be assigned to Audio Track 1 on your Timeline.
6) Time to add some Markers in Premiere. This will allow you later "snap" each photo to one of the markers. Your goal is to place a marker on every beat. To do this, play back the sound file (Spacebar) and tap the M key on every beat. You should see little yellow triangles appear above your timeline as you do this.
7) Listen to the sound file a few more times while zoomed in to your timeline (use the square sliders at the bottom of the timeline window to zoom in/out), and stop to manually adjust any of the yellow markers that are off the beat. You need this to be accurate before you continue!
8) Import your photos by going to File > Import, and selecting all of your desired images from their F:\ folder. Remember that Ctrl-clicking selects individual images within a folder and Shift-clicking selects a consecutive range of images within a folder. Ctrl-A typically selects ALL images in a folder.
9) In the lower left corner of your screen, click the PROJECT tab if it's not already visible. You should see thumbnail images for the pictures you just imported.
Select them all and DRAG them to the TIMELINE window (just to the right).
NOTE: If your images were not named/numbered in alphabetical/numerical order, you'll have to drag each image one at a time in the order you want.
6) Time to add some Markers in Premiere. This will allow you later "snap" each photo to one of the markers. Your goal is to place a marker on every beat. To do this, play back the sound file (Spacebar) and tap the M key on every beat. You should see little yellow triangles appear above your timeline as you do this.
7) Listen to the sound file a few more times while zoomed in to your timeline (use the square sliders at the bottom of the timeline window to zoom in/out), and stop to manually adjust any of the yellow markers that are off the beat. You need this to be accurate before you continue!
8) Import your photos by going to File > Import, and selecting all of your desired images from their F:\ folder. Remember that Ctrl-clicking selects individual images within a folder and Shift-clicking selects a consecutive range of images within a folder. Ctrl-A typically selects ALL images in a folder.
9) In the lower left corner of your screen, click the PROJECT tab if it's not already visible. You should see thumbnail images for the pictures you just imported.
Select them all and DRAG them to the TIMELINE window (just to the right).
NOTE: If your images were not named/numbered in alphabetical/numerical order, you'll have to drag each image one at a time in the order you want.
10) Align each image with a marker (read below):
Remember that you can move all images at once by drawing a box around them in your Timeline (zoom out enough to see all of them), clicking and dragging.
You want to align the start of the first image with the first marker.
Afterwards, you can click on the edge of each image to drag it in a way that "snaps" it to each marker. This is very time-consuming, but if once you successfully align each image with a marker, your project should be in sync!
11) Add a title slide to start the project and you have the option of ending with another credits/end slide as well.
12) Once everything looks perfect, the final step is to render your video. If you just hand in a .pproj file, nobody else can view it as it requires the source files to be nearby. To render your video:
Go to File > Export > Media.
13) At the Export menu, change these two settings only:
Remember that you can move all images at once by drawing a box around them in your Timeline (zoom out enough to see all of them), clicking and dragging.
You want to align the start of the first image with the first marker.
Afterwards, you can click on the edge of each image to drag it in a way that "snaps" it to each marker. This is very time-consuming, but if once you successfully align each image with a marker, your project should be in sync!
11) Add a title slide to start the project and you have the option of ending with another credits/end slide as well.
12) Once everything looks perfect, the final step is to render your video. If you just hand in a .pproj file, nobody else can view it as it requires the source files to be nearby. To render your video:
Go to File > Export > Media.
13) At the Export menu, change these two settings only:
14) Once you export your video (which should now be a manageable filesize), it'll likely turn up in your F:\Adobe folder somewhere (specifically, it will turn up in the folder displayed under "Output". To view your movie, right-click on it and select Open With > VLC Player.
15) Hand in the video file directly to Google Classroom and complete the rubric!
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For those of you who are more ambitious, Click HERE for a instructions on how to sync your images with audio.
15) Hand in the video file directly to Google Classroom and complete the rubric!
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For those of you who are more ambitious, Click HERE for a instructions on how to sync your images with audio.
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Discouraged by the scope of this project? Don't worry, it could be a lot worse. We could be doing claymation!
(The clip below is from the TV show Parks and Rec. In the episode, Ben Wyatt is unemployed and spends three weeks learning how to make a claymation video. This is the result...)
Discouraged by the scope of this project? Don't worry, it could be a lot worse. We could be doing claymation!
(The clip below is from the TV show Parks and Rec. In the episode, Ben Wyatt is unemployed and spends three weeks learning how to make a claymation video. This is the result...)