To create a simple stop-motion animation on a PC you will need:
A Camera
Any webcam or dv cam-corder will be fine. Ideally you want something you can fix in place on a tripod or a stand so it won't move it gets knocked whilst you are animating.
Something to animate
This could be a plasticine character, a lego character, or anything that you can move in small controlled amounts
A Background or Stage
To make a good looking animation your characters need to be set against a good background. This could be something you have painted or drawn yourself, or an image that you have printed out from your PC. If you can get a background that is A3 size or bigger it makes it easier to set up your animation.
Software
You need some software to capture frames (the individual images of your animation) and play them back. Really good software like Zu3D - download from www.zu3d.com - allows you to add sound effects and music to your animation, speed up and slow down your film and add titles and credits. It is one of very few bits of animation software that are available for the PC which allow you to make a complete film in one package.
Once you have everything you need you can get setup to make your animation. It is really important that the camera and the background are firmly secured so they don't move whilst you are animating as this will spoil your film. It is good if can stick the background to a wall or a very heavy box so it won't move. The same with the camera, if you can get a camera with a stand or clip that can be held firmly in place it will make it easier to make your film.
Once your camera and background are in place put your character into the shot in front of the background. If you are animating on your own you want everything to be positioned so you can easily reach the characters and the computer keyboard without having to move too much.
Now you can open Zu3D, start a new project, and see how your set is looking (make sure you've plugged the camera into the computer). If you are using a laptop which has a webcam built in to it the you might need to go to "Settings->Capture Settings" to select the right camera.
Make sure you can see you character and the background on the screen and that you can't see any of the edges of the background.
Before you start animating you need to know what your characters are going to do. It is a good idea to make a storyboard of what will happen in the film, but as we are just making a simple film don't worry about that for now. Just deicide on a simple action, e.g. waving or scratching your head, that your character can do. Once you know what you want your character to do try acting it out first so you know what it will look like.
You are now ready to animate!
To take a frame press the red capture button in the top right had corner of the screen or press number 1 on the keyboard to take one frame. In Zu3D you can press number 1 to take one frame, number 2 to take two frames , 3 to take three frames and so on. It is useful to take more than one frame at once when you want to slow down your action.
To start with it is a good idea to take six or more frames, before moving your characters. This will give your audience a chance to take in the scene before the action starts (it also makes your film just that little bit longer!).
Now move you character a small amount and take another frame by pressing number 1. Keep moving your character a very small amount following step-by-step the action you acted out a moment ago. Once you have take a number of frames (ideally 12 or more) press the blue play button on the timeline to playback your animation. You can also do this by pressing the space bar. The green play button in the top right corner of Zu3D plays back just the last 10 frames of your animation. This is useful if you have made quite a long film and you want to see how just the last little bit you've made is looking. (You can change the number of frames it previews in the settings menu).
Watch your film a few times and see how it is looking. In Zu3D if you film is too fast or two slow you can change the frame rate by sliding the slider backwards and forwards between the tortoise and the hare. Ideally you want your film to be at a frame rate of 12 frames per second or more otherwise it will look jerky. However as we are just making a simple film don't worry if you have to make it slower to get the speed you want.
Continue moving your character a little bit at a time and regularly watch your film back to see how it is going until you have completed the action you rehearsed earlier.
That's it! You've made your first simple stop-motion animation with Zu3D.
Now you can add sound effect s, music titles and credits to your film. To find out more about how to do this download Zu3D from www.zu3d.com/download and have a look through the help file.
Happy Animating!