Capturing and Importing Source Clips > Capturing stop-motion animation
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Capturing stop-motion animation


Use the Stop Motion feature to perform manual and time-lapse single-frame video captures from a connected camera or from a videotape in a deck or camcorder. For example, you can point a camera at an unfinished building and use the time-lapse feature to capture frames periodically as the building is completed. You can use the stop-motion feature with a camera to create clay animations or to capture a single frame and save it as a still image. In Premiere, stop motion does not require device control. You can capture stop-motion animation from analog or DV sources.

Any movie frame can be used as a visual guide for positioning during stop-motion capturing. The procedure for setting up a background image is the same for the Stop Motion window as it is for the Title window; see Importing a sample frame.

When preparing for stop-motion animation, use the following tips for a more successful capture:
  • Turn off the automatic adjustment features in your camera and adjust any settings manually instead. Gradual fluctuations caused by auto exposure or auto focus become sudden changes, which are very apparent in the finished video.
  • Plug the camera into the AC power adapter and eject the tape to prevent the camera from going into sleep mode partway through the animation.
  • If possible, turn off the demo mode. Demo mode (not available on all cameras) turns on after a period of time when no tape is inserted and the camera is in camera mode or idle mode.

    • To capture stop-motion animation:

    1 Choose File > Capture > Stop Motion.

    2 In the Stop Motion window menu, choose Stop Motion > Capture Options (Windows) or Stop Motion > Recording Settings (Mac OS).

    3 Do one of the following depending on your platform:
  • In Windows, choose a Capture Type based on whether you want to capture a single frame (Still Image), control stop motion by clicking Capture in the Stop motion window (Manual Capture), or capture stop-motion frames at regular time intervals (Time Lapse).
  • In Mac OS, select Manual Recording to control stop motion by clicking a button in the Stop Motion window, or select Time Lapse to capture stop-motion frames at regular time intervals.

    • Note: Depending on the type of capture you choose, some of the settings described below will be unavailable.

    4 Do one of the following, depending on your platform:
  • In Windows, type the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the frames to capture in the Size _ x _ box. Select Constrain to adjust the values to the aspect ratio used by your capture hardware.
  • In Mac OS, select Record at Current Size to capture frames at the dimensions currently displayed in the Stop Motion window, or select Record At and type the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the frames to capture, in pixels. Select 4:3 to maintain a 4:3 frame aspect ratio as you type the values for this option.

    • 5 In Windows only, type a value for Final Movie Will Play Back _ fps to set the frame rate for the captured video.

    6 If you selected Time Lapse, type a time value and select a time unit for Capture _ Frames per _ (Windows) or _ Frames per _ (Mac OS). In Windows only, you can also limit the number of frames captured by selecting Capture Limit and typing a number of frames.

    7 For Minimum Disk Free Space _ K (Windows) or Stop When Disk Space Falls Below _ K (Mac OS), type a value that specifies how low available disk space can fall before Premiere automatically halts stop-motion capture. The disk monitored for this value is the disk specified in the Captured Movies menu when you choose Preferences > Scratch Disk and Device Control.

    8 In Windows only, click the buttons in the upper right corner of the dialog box (if available) to set options provided by software that came with your video-capture hardware. These same settings are accessible from the Capture Settings panel of the Project Settings dialog box (see Digitizing analog video as DV). You can also choose these options from the Stop Motion menu on the menu bar.

    9 In Mac OS only, select Stabilize Image Jitters to minimize unstable video signals from some devices.

    To create a still image, you can also capture video as usual and then choose File > Export > Frame. For more information, see Exporting a filmstrip file for editing in Adobe Photoshop.

    10 Click OK. Start your camera, tape deck, or other video source, and in the Stop Motion window click Start.

    11 Do one of the following:
  • If you previously selected Manual Capture (Windows) or Manual Recording (Mac OS), click Start to begin and then click Step every time you want to capture a new frame. You can also press a number on the keypad to capture the specified number of consecutive frames, or press Delete to remove the most recently captured frame.
  • If you previously selected Time Lapse, click Start. Premiere captures frames at the specified rate. Click Stop when you want to stop capturing.
  • (Windows only) If you previously selected Still Image, wait until your video source displays the frame you want, and click Capture.

    • 12 Choose Save As, specify a location and name for the clip, and click OK.

    To manage stop-motion animation (Mac OS only):

    Do any of the following:
  • To capture a series of consecutive frames during stop motion, choose Stop Motion > Grab Frames. Specify the number of consecutive frames to capture, and then click OK.
  • To delete frames from the end of a stop-motion sequence you captured, choose Stop Motion > Truncate Movie. Drag the slider to find the frame where truncating should begin. All frames after the frame you specify will be removed. Click Truncate.
  • To show a ghost image of the previous frame while capturing, choose Stop Motion > Show Previous. This command is useful for positioning the subject of the current frame against the contents of the previously captured frame. The ghost image does not become part of the captured file.
  • To remove a background clip, choose Stop Motion > Remove Background Clip. This command is active only if you added a background clip to help position the subject being captured. For information about adding a background clip, see Importing a sample frame.

    • Capturing and Importing Source Clips > Capturing stop-motion animation