Table of Contents

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Why do my video files play all choppy?
Why do your animations look so smooth?

"Why do my uncompressed video files play all choppy? I can't edit them."

If you have switched SMA's compression settings to "Full Frames (Uncompressed)", the video files SMA creates will require a lot of computer power to play and edit. The video should be compressed. Compressing the video is quite simple. An in-depth explanation is given in Chapter 13 of our book, "Learn Movie Making With Stop Motion Animation."

Here's the quick version.

• Open VirtualDub. Click File > Open Video File...
• Navigate around until you find the uncompressed video. Select the file and click Open.
• Click Video > Compression... Select "Microsoft Windows Media Video 9" from the list. Click OK.
• Now, compress and save the video file by clicking File > Save As... Congratulations! You've compressed your video. It should play fine now.

If you're experiencing jerky playback in SMA, make sure the compression settings are set to "Full Frames (Uncompressed)" and not a video codec. In particular, avoid using "Microsoft Video 1" and "Cinepak".

If you're using an older, slower computer, it's best to click "Done" and save your progress after every 100-200 frames (maybe fewer, depending on the system you're using). This is a good way to conserve computer resources. Continue animating where you left off. When you edit the video, you can connect these video files together.

"Why do your stop motion animations look so smooth?"

We animate at 15 frames per second. This is a good compromise between quality and obsession. Animating at 30 frames per second looks really awesome, but takes a lot of time. Professional animators working with film stock animate at either 12, or 24 frames per second.

Making a stop motion animation is simple enough. You take one picture every time your character or prop is placed in a new position. For example, a figure walking. Every time you move an arm or leg, you grab a picture. It's a rhythm. Move, grab, move, grab, move, grab. That's all there is to it.

Through trial and error, you'll learn how big the movements must be to look realistic. If the movements look too jerky, move the figure in smaller steps. If the figure is moving too slowly, increase the size of the movements.

You can better visualize your progress by turning on SMA's onion-skinning feature. Keep clicking the play button and watching the frames you create as well.