How to Make a Stop Motion with CONNETIX: A Beginners Guide

By Kathleen Prinsen

Lights, Camera, Action! Bring your CONNETIX builds to life with stop motion magic. I love making stop motions with CONNETIX. It’s perfect for storytelling, animating creations or sharing quick tutorials without being on camera. The best part is that anyone can do it at home! In this blog, I’ll share my go-to tools, simple techniques and a few tips I’ve picked up along the way.

1. Equipment

You don’t need fancy gear to create stop motion fun. All you need is a camera (or your phone) and something to keep it steady. When I first started, I propped my phone in a small container and used square CONNETIX tiles to angle it just right. It worked (sort of), but it took forever to set up! Now, I use a tripod, which is much easier and quicker. There are many affordable tripods available and often they come with a remote, which I highly recommend using. Even just the slightest camera movement (like tapping the shutter) can spoil the flow of your video. A remote allows you to take photos without the need to touch your camera.

2. Lighting

Good lighting makes a big difference to stop motions and it’s possible without special equipment. I use natural light whenever I can because CONNETIX looks so good in it. Unfortunately, moving objects (e.g. clouds, trees, cars or playful kids) can alter natural light, causing a flickering effect in your final video. Sometimes I embrace it, but usually I wait for a sunny day or film at night once the kids are in bed. Night lighting is more consistent, but house lights can add a yellow tinge or cause glare. I’ve learned to pick my filming spots carefully. I close doors, avoid glare where possible and position myself so my shadow or reflection doesn’t sneak into the frame.

3. Planning

I design a lot of my CONNETIX creations on the floor. It’s the best way to test ideas, shuffle tiles around and tweak designs on the fly. Often, I’m surrounded by chaos with toys scattered everywhere and my boys playing close by. I snap a few photos along the way to lock in my favourite designs. Later they become a handy guide when I’m ready to turn the design into a stop motion.

4. Slow Motion Styles

There are many awesome ways to create stop motions with CONNETIX. Here are four fun styles to kick start your stop motion adventures.

Exploding Effect

This effect works best with a large whiteboard. It can work on the floor too, as long as your tripod can capture a top-down view and your flooring is light-coloured and not too busy. Start by building your design in the centre of the whiteboard or floor. Set up the tripod so that the design sits in the middle of your camera frame. Snap a photo, then slightly move and rotate each tile and snap another photo. Keep repeating this process until all the tiles are on the edge of the whiteboard and out of the frame. When editing, play the photos in reverse to reveal the design, and then forward them to watch it disappear again.

Waving Hand

One of the easiest stop motions to make with CONNETIX is a friendly wave. All you need is three photos! Start with your figure’s arms down and take a photo. Next, move one arm out using a small rectangle for the hand and another for the sleeve. Take the second photo. For the final shot, raise the arm using a small right-angled triangle and two small rectangles. Begin and end with the first photo (arms down). The remainder of the video will be made by looping the other two photos: out, up, out, up and so on. In no time you’ll be able to watch your creation wave all on its own!

Moving Wheels

Stop motions with wheeled creations are a lot of fun. To make a vehicle drive across the screen, simply move it a little bit at a time and take a photo after each move until it reaches the other side. Want it to stay still while you build on a car base or animate figurines opening doors? It won’t, unless you secure the back wheels with Blue-Tack (or something similar). Keep it well hidden from the camera of course. It’s worth it, because one tiny bump can send your whole stop motion off track.

Tutorials

Stop motions are a great way to show others how to make your creation. I find it easiest to build the creation first, then work backwards to create the stop motion. You’ll need to remove one tile at a time and take a photo after each piece until it’s all gone. When you play the photos in reverse, you’ll see your build magically assemble itself.

Tip: If you’re planning to post your masterpiece on social media, shoot in 16:9 format. That’s the standard size for short videos online.

5. Putting it all Together

Now it’s time to bring your photos to life! You’ll need a video editing app for this part. I use a video editing app called PowerDirector, but there are plenty of great options out there. Some, like Life Lapse, are made just for creating stop motions. Try a few and see what works best for you!

I usually set each photo to show for 0.1 seconds. It keeps the motion smooth and snappy. Sometimes I’ll go slower (0.2 or 0.3 seconds) if I feel it’s moving too fast or if I’m making a tutorial and I want viewers to be able to follow each step. I rarely go beyond that, as slower speeds tend to lose the magic. Once you’re happy with the speed, it’s time to add the final touches (e.g. alter the brightness, add music). Then share it with your family, friends or the entire internet and get ready to wow them all.

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Tip: If you’re planning to post your masterpiece on social media, shoot in 16:9 format. That’s the standard size for short videos online.

Kathleen Prinsen

Katie is a pharmacist who found a passion for play when she became a mum of 2 boys. She enjoys inspiring creativity and learning through play. Katie especially loves experimenting and creating with CONNETIX. You can find more of her play ideas on her Instagram account @dudekidz.

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