Set Up Your Stop Motion work Space
No matter how you set up your space, it is MOST important that the iPad is on some sort of a stable stand. In the picture to the right, a tripod iPad stand was used. This is a great solution if filming from a forward-facing perspective. If using flat pieces, it is best to have your iPad camera at a bird's eye perspective. For this, you can use a wire kitchen rack as seen in the example, or simply use a chair, with the iPad camera just off of the edge of the chair (BOOM - instant iPad stand!).
It is also recommended to use a pair of headphones to capture the image. While this may sound strange at first, it is important to keep your hands off of the iPad as much as possible so that it doesn't get moved or shaken (otherwise it will look like there was an earthquake during your video!). By using headphones, you can take the photos by simply clicking the volume up/down buttons. Try it out a few times before you begin. There are also bluetooth camera shutters that can be used for this, but using them for stop motion can wear down their batteries very quickly due to the number of images required.
Speaking of number of images, it is very important to set a goal of getting a high number of images. Traditional films run at 24 frames per second (fps). That means that if students want to create a 10 second video, they need 240 pictures! While you can get away with less than 24 fps, it is good to set a high goal for the students. I usually tell them that their goal is at least 500 pictures. This sounds daunting, but when you're just making tiny changes from frame to frame, it actually goes rather quickly. I once had a group create a video with approx. 1800 frames in about 90 minutes. It comes together quickly once you have your components ready to go and your workspace set up.
