A couple of weeks ago, a couple dozen librarians attended the Media Smart workshop hosted by URI professors at the Hooksett Public Library. We learned to make stop motion videos and I’m pretty sure we all had a blast doing it!

Here is the video we made:

Stop motion videos would be a fantastic way to advertise events on social media. Consider having a stop motion committee (librarians, kids, whoever) that creates a short stop motion video for the monthly book discussions or to announce holiday closings, or to advertise new staff or trustee positions. With all of the craft supplies and toys available to you (unlike here!) your options are truly limitless.

Instructions:

• Obtain the Stop Motion app from the app store (iOS). There are free and paid versions. Start with the free version and see if you need to upgrade before buying the paid version ($5).
• Getting a camera tripod to work with an iPhone was my biggest hurdle. I had an old tripod, but no way to securely mount the phone to the traditional camera mount. I purchases a few cheap ones from Amazon, but they quickly broke.
  • If you do not have a tripod, consider using a table to “mount” your phone/tablet.
    • In the workshops, we place the phone on the edge of a table — with the camera lens peeking over the edge — and secure the phone in place with some well-placed duct/masking tape.
    • Place the “studio” on the floor. You might need to raise your scene up — good thing you’re in a library where you can borrow some books!
    • This has worked surprisingly well and has become my go-to method.
• Tips:
  • Adjust the settings to 10 frames per second.
    • The frames per second can be modified after the pictures have all been taken to slow down or speed up your motion.

• • Note the small slider you see on the left side of the screen. When you adjust it somewhere between camera and video, you will see a shadow where the object was previously placed. This is helpful when re-positioning the object.
• On the paid version of the app (and perhaps the free version?), it is possible to add more images, write in text and extend the period of time a single image is displayed. It is possible to get very creative!
• When your masterpiece is complete, it is probably easiest to export the video directly to YouTube from the Stop Motion app. If this is a library project, consider using (or creating) a Google login for the library. Note the option to deselect “Show suggested videos when the video finishes.” That is strongly recommended, especially if the suggested videos are not coming from the library’s YouTube channel.