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On this page:
Part 1: Storyboard
Part 2: Composition
Part 3: Music & Soundrack
Part 4: Final Composition
Stop Motion
Storyboard
Stop motion is an animation technique where objects are incrementally moved between photographed frames to create the illusion of motion when played back.
Storyboarding
I paired up with Xin Yi for this exercise and she brought a bunch of her blind box figurines. We decided to go with Smiski as their heads can be removed and she has 3 different ones in which we used two.
Storyboard Sequence
1. Smiski was wearing shoes and fell
2. Head rolls off
3. Head rolls and background changes
4. Head rolls to masking tape, got on and rolls away
5. Stops at another scene
6. Head rolls to ramen bowl
7. Gasp and gasp
8. Wakes up and it's all a dream
I was in charge of the scenes which requires less editing while Xin Yi worked on the waking up from the dream scene.
Xin Yi's Footages
Composition
I first created different composition for each scene. The frame rate is set as 12 fps, this means that for every second of animation, 12 individual frames are played in sequence. This gives the stop motion a slightly choppy yet expressive quality. For each image, they are typically set at one frame per second. For some frames that I want to hold a little longer, I extended the duration to 2 to 3 seconds.
composition
Getting up Composition
Purple Background Roll Composition
Getting on masking tape, changed camera angle to give the eye a break
Head to Bowl Composition
Smiski Confrontation Scene
I added a zoom animation on the face to enhance the movement by creating a sense of depth and focus, making the scene feel more dynamic.
Zoom Animation
music
Music & Soundtrack
To make the stop motion more engaging, I searched for cute, happy background music and playful sound effects - like a cheerful “wheee,” dramatic screams, and a funny falling sound. These little audio details help bring the scene to life, making the movement feel more immersive and expressive.
Soundtracks from Pixabay
Final Composition
After combining Xin Yi's footages, we have a Smiski story!
This exercise taught me how small details like footage effects and sound design can make a stop-motion animation feel more engaging and lively. The combination of visual movement and playful sound effects helped bring personality to the scene, making the character’s actions more expressive. Searching for the right music and sound effects also made me think about how audio influences storytelling, adding an extra layer of emotion to the animation.
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