Stop motion apps are the topic of our blog post today!
Capturing moments in motion has always been a fascinating aspect of photography, but nothing quite captures the magic like stop-motion animations. This form of animation takes static objects and brings them to life, creating a surreal world where inanimate objects have the freedom to move, dance, grow, and tell a story.
Each frame is a carefully crafted scene that, when strung together, creates an unfolding narrative that has the power to captivate audiences. This age-old art form, which once required professional-grade equipment and a dedicated studio, has now been democratized with the evolution of technology.
In the palm of your hand, your smartphone, armed with the right app, becomes a stop-motion animation studio. Whether you’re an aspiring filmmaker, an educator, a social media influencer, or someone who wants to experiment with this unique form of storytelling, there’s an app to cater to your needs.
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In this article, we’ll be exploring a selection of powerful stop motion apps each providing a set of features to make your journey into the world of stop-motion animations not only possible but also enjoyable and creatively satisfying. They’re designed with an intuitive interface, professional-grade features, and a plethora of customization options, all while being easy to navigate even for a novice user.
Best Stop Motion Apps
Here are 5 of the best stop motion apps out there:
1.Stop Motion Studio
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, Android
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
Stop Motion Studio is a comprehensive stop motion app boasting a user-friendly interface, and a wide array of powerful features. Users can create intricate animations thanks to the overlay mode and animation guides, and a versatile editor with copy-paste and insert capabilities. The app’s interactive timeline handles hundreds of frames effortlessly.
The studio-quality movie creation features include a variety of unique titles, video filters, foregrounds and backgrounds, and various effects. Users can create soundtracks with built-in music, sound effects, their own songs or narration. Advanced features like rotoscoping, green screen, and connectivity to DSLR cameras and Apple Watch enhance the creative process.
This app also includes a potent layer-based image editor to add text, speech bubbles, facial expressions, and for touching up images. It’s easy to simulate fast movement by merging frames, and unwanted objects can be removed with the eraser tool.
Sharing options are ample, including saving to photo library, sharing to YouTube in 4K or 1080p, saving as iMessage stickers or animated GIFs. The app facilitates easy project transfers between devices through AirDrop, Dropbox, or iCloud.
In-app purchases unlock additional features. It’s also a learning tool with included tutorial videos, a comprehensive manual, and animation tips and tricks.
2.OSnap!
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
OSnap! offers professional-grade HD time-lapse and stop motion capabilities with a high level of customization and flexibility. Unlike other apps, it uses individual photos instead of video for authentic time-lapse and stop motion creation. Users can experiment with preset projects and alter the resolution according to their preference.
Unique features include support for dual and triple lens cameras like the iPhone 13 Pro, the ability to adjust playback speed in real-time, manual or timed shooting ranging from 1/4 sec to 48 hours, and the ability to shoot in various aspect ratios, including square format for Instagram.
Users can add audio, manipulate photos from different projects, and employ unique guides such as the ‘onion skin’ for perfect alignment of images. Special settings are provided for daily portrait lapses to visualize changes over time.
Several automation features are included, like triggering photo capture by clapping or using your headphone volume button, along with adjustable focus, exposure, and white balance points.
In-app purchases add the ability to import photos from various sources, add voice-over recordings, automatically save frames to Camera Roll, and transfer files over WiFi. OSnap! Pro or a one-time upgrade provides features like 1080p/full photo res/4K shooting, unlimited projects, and timestamps.
3.PicPac
Compatibility: Android
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
PicPac is an all-in-one app that seamlessly blends stop motion animation and time-lapse features. It allows users to utilize gallery photos, videos, or time-lapse captures to produce stop motion and time-lapse videos, and even offers the capacity for Hyperlapse creation.
A unique feature of this stop motion app is its hands-free, sound-controlled photo capture mode in Timelapse Manual, which can snap a photo at a loud sound. The app also allows users to add voice or music to their stop motion videos for a more personalized touch.
The free version of PicPac allows users to generate 360p videos, record their own audio, select local or online music, and reorder pictures. However, it comes with a small watermark at the bottom right and doesn’t allow for project duplication or merging, nor the ability to change the video ending logo.
Upgrading to PicPac Pro removes the watermark, enables generation of 480p, 720p, 1080p videos, and allows users to duplicate and merge projects, add photos to existing projects, and use their own ending logo.
4. iMotion
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
iMotion is a user-friendly app that empowers you to create professional-quality time-lapse and stop-motion videos right on your device. With this tool, you can enhance stories, bring memories to life, and share your unique visions.
The intuitive, powerful features of iMotion make it accessible to both beginners and professionals. This includes a variety of capture modes like time-lapse, manual, microphone, wifi remote, and photo library import. It supports both portrait and landscape orientations, front and rear cameras, flash light & camera zoom, and even an ‘onion skin’ feature for precise alignment of frames.
With iMotion, you are free to create without limits – there are no restrictions on the number of photos and videos you can use. Plus, you can export your videos directly to your photo library, email, social networks, or via iTunes sharing.
In-app upgrades enable you to tweak camera settings like manual focus, exposure, and white balance, add an audio soundtrack, import multiple frames from your photo library, and export frames while capturing.
For added convenience, this remarkable stop motion app can be paired with the iMotion Remote app to preview and control your capture from another device.
5. Lapse It
Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, Android
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
Lapse It offers an intuitive and simple way to capture and edit time-lapse and stop-motion projects, unlocking the full potential of your device. With this application, there’s no need for expensive photography equipment.
Key features of Lapse It include:
- The ability to create time-lapse and stop-motion projects using your device’s capabilities.
- Import multiple images and videos from different sources to craft a new project using a range of editing tools.
- Instant preview and rapid export of your compositions, enabling the creation of stunning UHD 4K+ videos.
The app also provides a host of powerful camera features, such as:
- Sequences of picture captures using robust camera and timing features.
- Adjustable camera settings to take full advantage of your device’s features, such as HDR, GPS, RAW, Depth, and Bracket.
- Scheduling and defining the duration of the capture.
- Manual camera controls for exposure, focus, ISO, and white balance.
- Live access to the captured images while recording via iCloud.
- Zoom adjustments over time, including remote control using Apple Watch.
In stop-motion mode, additional features like onion skin and touch-less capture using sound are available. You can also resume previous captures for multi-day recording or to continue a project in a different location.
Bottom Line
The power to create captivating stop-motion and time-lapse animations now resides in the palm of your hand. With the apps like OSnap!, PicPac, iMotion, and Lapse It, you have the tools to tell visually stunning stories, capturing the smallest details over time, and creating a narrative that engages and captivates.
