In this tutorial I'll show you how to configure the Raspberry Pi and camera to create your movie using simple and free stopmotion software.  By default the pi camera module is not supported by standard video subsystems so after assembling your hardware, you'll install a compatibility layer and the stop motion software.

Animation

Stop Motion Demonstration Video

Gather the Components

• Raspberry Pi—Model B with power supply, case, and SD card
• Pi compatible Wi-Fi adapter
• Raspberry Pi Camera Module
• Raspberry Pi Camera Module Extended Cable—12" or longer if you like
  
• Raspberry Pi Camera Module Mounting Kit
• Tripod or stand for the Raspberry Pi camera 
• Nuts that thread onto a standard tripod post.  UNC 1/4"-20 thread.
• Pi Compatible Monitor, HDMI cable, Keyboard, and Mouse.  A Keyboard with a built in USB port for the mouse will help simplify the setup.
• Something to film. LEGO minifigs make an excellent subject

Assemble Raspberry Pi Camera

The Pi camera comes with a short ribbon cable which makes it difficult to mount and attach to a tripod or move far from the Pi itself.  The following instructions will guide you through replacing the cable with a longer one, attaching the camera to the Pi, and mounting it on a tripod.

• Hold the camera module with two fingers with the lens facing away from the palm of your hand
  
• Locate the ribbon cable connector on the bottom camera module
• Using your other hand, put a finger on either side of the connector pull the connector down releasing the cable
• Gently pull the cable out of the connector
• Slide one end of the new, longer ribbon cable into the connector keeping the blue side of the cable pointed away from the board and the tinned side towards the board
• Slide the connector closed securely

Connect the camera cable to the board.  

• Locate the camera connector on the Pi directly behind the Ethernet port
• Use two fingers to pull the sides of the camera connector up from the board
• Slip the ribbon cable into the connector keeping the blue side towards the Ethernet port
• Slide the connector back down securely

Assemble attach the camera to the camera mount kit.

• Connect the camera module to the plate with the lens hole and four screw holes
• Carefully slide the screws through the holes and thread the nuts onto the screw
• Tighten each one gently so as to not break the camera board
• Clip the bottom board into the bottom notches so that it looks like the image below

Attach the camera mount to the tripod.  The camera module just needs to be held still for the duration of the stop motion capture session.  Any mounting that will hold the camera still will work.  In my experimentation I discovered a tabletop tripod worked well, but required a couple extra nuts to help the Pi camera mount fit securely.

• Slip the base of the mounting over the mounting screw of the tripod
• Use one of the threaded nuts to secure the board onto the tripod.  If the screw shaft is too long screw one of the nuts onto the shaft first to form a base for the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket will help stabilize the camera for your shoot, however some finagling may be required to get it situated conveniently

Setup the Raspberry Pi

Install the latest Raspbian operating system on the SD card. There are several guides available on line help in purchasing a Pi, compatible components, and installing an OS. The following steps describe connecting the peripherals to the Pi and configuring the options.

wget http://www.linux-projects.org/listing/uv4l_repo/lrkey.asc && sudo apt-key add ./lrkey.asc
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://www.linux-projects.org/listing/uv4l_repo/raspbian/ wheezy main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install uv4l uv4l-raspicam uv4l-raspicam-extras

$UV4L --syslog-host localhost -k --sched-rr --auto-video_nr --driver raspicam --encoding mjpeg

$UV4L --syslog-host localhost -k --sched-rr --auto-video_nr --driver raspicam --encoding mjpeg --nopreview yes

$sudo reboot

• Open a terminal window by double-clicking on the LXTerminal icon.
• Execute the command sudo apt-get install stopmotion

Setup The Stage and Camera

 Setup your scene for your adventure.

• Choose a well lit location and add lamps as needed to allow for a nice bright stage 
• Build the scene for your first picture
• Launch stopmotion with the command stopmotion in LXTerminal 
• Click the video icon to start the video feed and aim your camera

• Use the live video feed preview to angle your camera for the shoot 

Record the Adventure

• Move the Number of images silder to 1.  This is the number of previous pictures that  stopmotion mixes together in the preview pane. 

The Pi does not have enough horsepower to mix multiple layers of images smoothly.  As you capture images, the preview window will lightly overlap the last image over the live preview.  

The onion skin overlay of the last image taken will allow you to make fine adjustments and see the new frame compared to the last one before you take the picture.  

The video preview is noticeably laggy but it was entirely usable and actually helped me make slow purposeful changes.  

• Click on the camera icon indicated in the image above to add frames to your video
• Continue making adjustments to your scene and adding frames to your video, moving the figures slightly between each frame
• Save your work often with the File > Save menu option

Export and Retrieve the Video

Once you are happy that you have completed a scene, you can export it into a video and retrieve it from the Pi.  The scene can then be incorporated into your larger work with a more robust video editing package like iMovie.

• Export the video with the File > Export menu option.  Make sure to add a .avi extension to the movie name that you export.  Without the extension the software does not know which way you wish to encode the video
• Copy the video from your Pi using the scp command line or a GUI scp client of your choice
• Add the scene to your epic movie, add audio and any after effects to make it truly awesome

I think my video needs some sea sounds and an awesome soundtrack and it will be ready for the big screen.

Stop Motion Demonstration Video

Summary

In this tutorial I have show you how to build and operate a stop motion animation studio with your Raspberry Pi and created an animated movie scene. I showed you how to configure the Raspberry Pi camera to be used by standard Linux video applications like stopmotion.

I also showed how to replace the short camera cable and mount the camera module to make using it easier and more flexible. I also demonstrated how to create a stop motion video scene to incorporate into your next project.  I hope you enjoy experimenting and creating videos with your new animation station.