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definitions

stop motion

noun Movies.
  1. Also called stop frame. the process of filming puppets and other objects one frame at a time while incrementally moving or modifying them, giving the illusion of lifelike motion when the captured film frames are viewed in rapid sequence (often used attributively): stop-motion animation;a stop-motion film.
  2. Also called stop action. a special effect in cinematography, carried out while shooting, in which the performers stop their motion and the camera is stopped while an object or performer is added to or removed from the scene, with camera movement and action then resumed for the remainder of the scene: used to create an illusion of sudden appearance or disappearance of persons or objects (often used attributively).
  3. freeze frame(def 1).
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stop-motion

Contemporary Examples of stop-motion

Historical Examples of stop-motion

  • The machine had a weight to draw out the thread and a stop-motion to stop the machinery when a thread broke or became too short.

British Dictionary definitions for stop-motion

stop-motion

noun
    1. a technique used in animation and photography in which a subject is filmed then adjusted a frame at a time
    2. (as modifier)stop-motion animation
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012