Stop-motion animation is the art of creating an animated sequence by arranging objects in front of a camera and taking pictures frame by frame.

In more simple terms:

  1. Set up your scene, with clay or something.
  2. Point your camera in an appropriate direction. (use a tripod to avoid ontinuity problems)
  3. Take a photo, or frame, or whatever you like to call it.
  4. Move your cast ever-so-slightly to their next positions.
  5. Go to step three.
Essentially, these are real-world things brought to life through painstaking effort. If you own a webcam, you should try doing this as it's remarkably easy to get impressive results.

Some examples of popular stop-motion animation: