"Robot Chicken" uses stop-motion animation to create animated parodies based on toy action figures. Stop-motion animation is a simple, though time-consuming process that is accessible to almost anyone. If you have a computer, a digital camera, some clay and action figures, you have the tools you need to make your own stop-motion animation shorts.
Create a set for your photo shoot. Ensure that there is adequate lighting, by placing a lamp nearby.
Position your digital camera in a fixed location using a tripod or a mounting-device. Your camera must be in a fixed position while you take photos.
Put an action figure into the set and take a picture. Make a small movement on the figure that is part of the action that you want to record. Continue the movement incrementally, taking a photo with each change in the action figure's position.
Use a video editing tool to put the sequence of photos into a video slide show. You can do this with Microsoft Movie Maker, which is a free tool that comes with many versions of Windows.
Change the time that the images are displayed on your slide show. It will default to about five seconds, depending on the program you use, but you need to change the time to one second or less. This is the time between frames. Adjust the time until you feel the movement looks natural.
Record a voice track with the audio recording software of your choice. There are several free options for voice recording software.
Add the voice track to your photo slide show using your video editing software.
You can put clay on the face of your action figure and adjust it to change facial expressions.