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So if the picture quality is not acceptable or there is some problem in how |
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you set up the models for any of the shots, you may have to reshoot some or |
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all of the shots to correct the problem. |
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Shooting the animation - The technique for shooting each frame of a |
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stop-action animation is basically the same as taking a regular still camera |
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shot. So if you already know how to do that you're already well on your |
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way to becoming a movie producer. The main difference is that with stop- |
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action photography you are trying to capture action or motion using a series |
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of still shots instead of just taking one still shot of a stationary object. You |
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are trying to create the illusion of movement by making small, incremental |
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adjustments in the position of the moving object between each shot. |
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You take a shot then move the object slightly in the direction you want it to |
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move, take another shot then move the object again, and so on until you |
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have shot all of the positions of the movement. Depending on the type of |
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movement you are filming you may have to take two, three, four, or more |
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individual shots of it in order to film the entire sequence. The minimum |
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number is two shots - one for each extreme position of the movement as we |
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showed in the ostrich animation before. Two shots works okay for fairly |
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quick movements such as running legs, flapping wings, or spinning wheels. |
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That's because the images in the animation change so quickly that your |
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mind fills in the gaps in the movement from one position to the other. So |
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the movement appears naturally smooth and not too jerky. |
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Slower movements such as bending over or walking slowly may require |
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more than two shots to make the animated movement look smooth. How |
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many? Only experimenting will tell. If you are using a digital still camera |
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or web cam this is not generally a problem since you can "screen" the |
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animation in your image viewing program as you are shooting it. You can |
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do this by toggling back and forth between each image or just running the |
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animation. However, if you are using a film camera the best bet is to buy |
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| yourself a little insurance until you get some more experience. If you think | |||||||||
| you can get away with just two shots, shoot three - two for the extreme | |||||||||
| positions and one for the middle position. Instead of three shots shoot four, | |||||||||
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etc. The running time of the animation won't change. You just reduce the |
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| amount of time each frame of the animation plays before the next frame is | |||||||||
| played thus smoothing out the action. | |||||||||
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