StopMotion

We decided because of the recessionary times we live in to test out two big name entry level webcameras for under $25 for stop motion use. We have just purchased the Logitech Webcam C200 and the Microsoft VX-1000. We already reviewed the VX-1000 on the stopmtioncentral site some weeks back but we thought it was about time to review the lastest compeditor on the market.

The results are quiet surprising. We did state that the VX-1000 was a very decent webcam for the price. And we still stand by that assertion. However once we ran the same tests on the Logitech C200 it was clear that it was much better. Compare the two images below. The first is from the VX-1000 and the second is from the C200.

The main difference is in the clarity at close range. The C200 is better. However in fairness to the VX1000 the color is a little truer than the C200. Also the C200 has a easier to use manual focus. The clip on the C200 is also more awkward to secure than the flat base that is on the VX-1000. But when it comes to sharpness of image I would have to come down in favour of the C200. Both images were capture at 640×480. Both cameras have built in microphones. Also both claim to capture video at 30fps at the maximum resolution of 640×480

The first rule for lighting animation stop motion movies is Do NOT use natural light!  At least for close stop motion work like animating minifigures or clay characters. I know there are plenty of stop motion movies on youtube of people and objects outdoors during daylight hours..but that is a different kettle of fish altogether.

There is 3 point lighting and all sorts of positioning of lights and reflectors that you can read about anywhere on the web but I have found having tried a good few of them is that a single lamp with a piece of paper wrapped around the bulb can have very good results indeed.

Be careful that the paper does not burn or catch fire obviously ..so turn of the lamp when you leave the room for a break or whatever.

The paper diffuses the light enough to avoid reflections or glare on your character for animation. It also means you can move the lamp up close to your subject confident that you won’t get any nasty glinting reflections.

CGI has it’s place in animation ..thats a given. But stop motion animation still has its place also in media and entertainment. It’s alive and kicking everywhere. I stumbled upon a really good professional animator today called Kirsten Lepore. She’s based in the US (New Jersey). She graduated in 2007 from Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Experimental Animation.

“Sweet Dreams” from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

Its worth spending the 10 minutes or so to watch the above “Sweet Dreams” stop motion. The two things I like about Kirstens animations and this one in paticular are 1 - they are fresh and 2 - the sound.

Fresh - the colors used, the imagery , the camera angles, the simplicity ..all perfect.

The Sound - I am a real fan of good sound effects and appropriate mood music etc. In the example above Kirsten could not be more accurate. Perfect.

We hobby animators could learn alot from Kirsten.

Long live stop motion animation…