My first time attempting a stop-motion using my Canon T2i.
Any feedback welcome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUgtz77T-V_JqmS3dI7-EeRw&feature=player_detailpage&v=TBktjmUeO0w
Working on a tight schedule (one afternoon) and a tight space made it challenging, but
I learned a lot.
After trying several prime and zoom lenses, I ended using the kit 18-55 zoom as it allowed
closer focus. If I had a good macro lens, I probably would have used it instead.
Since I was limited to overhead tungsten lights and available window light, I used both.
Closing the blinds ended up being best as it avoided having too wide of a dynamic range.
Originally I wanted to make it around 8 frames per second, but ended up with something somewhat
less and more variable. At times, staying longer on a still seemed to make more sense, timing-wise.
I bumped the camera a few times and knocked it out of place, but due to time constraints I wasn't
able to move it back to its original location exactly. In hindsight, I would have marked the tripod
leg's location on the ground to be able to move back quickly to the original spot in case it got bumped.
To create the smoke effect, I tried using a makeshift greenscreen by having a computer monitor have
a green background and then lighting something in the foreground. The smoke ended up not having
enough smoke and the green (even with the monitor brightness turned down) was too strong and
bled into the smoke. Next I tried just making two quick squiggles with a green background in photoshop.
I then keyed them out in FCP and alternated them to give the illusion of smoke. Yeah, pretty crude,
but I have not mastered after effects yet.
Any feedback welcome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUgtz77T-V_JqmS3dI7-EeRw&feature=player_detailpage&v=TBktjmUeO0w
Working on a tight schedule (one afternoon) and a tight space made it challenging, but
I learned a lot.
After trying several prime and zoom lenses, I ended using the kit 18-55 zoom as it allowed
closer focus. If I had a good macro lens, I probably would have used it instead.
Since I was limited to overhead tungsten lights and available window light, I used both.
Closing the blinds ended up being best as it avoided having too wide of a dynamic range.
Originally I wanted to make it around 8 frames per second, but ended up with something somewhat
less and more variable. At times, staying longer on a still seemed to make more sense, timing-wise.
I bumped the camera a few times and knocked it out of place, but due to time constraints I wasn't
able to move it back to its original location exactly. In hindsight, I would have marked the tripod
leg's location on the ground to be able to move back quickly to the original spot in case it got bumped.
To create the smoke effect, I tried using a makeshift greenscreen by having a computer monitor have
a green background and then lighting something in the foreground. The smoke ended up not having
enough smoke and the green (even with the monitor brightness turned down) was too strong and
bled into the smoke. Next I tried just making two quick squiggles with a green background in photoshop.
I then keyed them out in FCP and alternated them to give the illusion of smoke. Yeah, pretty crude,
but I have not mastered after effects yet.
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