What exactly is Stop Motion Animation?
Animation that is stop-motion (also called stop frame UK) is an animation taken one frame at a and consists of physical objects being moved between frames. When you replay an image sequence in rapid succession it creates the illusion of motion. If you are familiar with the way 2D drawing animation (early Disney) works, stop motion is similar to that, however, it uses tangible objects rather than drawings.
The basic method of animation is taking a photo of your characters or objects by moving them slightly and then taking another photo. When you play the images repeatedly the characters or objects appear to move in their own.
You’ll see stop motion animation frequently in commercials music videos, television features and even feature films, and you’re not aware of it. Although it’s common for people to view stop motion as a specific style, for example, clay animation, the truth is the fact that these techniques can be utilized to create a range of styles for films:
Capturing Stop Motion Animation
The first stop motion films were made using film cameras. The animators could not know what their work looked like until their films were processed. They relied on surface gauges to monitor the position of their characters and the distance they could move the characters. If the animation wasn’t fluid, or if the set was damaged, or the lighting was poor the work was lost and the animator was forced to begin again.
Later, video cameras let the animator see the most recent two or three frames and then compare them to live footage from the camera. This enabled them to get an understanding of the progress of their animation.
Utilizing DSLRs to create Stop Motion Animation
It was 2005 when Corpse Bride was shot using the Canon EOS-1D Mark II. This was the first stop motion film shot using an electronic still camera. The first DSLRs didn’t have live view, which is a feature that lets the camera deliver a video feed of the image using the lens. Therefore, the studio needed a second video camera in order to provide the video assistance.
In 2007 Canon along with Nikon introduced DSLRs that had live view. Since they introduced DSLRs, they have been utilized to record the majority of the professional stop motion you see in feature films, from music videos, broadcast TV commercials and series.
Dragon 1.0 (the first version of Dragonframe) was released on March 1st, 2008 and was the first stop-motion software program that could be used with both Canon 40D and the Nikon D90 DSLRs. Canon 40D and the Nikon D90 DSLRs, which had live view. The animator could view a pretty precise through-the-lens view of their work while they worked.