Looking for Advice on Making Stopmotion

thebearcollector

I know this is only two seconds but hey its my first : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dVGrR6v7j4&feature=plcp
please give me advice on how to make it look better if needed

yys4u

A couple things you need to do:

First: More pictures. A decent stop-motion is usually 15 fps (frames per second. So a 2 second clip should actually have 30 pictures, it looks like yours has 3 :/ You can start slower tho, I think I use like 8 actually because I use Windows Movie Maker and that's the fastest you can set the pictures. (you can actually set the pictures to run twice as fast so technically 16 but since I run it on my lab top, doing that makes computing or previewing the video really slow.)

Second: Slow down the title screens. There's not enough time to read the intro and its hard to pause it at the right moment.

Third: More consistent lighting. As you may know, natural lighting (like sun) is bad, since it changes. Get a least a couple lamps and have them pointing at your set. Try not to wear white when you film too because the light will reflect. Don't use LED lights, and no flash on your camera too. Lighting's one of the hardest things to get down, I haven't made a new stop motion in 7 months because I got too frustrated with getting the lighting right...

4th: Music? Or sound effects.

These are just rough tips off the top of my head. There's actually some good animators on this forum that can give you more detailed help. I meant this as a quick overview but it ended up being longer than expected... (I rant sometimes) And I don't mean for this tips to be numbered by most important, some will say lighting is most important, etc.

Coolsplash

@yys4u, great advice! I have been thinking to make some Lego stop motion videos myself. Could you run me down a check list of things I need to know or have before I work on this?

thebearcollector

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjTQ63K7Da0&feature=youtu.be

tell me what you think

Yellowcastle

Moved to Photography

Jasen

@Coolsplash - yeah what @yys4u sed!

But I will also add that I do mine at 24fps. In Window MovieMaker set the time to .05 and it's pretty good (.04 is ideal for 24fps). Definitely take alot more photos, keep the camera still and you're off and running.

Also, Let someone else watch it before you post it - another opinion is always good.

The irony about this video is that if you tag "star wars lego" you'll probably get 1,000 hits - although the feedback may not be good for your ego. O.o

@yys4u - yeah I bought some new lights today but when I got them home.... not bright enough :( ....upside - I now have 4 points of light haha.

Bustin

The camera needs to be locked in to place.

Bustin

I didn't see it mentioned that the camera needs to be locked in a stationary position so that there isn't a wobbling of the screen. It makes seeing motion harder.

princedraven

I would suggest that you post this in the same thread as your previous 'Looking for advice' one, or you will end up with ..... 'Take 315, tell me what you think'.

My suggestion would be to take note of the previous advice on consistent lighting, more pictures, locked camera, etc and then go from there.

thebearcollector

Bustin said:

The camera needs to be locked in to place.

I used my phone camera I coudnt get it to stand straight i need a stand

Jasen

Yeah that is essential :) If you can get a remote - even better. Some even just use webcams with monkeyjam (free download) which is a cheap and effective way to improve quite quickly.

paul_merton

I used a digital SLR on a tripod for the following timelapse sequence. The obvious lesson to learn from this is to (a) keep the lighting consistent and (b) make sure the base doesn't move :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAbYIEmJRd0

thebearcollector

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8eIIOSWjoU&feature=youtu.be


Ive manage a way to keep my pictures the same view so enjoy