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Previous / Archived News
 08.25.07
* Video
Format Weakness: Shedding Light on the Dark .... Brother Mike Brent has been on a studio lighting  exploration at the
message board and his blog. The 12 volt 50 watt track lighting
(& his adventurous home brewing mods), very
interesting adapting this type of lighting which seems
perfect for small lit areas such as the miniature
set-ups for Stop Motion. Mike
and myself, at this time, looking at the Video
Format for Stop Motion. I
sense, some Stop Motionists maybe kind
of getting snobby
now  with their Digital
SLR Still Cameras, and looking down
at us Video Resolutionists™ (we
are not ghetto)  . I generally do not
diss Digital Still Cams for Stop Motion (some exceptions). At this time, for me, I know
my end distribution and the finished
quality does not require the overkill
resolution, in addtion to, the more
involved workflow (of processing the hi-res
stills).
If you are reading this Strider, just
something for you (& others) to take into
consideration before  you spend more $$$
on lighting equipment & supplies  . I am absolutely no expert
on this and only have a general understanding. As some
may already know, Video does not
have the wide latitude or I believe,
also called, dynamic range, of movie
film or the high pixel digital still
cams. Boy Oyng posted a good layman's soundbyte (and here), about that. Also read this, What Dynamic Range means for your
Video.The way I
understand it, is, whatever subtle and
especially dark'ish, atmospheric,
or noir'ish lighting one might attempt
with studio lights and you are using video
format to shoot, it will not
pick-up all that subtlty & details
(like film). For one thing, if you light the scene darkly,
with video, the image can start getting noise,
muddy & lose detail.
I am already thinking ahead about workarounds for
this weakness of Video. For example; if
I want a Stop Motion shot that is a night
scene or dimly lit , I will shoot with
the basic main & key lights
and if needed, use cookies or gobos for special lighting effects, however, the overall
lighting will be exposed brighter
than I need. I want a master video image
to be as sharp, detailed, &
crisp as possible  so that it can be worked
in post production, where the final
lighting & image grading will be applied
using software filters. Tiffen
makes such software filters. That is one brand and others available.
One well known post lighting effects example is
called Day for Night. Some 'D for N' methods more
involved, and other's, simpler. Here is is an amazing
test clip of a day for night transformation (QT clip) done by a non-professional hobbyist; all in post production.
This other one is a video tutorial using
FXhome (more steps & involved). Another different
way, a written tutorial. To summarize:
With video, you cannot just light
the scene like you would do film and
then expect the same results. We have to use tricks
& workarounds to simulate
or fake some of that wide
latitude range of 'film'.
At this time, as you read in previous SMW News,
I am focused on getting my Stop Motion animation
test center stage/table together and get going on animation
exercises. Later though, will have to get down
& dirty with the whole art of
lighting and the special needs
required for the video format. EDIT: 08.26.07
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08.18.07
* Sony Bravia LCD TV Ads & Dan
Anderson ....
Very interesting short series of commercial ads being
done by Sony. I cannot say that I am
into high art conceptual stuff and these ads might be in
that category, however, these ads, I like  . The philosophy
seems to be, to use very minimal CGI and
to keep it mostly REAL
with traditional special effects methods,
doing the effects mostly in-camera.
Instead of the current flavor of many ads being overkilled
with CGI, in your face-ness,
loudness, and hyper-rapid cuts,
the Bravio Ads by comparison, are soothing
and calming. The Ads are titled as 'Paint' (Scotland) and 'Balls' (San
Francisco) and you
can view at their site. Also, there are
some behind the scenes links-video clips.
I got word from our own, Multi-talented & Skilled, Dan 'The Man' Anderson, that he just completed doing some hard
core Stop Mo work with other puppet pushers, on the third
series of the Bravia Ads. He
went to New York City. Stop
Motion animating of huge clay figures of
Rabbits on the streets of New York,
with people & traffic everywhere  . It will be a combination of Stop
Motion, Pixelation and Time
Lapse. Here is a soundbyte, Bravia Ad Shoot Overwhelms NYC and includes some behind the scene
pics. If you look closely, you might see a person that looks like Dan (underneath the tent);
distinguished silver hair, wearing eyeglasses, black T or
sweat shirt, in khaki dark green shorts and hiking boots.
Release date of Bunnies NYC ad is not
exact yet. Dan thinks, maybe Mid-November '07.
* Stop
Motionists: Career vs Passionate
Hobby .... Our Stop Mo Caves .... Career: If you do
not want to pursue your own independent Stop-Mo projects
or specialty boutique Animation
or FX services,
but just work for The Stop-Mo
Man, there are a micro few that
have the rare privilege of doing
Stop Motion for paid regular
Income  . As you may be already
aware, there is a compromise. One adapts
to a 'Nomadic Lifestyle' in order to partake
of The Nectar of Stop Mo Employment
.You
have to be willing to relocate & travel to the Stop
Motion gig, and the length of work varies. One should not
whine, though. You know
that this is the nature of general
work in the Arts & Entertainment (show-biz).
Passionate Hobby: Then, the other vast
majority are devoted Stop Motionists
for the LUV of it. IMO, they are the one's keeping
Stop Motion ALIVE (not mainstream
Studios) and in the public eye.They do
it for fun & pleasure,
and creative expression just like any fine
arts medium. Our mini studios
are in bedrooms, living rooms,
storage sheds, shacks, basements
and garages. Mike Brent
(aka Strider) has been on a recent roll about home-brew lighting equipment &
set-up. Some pics
of his light bodgering and you can get a glimpse
of the background aka Mike's basement/cave.
'We' are brothers in
similar work domicile category. My Cave
is also in basement/garage. Some photos
of my inprogress modification to my
existing LIO Table Top Stop Motion Work
Center™ . A hassle doing
the table top conversion using expanded
metal, as I have to strategically
support it underneath at interval
spacing using thin steel bars
to maintain its stiffness. Also a bit pricier,
the metal components for top (compared
to wood top). Hopefully, this will pay-off later when
getting down to doing test Stop Motions
and will help speed-up the animation sessions
without the need for pre-planning where to drill
tie-down holes (or stop during animation, to
drill)).
Oh, I  went off topic. In
the background, you can see that my LIO
Table Top Stop Motion Work Center™ is in a basement
environment (a haven and refuge for my survival and
escape from the Koyaanisqatsi (IMDb) events that IS happening
worldwide). Washer & Dryer is to the left of
Stop Mo bench and my computer workstation is also close
by, on left & a few feet forward of the bench. Other
areas of garage/basement occupy the metal
fab shop, sculpting, molding, puppet
making. As I ranted last time, getting
too crowded here. Got to get going onto the business
of hands-on Stop Motioning . Need to limit
the 'more toys & things' side-track
distractions & compulsion
that many of us (yes, you too)
get sucked into. 'Life' is
short; we only
have today;
tomorrow not
guaranteed.
P.S. I can sense,
maybe some of you are judging me  ? "Geez, LIO is so
Negative. He is making me Feel Bad"  . Hey, stop internalizing
so much in your mind. I cannot help but see 'Reality'
out there and I may sometimes come across as a little
cold & cynical. With regards to Stop Motion
employment; I get inquiries and also, some beginners at message board ask about Stop Motion as a
'Career' choice. I do not want to mislead
and prefer to give the straight info. True
die-hard Stop Motionists will persevere
no matter how tough or what obstacles
they will encounter  EDIT: 08.19.07
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08.11.07
* Pronto Takes:
Arrrrgh, too much stuff around here  , Chroma Keying, and Stop Mo Table .... As I mature
in age & wisdom  , I seem to be developing this phobia
of having too much stuff or junk around
the house. At this time I am the only one here, however,
I am starting to 'lose or misplace things'
and I cannot blame anybody else. Too materialistic in this big & fat USA.
Consumerism excess buying via mass media advertising
brainwashing upon the minds of the masses .
With regards to Stop Motion, I have
quite a collection from years of 'acquiring';
shop tools & equipment, materials/supplies, not
obsolete yet movie cameras, etc., etc., but I am  still
short of a complete full working, little studio.
Then, one's personal property & toys added to the
'hobby' stuff. I do not want to 'buy' anymore! Too crowded here, lost
items, and I am tripping & falling over things. This
sort-of developing phobia has for sometime,
impacted my ponderings of a Stop Motion
production workflow. I do not
want to be bogged down by labor
& time intensive miniature sets that would occupy
too much space and especially,  if sets are of large'ish
scale. That is why I am going to utilize as much as
possible, compositing methods aka
Green/Blue screen chroma-keying. The challenge
is, how to minimize that pasted
cut-out photoshop look and make it somewhat seamless.
I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Also, directly
related to this, a method or trick, that I just revealed at message board (but most of you maybe ignored).
Obviously, I am going to need 'miniature
sets'. I will be experimenting
with using very 'small scale' as used in
Model Railroading hobby field. The
filmed or photographed miniatures sets
will be used as backgrounds or scenery
for Chroma Key compositing. The
advantage to me is; the miniatures will
be real (not fake CGI sets),
compact size, faster
to build & tear down,
and maybe, partially relieve
my "Too much Junk
anxiety and/or phobia!"  . Related Links: LIO
Secret Revealed, Green Screen
I am finally getting to work on the LIO Table Top
Stop Motion Work Center™ for doing Stop Motion
practice/tests. For the top, I will be using
what is called expanded metal steel sheets, with the
diamond shape cut-outs. This will cover the
entire top of table. I already have an  existing very solid animation table/bench
with a replaceable wood top. The animation bench is
weighted down & chained to a 100 lb cement block, but
I needed to modify it for the expanded metal
top. A minor issue with the steel sheet top, is, that it
can sag and one needs to include thin
support bars underneath to reduce this
sagging effect & help maintain its stiffness. Phil
Tippett Studio in their past Stop Mo glory days,
frequently used expanded metal. I am going this
route because, I do not need to drill
any tie-down holes before or during
animation. Less interuption of Stop Mo
session and will help me focus on the animation.
The expanded metal surface top is not
applicable in all Stop Motion set-ups,
especially on real projects where you have to animate,
many times on Miniature Sets which
requires the pre-drilling of tie-down holes on
those sets.
P.S. I wish, I could build complex or
elaborate miniature sets. If you are able to and you have
the time & studio space, then all the power
to you. I am just describing my chosen methods &
reasons given. There is no right or wrong. It is the finished
product that counts. EDIT: 08.12.07
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08.04.07
* Quickie: Jesus the Miracle Maker
..... I feel
like I'm spoiling you. Take me for granted, huh? I need
to take my own advice and NOT blow my Wad so
much every week. Recently, at SMA board, I accidentally did some thought streaming
rambling (sort-of tirading) at 'In The Fall of Gravity' topic. Feels like I am talking to
dead air space. I should just comment/rant
to myself, here.
Back to topic: Finally, it's on YouTube;
clips from Jesus the Miracle Maker. If
you were too 'Frugal' (cheap) to get the DVD Special Edition (a must for Stop Mo
aficianados), you can now view it online.
Get real close to computer screen, put on your
reading/magnifying glasses (to create illusion of larger
screen). Online version is no substitute
to the clear, crisp, & large
TV screen format from a Dvd.
As some of you might already know, Miracle
Maker uses limited facial
replacement animation, specifically the
jaw  section with the mouth.
The eyes rotate within the sockets
in the hard resin head and also some
eyebrow movement. It's enough to give the illusion
to evoke a certain degree of stylized
semi-realism, within the context of puppet
aesthetics. The rest of the puppet
body uses standard jointed armatures,
covered with rubber skin and
mini clothes. Also, uses larger Stop Mo
puppets for the very close-up
shots of Jesus and the little
girl. Some scenery & backgrounds
uses CGI to enhance but
not overwhelm. Replacement
animation an effective Stop
Motion variation/option, if executed with
finesse & quality. Here are
the links to the YouTube posting of Miracle Maker and Link 2. At right side of YouTube page, you can see
more links to Jesus video clips. Also see Free
the Dog EDIT: 08.05.07
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