In the case of stop motion animation, it may take hours to shoot. So use lighting devices and keep the brightness during shooting. And shield the room with blackouts curtain from the light from the outside.
lighting device
LED light
Although it is expensive, but, it is long life. It can provide stable lighting. Some device is heavy, so you need to firmly fix it to the lighting tripod. It generates heat, attention is necessary, but not as much as the next tungsten light.
tungsten light
It is a lighting equipment often used for photography. It is lightweight and inexpensive, but the life span is short so the sphere may be cut during shooting. And it generates heat. If you touch it with your hand, you will get burn. So you have to put on the gloves when treat it.
Halogen light(spot light)
I use it as a spotlight to hit a part of the light. By adjusting the built-in lens, it can create sharp spot light. it can also divide the light with four blades built in, it is useful when lighting small things. Like tungsten light, it generates heat, so care must be taken in handling. And it is heavy, you need a lighting tripod when you use it. There are spot lights using LED, but prices will differ more than doubles.
Slidac
It is a voltage regulator. Connect it between the household power supply and lighting device. it can adjust the brightness of the lighting by turning the dial to change the voltage. However, if you make it too dark the light become reddish, so be careful with dropping too much.
C-stand
It fix light device and various things. the height of the three feet are different, so it can be set multiple stands next to each other. If you collect head and arm parts, it is even more convenient. It can be folded up feets and keep them in the wall when you do not use them.
sand bag
Light device is very dangerous if you fall, so put it on the foot of the stand and tripod. It can be put under the shooting table to prevent rattling even if it is placed on the foot of the shooting table for rattling prevention.
tension rod
It is difficult to use many stand in a small room. Setting the tension rod between the floor and the ceiling is very convenient to fix the light device in a small space.
Reflector
In case of stop motion animation it does not hit the light to large objects. so it is enough thick paper or styrene plate. But, it is necessary to firmly fix it so that it does not move during shooting.
tracing paper
When the lighting is too strong, spread the tracing paper on the front of the light device, the light will be scattered and it becomes soft light. Be careful not to burn when using heat generating device.
black aluminum foil
Use it to block the light. It can be made to be strong in heat and free form, it is convenient to prepare one. It is strong so you can use it many times.
easy lighting
There is no set. but, for the time being, animate this puppet. In such cases you should use reflected light rather than light directly, the light will diffuse and the shadow become no strong.
setting of light
If you do not know how to do lighting, first consider the position of the light source. and set the light device at the place. If it is outdoors, light source is the sun. If it is room, light source is room light. There is not always one light source. In the case there is a window in the room, room light is the first light source. If the sunlight come in through the window, the sunlight is the second light source. If the light is too strong, change to the reflected light with the reflector board. On the contrary if the reflected light is weak, set another light device. Sometimes taking a piture, shift the position of the lighting and adjust it.
flicker
In the case of making stop motion animation the unique problem of lighting is “flicker”.
“Flicker” is a phenomenon that appears when you shoot in the situation that lighting brightness is not stable. The different brightness pictures are taken. and the movie will flicker. it is very difficult to see. It is important not to cause flicker as much as possible.
causes and remedies
There are several causes of flicker. I introduce main causes and remedies.
Problems of lighting device
If you use lighting devices such as fluorescent lamps that often cause flickering. use LED or tungsten light without taking room light.
Voltage of the power supply is unstable
Originally, the voltage of the household power supply is unstable. Especially when the electricity is frequently used in the evening and summer etc. When the brightness significantly changes during shooting, adjust the brightness by changing the voltage using a voltage changer (slidac). Or, by using software that reduces flicker after shooting, I will digitally reduce flicker.(plugin of AfterEffectsFrickerFree)
Impact around the object
A people moves around while shooting, flickering occurs due to the influence of reflected light. The reflected light of the animator may be the cause. Don’t move during shooting as much as possible. Also, animators avoid white clothes and try to wear dark colored clothes.
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