The Multiplane Downshooter - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 96

gels to add more atmosphere. Often times directors of photography think
about light from nature. In this case, the key light would be warm (yellows
and reds) like the sun and the fill light would be cool or in the blue range,
which is normally found in the shadow areas and reflects the ambient blue
light from the sky.
Cutouts, which are usually flat graphic images, traditionally have a much
more restricted range for lights. The lighting has more to do with allowing the
artwork to be read clearly and with even lighting. Traditional drawn animation
is shot on a stand with two key sources of light set at the sides of the stand
at45°anglestotheshootingsurface.Thelightsaresetequallyabovethe
shooting surface for an even flat lighting effect. Bryan Papciak, a successful
director of photography and director, describes his approach to lighting these
surfaces:
“Focus each light into a hard 'spotlight' aimed across the table to the
opposite side. The light on the left side of the table would be spot-
focused to the right side of the artwork, and the light on the right side
of the table would be spot-focused on the left side. Once the two spots
are balanced, then defocus both lights to 'floodlight.' This will result in the
most even coverage across the table.”
Since cutouts are flat paper or similar material, they cast no shadows on
themselves. On a traditional animation stand, the artwork is placed under a
hinged piece of glass that rests on top of the artwork once it is placed on the
table. This glass is called a platen . The glass platen is more difficult to contend
with in cutout animation because it constantly moves or displaces the artwork
if the artwork sits loosely on the shooting plane. Tacking down or sticking
the cutout artwork to the shooting surface with wax, Blu-Tack, or tape helps
eliminate this problem.
The last area in lighting we need to examine is the “underlit” or bottom
light setup. This technique is used to gain a silhouette effect for the
objects that sit on the top glass shooting plane. Usually, no light emanates
from above in this approach, so the objects or cutouts block the lighting
that comes from underneath the artwork, creating the silhouette. The
light can shine from the lower plane in a couple of ways to achieve this
effect. A light box that has florescent tubes and a diffused white milk glass
surface can be mounted on the lower plane to radiate an even bright light.
The other approach is reflective in nature. Similar to the even lighted top
surface approach, two lights can be mounted on either side of the stand
focuseddownat45°onthelowerplane.Thelightshouldhitasheetof
white or colored card and reflect up directly under the top glass shooting
plane.