Image Processing Reference
In-Depth Information
“It is very important to me to show the texture of the material I am working
with. For sand animation, the lighting is adjusted so that a suggestion of
the pile of sand within and forming the silhouette of the drawn figure is
visible. I want the audience to know sand, but sandiness doesn't dominate
the storytelling. Likewise with wet paint, I make sure that my finger-pushing
movements show so that everyone knows that it's paint.”
It is important to use darker sand if you are trying to achieve a silhouette
effect. Some white sands pick up the slightest bit of light, which can reveal
the effect. On the other hand, you may want to see some of the sand and
show its texture, as Caroline Leaf suggests. It is important to test these effects
before committing to an approach. The shooting surface needs to be more
horizontal when shooting sand because it sits unattached to the glass and can
easily drift down the table due to our old friend, gravity. Plasticine has a bit
moreadhesiontotheglassandtheshootingsurfacecanbetilteduptoa45°
angle. The great advantage of this is that it is easier on the animator's body.
Craning over a horizontal table all day long to see and manipulate the artwork
can be much more demanding than sitting and seeing the artwork because it
is tilted up for better viewing and access.
Shooting objects under a downshooter has its own challenges. The objects
that can be used are limitless. I have seen coffee beans, candy, Barbie dolls,
hair, coconut shells, pencils, and so forth. The only restriction is the size of
the object and whether the object needs additional support beyond the
surface of the glass. These various objects have more flexibility with lighting,
as mentioned earlier. It is important to light for the dimension and form of
these objects. The higher off the glass the object is, the more possibility there
is of a reflection falling from that object back onto the glass. One solution
is to polarize the lights and the camera lens. These filters and gels can be
found at any decent photography or film store. The polarized filters reduce
the reflection but do not always totally eliminate the problem. Polarizing
lights and lenses also increase the contrast of the image, which is not always
desirable. The background plane also plays a role in how much attention you
pay to reflections and smudges on the glass. When you shoot a green screen
backdrop, dirt and reflections are less of an issue, because you eventually
eliminate them in the keying process. The only potential problem with these
smudges and fingerprints can come when they intersect the contour of the
object to be keyed. We discuss the role of backgrounds shortly.
Cutouts
The most popular largest technique in downshooting is cutouts. This area
could warrant a topic on its own because of its deep history and varied
applications. The cutouts can be original illustrated artwork, photographic in
nature, figurative, or abstract. The technique is fairly direct and inexpensive,
so early on in filmmaking, designers, directors, and animators explored the
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