Shooting Frame by Frame1 - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 27

The computer software that makes animation possible and easier to execute
is known as capture software . Several different brands are listed on our
associated website and mentioned through this topic. Dragon Stop Motion
and Stop Motion Pro are ubiquitous across the globe. Several features are
common to all good capture software. They need to show you a “live” frame
coming directly in from your camera. The ability to compare the previously
captured frame and the live frame allows you to monitor the amount of
movement your subject has registered. It is important to be able to step
through all your frames one frame at a time so you can see the sequence of
movement, and the software needs to have an instant playback at various
frame rates so you can see your final animation. The better capture software
programs have many more features that allow you to refine your animation
and animation technique. They also work on Apple and PC platforms.
Several inexpensive and free capture software programs, like iStopMotion,
Framethief, and Anasazi, are available for novice animators, but these
programs can have support, technical, and capability limitations and may
frustrate the more advanced stop-motion animator. They are great starter
programs but are not quite up to the depth of the previously mentioned
programs.
Fig 2.12 image from the “screen grab” of the Dragon Stop Motion interface.
Similar to live-action photography and live-action movie making, all stop
motion requires a “grip” package. This may include tripods, lights, flags,
electric chords, voltage regulators for lights, sandbags, gaffer's tape, and
potentially motion control for moving the camera. We will explore these
elements in more detail but it is important to know what is required by
your particular script or idea. Naturally, for downshooting, an animation
stand is required, but the stand comes in various forms. This can range
from a classic Oxberry animation stand right down to a camera on a tripod