Cinematography, Lighting, and Composition - Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - page 78

Fig 5.16 Several small 150 watt lamps with Fresnel lenses and barndoors.
Finally, I want to mention indoor and outdoor lighting and the effects of
shadows. Indoor shooting has much more control because you are the one
setting the lights. Outside, the big key light in the sky, otherwise known as
the sun , is in control. If your shadows are too dark on an inside shoot, then
you need to add fill light for a bit of definition on the subject. The shadows
are stable or move only when your animated subject moves, but outside
the story is different. Since the earth is constantly moving, the relationship
to the sun changes and shadows move in an even fashion. We can see this
quite clearly in an extended piece of time-lapse photography outdoors.
Exterior fill lights have to move or shooting times have to be very short. So,
if you are shooting pixilation outdoors, then you want to think about the
rate of shooting you need to maintain to have even shadow movement.
Erratic shadow movement can be very distracting, unless it is part of the
overall effect.
Compositional Beginnings and Ends
Like time-lapse filming, any of these stop-motion techniques can use
camera movement to enhance a shot. We explored motion control, geared
heads, and even moving the camera itself by hand with a guide. The
important point to keep in mind is the beginning and end positions of
your camera and the continuously changing composition. It is absolutely
critical to practice a run-through of the movement before you commit to
shooting frames. In more traditional puppet stop-motion film, animators
perform what is known as a pop-through . This is a run-through of the move
that records camera and subject movement every 5 to 10 frames. Any
issues that arise are revealed with the changing lights, shadows, focus, and
other difficulties that you will encounter. Once you have addressed these
problems, you can adjust for them and the choreography of your shot flows
smoothly. Know where you are going, so the camera and subject matter can
stay in sync with the camera. This is the equivalent of the cue mark for live-
action actors.