How to Properly Light a Stop Motion Set

Stop-motion animation involves filming the tiny movement of models.

Stop motion is one of the most challenging forms of animation for a filmmaker. In stop motion, the filmmaker films a model while causing it to move and then edits out the frames in which the model was moved. Although the finished film must have the usual elements of plot and character, the stop-motion animator also has to develop the models and armatures to portray convincing, lifelike movement. Fortunately, lighting is the bright spot in the stop-motion animator's toolbox. Simple, effective lighting for your animation set is easy to control and even easier to create.

Things You'll Need

• Clamp lamps, or similar simple light fixtures
• Colored gels

Instructions

1. Suspend enough lights overhead to fully light the entire set area. Equip them with independent switches so you can lighten and darken areas of the background. This will not only help accentuate background areas in close-up shots, it will save electricity by letting you turn off the overhead lights you don't need.

2. Place lights on either side of the set at your characters' eye-level. These so-called "fill lights" will eliminate most of the shadows cast by the overhead lights. Use independent switches on these lights, too.

3. Place a low-intensity light in front of and below your characters. As most of your shots will be close- ups, the lights themselves won't be visible. You can mount the lights directly beneath the camera lens for wide-angle shots.

4. Place gels, colored transparent sheets, in front of your lights to "heat" a scene with reds and yellows or "cool" it with blues and greens. Use gels sparingly, however -- unless you are creating special mood scenes, your film will look best if it's brightly lit.

Tips & Warnings

• Shooting your close-ups with a zoom lens from far away will ensure that both your subject and your background will be in focus. This "long-distance close-up" also has the advantage of eliminating shadows from the camera.

• Be very careful not to change the lighting during the stop-motion animation process. The shadow of a hand in a frame, for instance, will make the final image flicker.

• Storyboard your action before you shoot it to determine where to place special effects lighting.

• Because you are potentially lighting just a small area, the lights can be quite simple. Clamp lamps from a home improvement store should be adequate.

References

• Matt York, et al; Digital Videomaker Guide to Digital Video and DVD Production, 2004