8/17 - Problem Solved!

It took us 3.5 hours and 7 more test shots to figure out what the cause of the shaky test footage was. But now everything seems to be fine and I should get the first shot done today.

Among the many things we tried before getting it right were adding some support frames to the stage, which wasn't the problem, but is probably a good thing that we did anyway as it's definitely not moving anywhere while I shoot now. We also checked if it had to do with the connection of the remote and the camera, if it was my body weight moving the floor near either the camera or the stage, and if it was actually the tripod that the camera was mounted on.

But finally after all that we discovered that the image stabilizer on the camera itself had somehow been turned on. That was the problem all along.

We did it!

8/16 - Test Shot!

Yesterday I shot a test to make sure that everything is working properly, the lighting, camera, computer etc. This way I don't waste my time shooting a shot and then find out I have to redo it.

Well, something is wrong. All the technical aspects are great and there doesn't seem to be any flickering of the lights, though that doesn't mean it won't ever happen.

So what's wrong? Either the camera or the stage is moving slightly while I shoot. It could be that the floor is moving as I shift my weight around, which most likely would be the cause of the camera moving. It could also be the stage, in which case if I add a few supports I might be able to keep it more steady. Either way I hope to tackle this problem today.

Oscar adjusting a light.

8/13 - 63 Shots To Go!

I'm getting close to being able to start shooting the film. I'm working on some of the last pre-production that needs to be done; the shot sheet. This way I can schedule my time based on the lengths of shots, the different setups, and the difficulty of shots. Unless I change something during production there are 63 shots, which make the average length of each shot 4 seconds long.

This is all according to the animatic though, so it's completely subject to change.

63 shots

8/11 - Construction!

Yesterday Oscar and I turned my bedroom into a stop motion studio. We put the stage together, hung the green screen on the wall, blacked out the windows so no outside light can come into the room, and started to figure out the lighting.

To the right is an image showing the stage and green screen after being setup.

8/09 - Home Depot!

The image to the right is my animation stage. Also, a very curious cat, Killer, who is 1/2 of the reason I have to shoot in the bedroom instead of the living room. I know it isn't built yet and I was planning on getting it done today, but a little thing called math ruined that. It should have been obvious before I even left, but a piece of plywood that is 4' x 5' is not going to fit in a Corolla. Also, finding everything in Home Depot is not easy because almost everyone that works there is not helpful. I still don't have the rubber mat I was looking for to stand on so my back doesn't get tired while I'm animating.

So, that whole thing took longer than planned and I went over there late in the day anyway. Now that it's 9pm I don't feel like taking apart my bed, moving it out of the bedroom, and then assembling a stage. I'll do it in the morning and then get setup to shoot.