Stop motion photography has been around quite awhile, its documented first use was in 1897. In the past 100 years many films and tv shows have utilized this “illusion” to achieve amazing results. A basic overview of the technique is as follows. An object is filmed as a single frame, with a small increment of movement given to the object with each consecutive frame thereafter. Once the process is complete (if you have done your job right) the illusion of movement is created. Claymation is a subset of this technique.
As recently as the mid-90’s (just prior to CGI taking over the special effects world) stop motion was being used on a regular basis. In fact you may be surprised to know that Jurassic Park was going to use a form of stop motion known as Go Motion for the Dinosaur effects, before they realized computers were ready to handle the job. Other recommended highlights from the past 30 years that have used stop motion would be The original Star Wars trilogy, The Robocop series (notably the climax of Robocop 2) and the first Terminator film.
While stop motion is pretty much extinct when it comes to live action special effects usage, it is still being used for animation purposes. Most recently the excellent Fantastic Mr. Fox (and a similar style series of Planters Mr. Peanut commercials) brought the animation style back to the silver screen. Also worth mentioning is the efforts of Tim Burton & Henry Selick who collectively (and separately) kept the format alive in Hollywood over the last 20 years with The Nightmare Before Chirstmas, James and the Giant Peach, Corpse Bride and the wonderful Coraline.
The moment you open a new project, your settings are easy to view and customize.
The technique is alive and well and can be very effective. Audiences today may be getting “bored” of the same “Dreamworks” style CG animation being thrown at them constantly. Stop Motion can achieve a fresh look and just may give your project what it needs to stand out. (As an example of this, Amazon’s recent Kindle campaign, which features a woman who is animated along with surreal props around her was created using traditional stop motion techniques.)
Now, you’re going to have to invest in some quality miniature sets, puppets and props (unless you do the afore mentioned Kindle concept, but that’s probably a one trick pony). But on the image capturing level things have never been easier, a program like iStopMotion is one of those things that bridge the gap between “old school” filmmaking and the digital age.
Live view gives you a live feed of your camera frame.
Ease of Use
Overall the program is very easy to use. In fact I was surprised at how well the design was laid out.
Your more important features are easy to find and if you have everything properly set up with your camera (more on that later) you should be getting to the animation in no time. Anyone who is familiar with any type of video editing or special effects program should find the use of iStopMotion to be a breeze.
If for any reason you find this software hard to understand the help feature is very easy to find. There you have a nice support system of video options and web links to get you headed in the right direction.
The color correction options help you make changes to the color palate of your project.
Depth of Options
On the surface, the main purpose of the program is to “grab frames” from a live feed. But there are several other options involved with iStopMotion. My personal favorite is (“onion skinning”) “preview overlay” (OS is where multiple “old” frames are superimposed in decreasing opacity) which allows you to see the previous frame layered on top of the live view, so you can judge the proper amount to move your object for the next frame. You can set many different type of resolutions from phone/web rez to 1080P or a custom setting (just make sure your camera supplying the feed can handle the resolution your setting). Other features are a tilt shift function, rotoscoping, color correction and some rough foreground and background effects. You can manually capture frames one at a time by hitting the frame capture button (or using the voice control) or you can set the amount of frames to be captured at your desired intervals. (Which will also work for a time-lapse effect if you desire). There is also a soundtracking option, which allows you to drop in music or effects to animate to, which is a very cool function.
Help is one click away, the help menu has several options to support your questions.
Performance
Up front the software performs well enough. Usually you’ll see the default live view of your iSight camera which you might want to play around with to get the feel of the software before setting up your project.
One of the main issues right now with this software is the lack of DSLR support in the live view feed. Many DSLR cameras work by taking a preview image and inserting it in the timeline if the shot is correct. I didn’t use a DSLR for my review so I didn’t run into that problem, but you will want to make sure that your version of the software supports the camera you plan to use. (The newest version of the program that was just released is supposed to increase the number of cameras supported!)
Now, if you have an older camera, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all the bugs have been worked out on the compatibility. This review is based on running the Panasonic HVX200A through the firewire connection. Once plugging to the camera and connecting it to the Mac Pro, iStopMotion immediately recognized the camera! Awesome right? Sort of, but not if you have your camera set up to default settings. Apparently true HD is not supported by the software. (Not correct. The support comes from OS X itself. If a HDV codec is installed on the system, any kind of HDV that is supported by Final Cut Pro 7 should work in iStopMotion. The HDV codec comes with an Install of Final Cut Pro 7 or Logic Studio.) It took me some research to figure this one out (a little hair pulling as well), since HDV streams are supported—just not the 4:2:2 HD that the HVX200 generates. As this camera is extremely popular and has been out for 5 years now, not being compatible is a major issue in my book. You can however use the HVX200A by switching to tape mode (the first time I think I have ever used tape mode on this camera to be honest) which will limit you to standard definition resolution. Obviously, that’s a pretty big problem! (From my understanding, the newest version of the software hasn’t addressed the HVX200 and 4:2:2 HD issues.)
Once you have gotten your camera feed issues figured out, iStopMotion works nicely. Exporting to iMovie, Final Cut or QuickTime is supported. (Although they may want to consider an Avid or Premiere Pro export function soon if Apple doesn’t figure out a way to make actual editors happy with Final Cut X.) But basically an export to ProRes422 is available through the QuickTime export and these files work fine in Media composer or Premiere.
The Background and Foreground effects are fun, but probably not used by many “pros”.
Value
At $499 I would expect a much better effort to support as many cameras as possible--especially common cameras that have been around for awhile. It’s good that they’re trying to resolve the issues of the DSLRs, but, considering most stop motion work also utilizes some sort of greenscreen elements, not supporting the highest color fidelity available to the low-budget community (4:2:2) is a bad move.
If you’re not ready to drop nearly 5 bills on the pro version, there are lower cost versions of the software in iStopMotion Home for $49 and iStopMotion Express for $99. From what I can tell, the biggest difference between these versions and Pro are soundtracking, rotoscoping and resolution options are different or not included. But the price point difference is huge, so double check what you’re going to need inside your stop motion software and whether you’ll be doing it all in one tool or not.
If you have a fully supported camera and are looking to make a film utilizing the stop motion animation process, iStopMotion can definitely make your life easier. The $499 price tag is steep for what the program offers, but it also can save you massive headaches compared to the older “shoot and pray” techniques.
Final Comments Looking at it from the Microfilmmaker POV (A film that comes in under 30,000 dollars in production budget), stop motion is an interesting idea. A talented group of people could actually make a nice looking feature inexpensively if handled correctly and the money spent wisely. As mentioned the camera support issue and price point is disappointing, but if you had the proper gear that worked most effectively with iStopMotion you are guaranteed to have some incredible results.
Ease
of Use
10.0
Depth
of Options
10.0
Performance
7.0
Value
vs. Cost
7.0
Overall Score
8.0
Craig McDaniel has worked in the entertainment industry for almost a decade. Serving in art department, project management, graphic design, screenwriting and directing etc. His work has carried him to the cities of Orlando, Los Angeles and Atlanta. Craig’s resume includes projects with CBS, MTV, VH1, SyFy, Turner Broadcasting, Victoria’s Secret, Coca-Cola and many more. Currently he is forming a new production company with his girlfriend Kelly Thomas which will offer quality and affordable promotional material for various businesses in the southeast. Also in the loop for Neggwerkz (a production company that was co-founded with Cinematographer Nathan Eckelbarger) is a full length feature to shoot in 2011.
