Rating:
Author: Tom Gasek
ISBN : B00B3SISHK
New from $9.53
Format: PDF, EPUB
Download for free books Free Download Frame by Frame Stop Motion: NonTraditional Approaches to Stop Motion Animation for everyone book 4shared, mediafire, hotfile, and mirror link
In a world that is dominated by computer images, alternative stop motion techniques like pixilation, time-lapse photography and down-shooting techniques combined with new technologies offer a new, tangible and exciting approach to animation. With over 25 years professional experience, industry veteran, Tom Gasek presents a comprehensive guide to stop motion animation without the focus on puppetry or model animation. With tips, tricks and hands-on exercises, Frame by Frame will help both experienced and novice filmmakers get the most effective results from this underutilized branch of animation. Practical insight and inspiration from leading filmmakers like PES (Western Spaghetti Creator, Time Magazine's #2 Viral Video of 2008), Dave Borthwick, of the Bolex Brothers and more! The accompanying website will include further content driven examples, indexes of stop motion software, a recommended film list and tools and resources for the beginner and intermediate stop motion artist, animators and filmmakers.
Books with free ebook downloads available Free Download Frame by Frame Stop Motion: NonTraditional Approaches to Stop Motion Animation [Kindle Edition]
- File Size: 6778 KB
- Print Length: 216 pages
- Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
- Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (January 17, 2013)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00B3SISHK
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,217 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Free Download Frame by Frame Stop Motion: NonTraditional Approaches to Stop Motion Animation
This book bills itself a "guide to non-traditional animation techniques," by which the author means pixilation, time-lapse photography, and downshooting material other than cartoon cels (e.g., clay, sand, collages, cutouts, -- or anything else). This book excludes "traditional" animation, such as cartoon cels and CGI.
By "cutouts," think of Monty Python or early South Park (which eventually moved over to CGI, while maintaining the "cutout look"). Yes, if you want a book that covers "cutout animation," this book is for you.
Actually, the techniques covered in this book are far older than CGI, so it's really a book about traditional, but less popular, animation techniques.
The book's coverage of "non-traditional" animation is extensive. It begins with an an overview of the history of film and animation, with references to the Lumiere brothers and Georges Melies.
I'm no animation expert, and I was surprised to learn about all the issues that an animator faces.
Much of this book deals with technical issues, such as lighting, cameras, and lenses. When downshooting three-dimensional materials (e.g., sand, clay, collages, cutouts), shadows are a potential problem. Your camera is "facing" characters head-on, so you must beware of shadows coming in from the side. This book will advise you on how to set up your lighting gear.
Low-budgeters will find useful tips. Professional animation stands are expensive, but apparently, many animators get good results from jerrybuilt equipment. This book will teach you about cheap tricks that work.
I learned about lenses I'd never knew existed. For instance, the "tilt shift" lens. This lens tilts out at a diagonal angle, which tilts its focal plane (the area that's in focus).
There's a lot to like about this book. The text is first rate, which is not surprising, as the author has over twenty-five years practicing these techniques, and teaching them as well. He takes a lot of his examples from the work of well-known animators; there are frames from the word of Terry Gilliam and Aardman Animation, as well as many other lesser-known (but no less influential) animation artists and studios. And while the text isn't really that heavy on the mechanics of animation from the camera end, there's a good overview of modern technology, including the use of DSLRs, and even cellphones, as in the discussion of the making of the "Dot", the world's smallest animation, that was done as an ad for Nokia.
Most of the book is devoted to the actual mechanics of animating, be it clay figures, cutouts (a la JibJab and South Park), pixilating humans or whatever, and that's as it should be. Technology changes, and what's cutting edge in 2011 may be obsolete in a year or two. There is a treasure trove of real, practical information on how to construct and manipulate animated figures, as well as plans for a simple and very practical downshoot animation stand. Another topic that's given a good treatment is one that's often neglected- lighting. Real photographers and cinematographers understand that controlling light is the key to creating images, and this book does an excellent job of explaining the use of light in photography in general, and in animation in particular.
What particularly appeals to me about this book is how animation technique is discussed as the means to an artistic end.