An Epic Battle

An epic battle between Bumblebee and Dropkick from The Bumblebee Movie, recreated in stop-motion, shot with AnimaShooter: 

Shot With AnimaShooter: Bumblebee vs Dropkick Stop Motion

Great Behind the Scenes video by Abraham Martinez:

Ultraman Nexus vs Zaku | Stop Motion

Great stop-motion, shot with AnimaShooter by the Malaysian enthusiast Danialdali. His overall quality of the output is constantly rising. Check it out!

AnimaShooter Beta 2

The beta 2 of AnimaShooter (ver. 3.8.16.2 ) is available for download. Added support for EOS R5, EOS R6, and EOS Kiss M2 / EOS M50 Mark II https://www.animashooter.xyz/beta/index-en.html

Wondering what stop-motion software to use?

Check out a handy guide to help you decide which one is best for you! Notice AnimaShooter.

Photo by https://www.aplusc.tv/

Behind The Scenes

Beautiful Pompberry tells how hard it was to shoot her coolest Totoro Stop Motion Makeup, and how AnimaShooter was used in the process. 

The new Beta of AnimaShooter 3.8.16 is now available for download

This version delivers a new feature (zoom in\out with scroll, pan with a middle mouse button), support for some newest Canon DSLRs (we have added support for EOS R5 and EOS R6 cameras), as well as bug fixes. Get it here: animashooter.com/beta

Add caption

SPbPU starts using AnimaShooter in its Informatics basics course

This semester, the Academy of Informatics (part of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, a large technical university in Russia) has a new course "Informatics Basics" in which children learn to use AnimaShooter Junior, record sound, and edit video.

Photo by eng.spbstu.ru

Behind the Scenes | Optimus vs Sentinel Stop Motion

Youtube user Abraham Martinez shows his stop motion workflow (includes AnimaShooter) and the set for his latest Optimus vs Sentinel video.

The Best Camera for Stop-motion Animation • LEGO Brickfilming Tutorial

 Youtube user rioforce recommends AnimaShooter Junior in his detailed video.

 

Optimus vs Sentinel Stop Motion

 Shot with AnimaShooter.

A list of software to make your own animations by A + C Studio

AnimaShooter is one of the best software for creating stop-motion animation in the A + C Studio's opinion.

AnimaShooter through many updates has become a great choice for those who wish to invest time into becoming a stop-frame animator. A camera will again be required to use this software, but this can range from professional cameras to simple webcams. The slightly higher price is definitely worth paying, as the software is full of features that will allow you to make HD animation. [...]

Thank you for the kind words, A + C Studios!

AnimaShooter 3.8.15 is available

We just released AnimaShooter 3.8.15 with several great improvements over the previous version. Now you can collapse the right panel to free room for the main view. The new tool simplifies adding new path nodes.

AnimaShooter Capture now has a new feature: new device type 'Video Capture' which should ease connection to the Video Capturing Devices. When On, AnimaShooter will prefer any available Video Capturing Device over webcams. AnimaShooter will do it's best to distinguish Video Capturing Devices from web-cameras, but even if it fails to, it will connect and make shots properly. 

Added support for the EOS 850D and EOS Ra cameras. This version brings some bug fixes as well. 

You can get version 3.8.15 here: http://www.animashooter.com/ 

The only action you should take to upgrade is to download and install the new version. Your license will apply automatically. 

Coffee Stars - Shot With AnimaShooter

Coffee Stars - a stop-motion animated advert (full version). Shot with AnimaShooter Capture. 

New video from QuanteStorie Animation Lab

Chromakey and shooting stop-motion with AnimaShooter. Short behind the scenes video from the Italian studio QuanteStorie Animation Lab:

Lego Stopmotion Short: Level Up

New great stop-motion animation shot with AnimaShooter by Critters Pictures studio: 

The Life Of Action Figures: A Hostile Attack

Another great stop-motion animation from youtube user Danialdali, shot with AnimaShooter Capture. Support Danialdali on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Danialdali

 

Green Screen Practice + AnimaShooter

Nice stop-motion by QuanteStorie Animation Lab

Very nice stop-motion animation shot with AnimaShooter by QuanteStorie Animation Lab.

AnimaShooter Capture Beta 3.8.14.8

Newest AnimaShooter Capture Beta 3.8.14.8 is available for download. Now you can collapse the right panel to free room for the main view. The new tool simplifies adding new path nodes. New device type - Video Capture should ease connection to the Video Capturing Devices. When On, AnimaShooter will prefer any available Video Capturing Device over webcams.

http://www.animashooter.com/beta/index-en.html

AnimaShooter 3.8.12.9

We are happy to announce that the new release of AnimaShooter 3.8.12.9 is now available for download! This version delivers a set of bug fixes. http://www.animashooter.com/

Reducing flicker for stop-motion animation

What is flicker?

Its the common problem of inconsistent lighting or luminance variation between
consecutive pictures were taken on the same camera, with the same lens and settings.
There are many causes of flicker:

1. Auto camera settings;
2. High aperture settings, too fast shutter speeds, Av stepping, Tv stepping;
3. The type of lens used;
4. Fluctuating electricity;
5. Animator's clothing worn, and the materials that are being photographed.

Disable auto settings (except auto-focus)

Make sure that all auto settings on the camera body and lens are turned off and set to
manual. Any auto settings, such as auto-exposure, auto white balance, and light optimizer
may cause luminance variations from shot to shot.

• Note, you still need auto-focus is you wish to be able to use the Canon zoom feature (x5, x10). Using auto-focus will not cause flicker, but it may cause differences in the focal plane depending on the depth of field and movement within the shot.

Use a slower shutter speed

Fast shutter speeds are another common cause of flicker because most DSLRs cannot be
consistent from frame to frame when shooting at fast shutter speeds. Keep the exposures
to 1/30th of a second or greater.

Use a manual aperture lens to avoid flicker

With a digital lens, the aperture will close down to slightly different positions for each shot.
That's why it is strongly recommended using a manual aperture lens (such as a Nikon lens)
with a Canon body. This is not a problem for still photography, but for stop motion it
creates flicker. For Canon cameras, it is good to use a Nikon manual aperture lens with a
Nikon to Canon lens adapter.

• Note, a manual aperture lens has a physical ring for controlling the aperture. Do not get a ‘G’ series lens, which has no aperture ring.
• Any lens with a manual aperture ring should solve the problem, by keeping the iris blades in the same position for the entire duration of the stop-motion shot.

Electricity levels

Electricity fluctuations may affect your lighting set up over the course of the shot or
throughout the day. In this case, a variac transformer is your friend.

Clothing

Wear dark clothing while shooting to reduce the risk of light reflecting off the clothes. This
is a very common cause of stop-motion flicker.

Your sets and objects

Watch out for highly specular materials that might be lying around or hanging on the walls
of the shooting space. Mirrors, metallic objects may be the cause of the flicker.

Looking for some more info regarding flicker?

Check out this blog post at Adobe Blogs.

Download this howto as a PDF.

Configuration information for the 5D Mark II\Mark III

If you're using 5D Mark II\Mark III Canon cameras, we have found the following steps can optimize the camera settings for use with AnimaShooter. See our PDF howto.

AnimaShooter Capture 3.8.12.8 is here

We just released AnimaShooter Capture 3.8.12.8 with support for Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, Logitech BRIO. We also fixed some bugs. Get it here: http://www.animashooter.com

AnimaShooter at 18th Healthy Moscow Assembly

AnimaShooter at 18th Healthy Moscow Assembly, All-Russian Exhibition Center, Moscow. Photo by Nikolay Punko.

Vktoons and Vangelis Karadimas help pupils with plasticine characters

Athens pupils made their first plasticine characters with help from Vktoons studio and Vangelis Karadimas. The scenery and props are almost complete so they almost ready to start shooting with AnimaShooter. https://vk.com/vktoons_greek_animation?w=wall-190481942_6

Photo (c) Vangelis Karadimas