Spaceship modeling effects

Hi, I'm playing with spaceship effects for an film idea I have.  So far playing with doing the flying shots as stop motion animation.  My camera can't do fps over 30.  Even if it could, I'm having to do it in my garage, so the models won't be much larger than 1:48 scale.  Any chance you'll be doing a tutorial on this type of effects,  how to film them, etc. ?

Comments

  • We'll have more stop motion lessons in the future, but as stop motion is used less for ships I don't know if that will make the list.

    But more lessons on filming miniatures would sure be great!

    One challenge is that large moving objects like space ships typically have motion blur, which is something you lose in stop motion animation, unless you use a technique like gomotion.  You can also add some motion blur in post, but that never quite looks as good as the real thing.

    GoPro cameras are relatively inexpensive and can film at higher frame rates.  The challenge there is you are locked down to one lens.  Though depending on the format you record in you can pick from a few settings that change how the lens is used with the sensor to limit some of the wide angle effects, or go even wider. I've heard of people out there using GoPros to film miniatures (at least at the indy/hobbyist level)

    GoPros are extremely versatile, and a good investment for anyone interested in film making.  They are great for doing behind the scenes time lapse, or getting shots that are otherwise too difficult/risky.   You might even be able to pick up a used Hero3 at a good price now that everyone is upgrading to the Hero4.

    /Chris
  • Thanks, I'll check them out.  For now I only have access to a camcorder with a still mode,  and a Sony Vegas software.  I plan on doing blurring in post sparingly.  Basically Earth vs the Flying Saucers.  I always thought the ship effects in stop motion looked fine for what Ray Harryhausen had.  I was hoping sometime we would see some miniature effects like in Alien.  No motion control, but looks great.
  • I'm a big fan of never letting access to technology or budget slow you down.  As long as you are making stuff, learning, and having fun you're headed in the right direction!  I'm sure you'll be able to create some cool stuff with Sony Vegas and still captures.

    /Chris
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