Set buiding and lighting- R

some top tips for building and lighting a set, which stop motion animators at Aardman proceeded with are:- using lanterns on smaller sets, which are called 'profile' lamps. They used Profile lamps so that they could lit a smaller set space. Profile lamps projected a very controlled beam rom quite a distance on a specific space on set, so that it stood out. LED lights are being used more in the SMA film industry, for the same purpose. Depended on the type of camera animators use, it depends on the type of lighting you will need. Cameras have various settings, including the 'Tungsten effect', which gives a very blue lighting effect. Good lighting is key when filming a SMA, as it can bring a character to life. Light gives a character its shape, and gives it a readable shadows, and depend on the chacteristics of the characters can be controlled through the amount of light that is exposed. Often Lamps are placed to the side of the camera, and a little higher than the character, to give the character a 'normal' look, which is a lighting technique used by many SMA animators.

The picture above is captured from the film Wallace and Gromit a close shave. The lighting set up starts with a light very high above, acting as sunlight. This light will now reflecting off the reflector  that would be placed just to the right of this set. The shadows in this image are coursed by bouncing a narrowbeam lamp, which is placed just above eye level of the tallest prop in the shot, which in this case is the parked van. 3 back lights would be put in place emphasis to certain parts of set, and an example the van and the minor details of the roof top. Much care is need when positioning lamps, as secondary shadows need to be created from the cameras view point.