I am commonly asked questions about the nature of my films, often dealing with specific technical details involved in their creation. Common examples include “What camera do you use?” or “What software do you use?” or “Where do you get your sound effects?” etc. etc., and I often receive these questions multiple times from multiple sources.

I figured I might be able to kill two birds with one stone if I made a large FAQ page that quells many of those queries, saving you the time spent writing your question and doing research, and me the hassle of answering the same question over and over again.

There’s going to be a lot of text and information here. Don’t be too intimidated by it, I promise it will all be worth it.

What camera(s) do you use, and how do you use it?

Currently, I use a Canon HV30 HD camcorder for my animations. Camcorders, unlike webcameras, are not able to properly connect to the computer with just a USB cable, so I use an IEEE 1394/FireWire cable instead. This lets me capture my camera’s live feed in my animation program (I’ll touch on that later on).

Although my camera has HD capabilities, I’m unable to use them for my animations, so I don’t actually capture in true HD (more like 480p). In order to capture in HD, I would need an HDMI cable, an HDMI capture card, and a capture software that supported HD capture. Although the prospect of true HD videos would be nice, for videos that will pretty much spend their shelf life on the internet, it’s sort of overkill.

I’ve used two other cameras prior to the HV30: a Panasonic PV-DV102 MiniDV camera and a Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000. Both were great cameras.

Can you recommend any cameras to me (preferably one that might fit my budget)?

Whatever kind of camera you decide to buy should be based on both your budget and if you think you’ll be able to use it with ease. Different cameras have their different pros and cons.

Camcorders (specifically HD) and DSLR/digital still cameras are going to be your best bet if you’re looking for optimal quality. They are also compatible with tripods, so keeping your camera still between shots will become much easier. However, cameras such as this are often quite expensive, and they tend to be rather large and clunky, which sometimes makes them difficult to maneuver and fit into tight spaces, especially in brickfilming. Plus, some cameras (digital stills especially) might require specific capture softwares to work properly. Those of you with a casual interest in the hobby might want to look elsewhere.

Webcameras are usually cheap and generally quite easy to work with. They also have the benefit of being small, which counters a common problem with digital stills and camcorders. However, this all comes usually at the expense of quality; a webcamera’s picture quality tends to be much poorer than what you might get from a more professional-grade camera. It’ll take some dedicated research to find a webcamera that has optimal quality to your needs.

One specific camera that I can recommend is a webcamera called the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000. It’s a high-definition webcamera that runs for about $100, a very reasonable price for a webcamera that produces a surprisingly crisp image. Prominent brickfilmers such as SpastikChuwawa, 0ldScratch, and NXTManiac use the QuickCam 9000. I’ll let their films speak for themselves.

NOTE: Unfortunately for you Mac users, the QuickCam 9000 isn’t Apple-compatible, so you’re out of luck.

What software(s) do you use?

I use quite a variety of softwares for my films. I’ll break it down by category.

FRAME CAPTURE – I use a program called MonkeyJam for basic frame capture. MonkeyJam is a digital penciltest program that also doubles as quite an effective stop-motion animation tool. While the program doesn’t have an onion-skinning feature (I’ve never been a fan of onion skinning, personally), it does support frame averaging and audio scrubbing. Plus, it’s free, so there’s that.

VIDEO EDITING – My primary video editor is Final Cut Pro. I wouldn’t recommend this program to casual brickfilmers, as it is quite expensive and features a pretty heavy learning curve. Thankfully, I managed to snag it for a fraction of its retail price thanks to academic pricing, but even still, it cost me a pretty penny. However, serious Mac-based animators or filmmakers may want to seriously look into this program, as it is an exceptionally powerful program with many professional-grade features. And even if you’re not willing to shell out $1000 for the Final Cut Suite, you can still get Final Cut Express for far cheaper. It’s a watered-down version of Pro, but still accomplishes a lot.

NOTE: Before you comment on the discrepancy between my Windows-based capture software and my Mac-based video editor, I should mention that I use a Macbook Pro with a Boot Camp partition, on which I’ve installed Windows XP. That’s how I’m able to run both programs on the same computer.

AUDIO EDITING – My two primary audio editors are Audacity and Soundtrack Pro (which came with Final Cut Studio). While I do a lot of audio compiling and editing in Final Cut, Audacity allows me to record audio and Soundtrack offers me more sophisticated control over what I want to do with my sound design. I use a Samson C01U Condenser microphone for my audio recordings.

VISUAL EFFECTS – I use Adobe After Effects v7 for all of my special effects needs. This is a very useful and versatile program, as you’re able to accomplish quite a lot in it. My Blade Runner clip is probably my most special-effects-intensive film to date, everything minus the animation and a single set done in After Effects. Fair warning, though, it takes quite a lot of messing around with to get used to, and is another program that costs a good deal of money.

What framerate do you shoot at?

With the exception of Stranger than Fishin’, every one of my films has been shot at 15 frames per second (fps). Fishin’, however, was shot at 24 fps on twos. This means that the video itself plays at 24 fps, but I mostly captured two frames for each movement. Most of the video, therefore, appears to play at 12 fps, though there are a few moments where I capture only one frame per movement, so some parts play at 24 fps.

Sound effects. Where do you get them?

For the most part, I actually try to create my own sound effects for my films. I would actually recommend this if you think you have a decent enough mic for the task. It allows you better control over how you want your film to sound, and, to be honest, foley creation is quite fun. Think of it this way: you get the chance to be loud and make a lot of noise for a creative and productive endeavor. You don’t even need to leave your home to create sound effects you need, just search for easy, practical solutions. For example, in order to achieve the sounds of an active chemical laboratory, you could blow through a straw into a glass of water to get the “bubbling” sounds echoing from beakers, or swing sticks of varying size in front of your mic to achieve clean “whoosh” sounds.

If there’s something you aren’t capable of creating, or don’t want to deal with the hassle of making your own sound effects (understandable), there are several places online that provide sound effects. Websites such as Soundsnap, Findsounds, and The Free Sound Project all offer a wide selection of sound effects.

Sound design is one of the most neglected aspects of brickfilming, and, in my opinion, a very under-appreciated aspect of filmmaking in general. I’ve seen a number of brickfilms that have failed in their ability to impress me because they fail to provide a believable aural atmosphere, whether it be a lack of proper sound effects, mismatching volumes between sounds, etc. Sound design has the potential to make or break an entire scene or even an entire film (especially in genres such as horror or sci-fi). The next time you watch a horror movie, pay close attention to the sound design and notice how it helps to heighten the tension in a scene.

How do you make things fly in stop-motion?

The most common technique used to make objects appear to float or fly is called “masking”. Rather than explain the whole process in painstaking detail without any visual guides, I’m going to let this video by fellow brickfilmer Fancypants explain:

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Hoo, boy, that was a journey. If you managed to get through all of that, then hats off to you. Hopefully you’ve learned something of measurable value from this, and even more hopefully, I’ve been able to answer questions you may have had. Now go put this information to good use!