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| Basic
Information |
History of Still2Life Productions:
About midway through the year 2001 I, the group's founder (and
the only member) Valtsu, bought a cheap webcam from a webstore.
After testing it for a while I remembered that a friend of mine
made an animation with an analogue camera a few years back. He
used LEGO brand bricks for it, and as I remember it looked
pretty cool. Of course I was a lot younger then, and my memory's
blurred a little.
I decided to try it myself. After I had easily located my old
LEGO bricks, I had to find some minifigs from the pile. Although
finding the minifigs was not too difficult, finding hands for
them was. In a while I had three characters for my first movie,
so all I needed was a backdrop. I taped a green piece of paper
to a video cassette (it was the only thing I could find on such
short notice) and started filming. Even though the picture was
grainy, resolution was small and the movement was choppy, I was
amazed at the possibilities this offered. I could finally make
movies of my own stories, and possibly let other people see
them, too.
I headed straight to the Internet to see if I could find someone
else who has discovered this hobby. And indeed I did, the first
site I came across was Brickfilms. I was overwhelmed by the
amount of films in the directory.
What is Still2Life Productions all about?
My main goal is to make animations that people enjoy
watching. The movies may be short or long, but I'll put enough
time and thought into them so they will be enjoyable.
I've written a lot of decent short stories when I was younger,
and I think with a little work they could be crafted into great
scripts. I'm also working on some entirely new stories, but I
haven't written them yet.
I'd like to make a good-quality movie that could be watched like
a normal movie. I'm talking pop corn, friends and a good
television set. This would mean that the movie should have a
great story, smooth motion, good soundtrack and at least 30
minutes of length.
I don't make any money with my animations. Whenever I finish an
animation, I'll upload it to my website and let people download
it from there.
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| Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) |
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I'll try to answer the most important questions about S2L. If
you have something to ask, contact me.
Q: How many people are there in Still2Life Productions
A: Just one.
Still2Life Productions was originally supposed to be a small
group of people, but it turned out to be difficult to find
people interested in the hobby from my region. I'm also very
shy, so I don't know if I even could work with other people.
Also my artistic viewpoints are very strong, and because of this
I might end up fighting with my fellow animators in the long
run.
Q: What kind of camera do you use?
A: Nowdays I'm using an analog Sony Handycam which is connected
to my computer through a Pinnacle DC10 Plus video editing card.
The first twelve test
clips are made with Aiptek's Pen Cam. It's a cheap(ish)
webcam that I thought was sufficient for my needs. It turns out
it's very crappy for what I had in mind.
I also have a 2.1 Megapixel digital still camera, but that's not
really useable in animating. There seems to be no way to turn
off the auto-focus function. It's very good for behind the
scenes stuff, though.
I'm hoping to get a digital video camera one of these days, but
for now I'll have to settle for cheap equipment.
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| Special
Thanks |
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There have been some people and corporations without whom I
would never have started this wonderful hobby. Here are some of
them:
Jason Rowoldt (the creator of Brickfilms)
I did start animating before I found Jason's site, but I don't
think I would have continued without the support of a larger
community.
Thomas Foote (the creator of Bricks
In Motion)
When I was just getting started, Thomas Foote's Stop Motion
Primer was very valuable. Thomas also writes reviews for free or
cheap software that can be used in the creation process. His own
work shows that he knows what he's talking about.
You should also check out the Axogon Composer tutorial. The
program is free, and it's great for special effects. It's
a bit hard to use at first, but that's where mr. Foote's
tutorials come into play.
LEGO Company (the maker of those cool plastic bricks.
Their site is here: www.lego.com)
Althought LEGO Company does not support or endorse this
site, they still deserve thanks. LEGO bricks were my favorite
childhood toy, and as I grew into adulthood I rediscovered the
joy in them. Although I don't play with LEGO bricks like I used
to when I was a kid, they still bring me lots of joy.
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