DIY downshooter set-up

Schools have great resources for students, but actually getting to campus to use the labs and equipment isn’t always possible. Whether it’s a long commute, a snow day, or a COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely can sometimes be a necessity.

Making a home shooting station:

Animation is simply a series of photographs played in sequence at a set frame rate. So, if you have any kind of camera, a way to keep it stable, and a video editing program that can import an image sequence (iMovie, Premiere, even Photoshop will do this), you are set. If you record images on your phone with a stopmotion app, it will usually do the sequencing for you. This will mostly deal with making animation with your phone, since that seems to be the most accessible option for students in a pinch.

Whatever kind of camera you use (DSLR, point and shoot, phone, tablet etc) you want to be sure is that you don’t get any vibration when you trigger the camera, so having a Bluetooth remote is a good idea. At the very least, set the shutter to a timed release of a few seconds so you can pull your hand away before the picture is taken.

The phone downshooter set-up:

You can use any combo of phone mount and tripod to create a downshooter station at home. If you don’t already have a selfie stick or phone tripod here’s an inexpensive one that is bluetooth triggered: Cell phone selfie stick with blue-tooth remote included $9.99

Or if you just need a bluetooth remote: Bluetooth remote compatible with most phones $6.99

Or, for a little extra, this overhead phone holder can clamp right to the table, making setup a lot easier (no remote though). Phone Overhead Camera Mount $20.90

If you can’t get any of these things, there are other ways to build a tripod out of cardboard boxes or shelving! See the photo album at the end of this post for some very creative DIY down shooters made by students at UMBC!

Get the app:

While you can make animation by just taking a sequence of pictures, it’s really handy to have an app with features like onion-skinning, guide layers, importing sound etc.

Stopmotion Studio Pro is cross-platform and available on Apple App store and Google Play for $4.99. It allows you to have manual control over the camera exposure, which is important for backlit stopmotion and for reducing flicker in the final video. You can also use your headphones as a remote trigger, or an apple watch, a wireless Bluetooth remote There is also a free version with limited functionality. I’d recommend splurging on the Pro version though, it will make your work easier and higher quality.

Here’s how to set up and use the app. Also there appear to be a lot of tutorials from users online about using some of the more advanced features like mouth animation and green screen.

I have also used OSnap! which is for iPhones and iPads only. The camera shutter can be triggered by a loud noise like a clap, so you don’t need a remote. The Pro version allows you to shoot HD/4K and have an unlimited number of projects.

Making a downshooter:

Mount your phone to the tripod. Open the app so you can see the composition of the frame. Using strong tape, such as duct tape or gaffers tape, secure the tripod to something above where you’ll be shooting. This could be a box, shelf, chair – get creative about it if you need to! Double check the composition of the frame in the app to make sure the phone is at the right height. For lighting, use a desk lamp, or a pair of desk lamps.

You’re all set to shoot some animation! You can use this set up for downshooter stopmotion or for shooting drawings in a flipbook or on paper.

Other set-ups:

If you have a DSLR camera, or even some point and shoot cameras that can tether to a laptop, you can set that up on a tripod and use it as a downshooter. I have in the past, taped my tripod hanging off the top of a bookshelf and weighed it down with a stack of big books for extra stability (sorry don’t have a picture of that one!)

Some tripod heads will tilt down enough so you can shoot almost flat, though the legs sometimes get in the shot (you can crop them out if you work small). Or you can get a horizontal adapter for the tripod that will let the camera stick out over a table. I like this one from Manfrotto.

Stopmotion Studio Pro has versions for Macs and PCS that tether to a camera. Also check out iStopmotion as another somewhat affordable option for Mac users. And of course, Dragonframe is the industry standard and you can get a big student discount. Before buying software, you should always check that the model of your camera is compatible with the program!

Other resources:

Lizzy Hobbs has an even simpler downshooter set-up made with a cardboard box:

Gina Kamentsky’s Tutorial for making a cardboard rostum camera stand.

And just a reminder here at the end that you can actually set up any camera and just take a bunch of pictures as you animate, download them to your computer. You don’t need software to animate! Just go make something move!