Panda dream

Animatronics is the use of electronics and robotics in mechanised puppets to simulate life.

Animatronics are mainly used in movie making, but also in theme parks and other forms of entertainment. Its main advantages to CGI and stop motion is that it is not a simulation of reality, but rather physical objects moving in real time in front of the camera. The technology behind animatronics has become more advanced and sophisticated over the years, making the puppets even more realistic and lifelike.

Animatronics for film and television productions are used to perform action on camera in situations where the action involves creatures that do not exist, the action is too risky or costly to use real actors or animals, or the action could never be obtained with a living person or animal. The application of animatronics today includes computer controlled as well as radio and manually controlled devices. The actuation of specific movements can be obtained with electric motors, pneumatic cylinders, hydraulic cylinders and cable driven mechanisms. The type of mechanism employed is dictated by the character parameters, specific movement requirements and the project constraints.

An Oasis in Europe

The autofocus of your camcorder may not work well on the following subjects:
reflective surfaces
subjects with low contrast or without vertical lines
fast moving subjects
through dirty or wet windows
night scenes

In such cases focus manually

A Laaf story

Filminfo:

Props are generally distinct from the costumes worn by the actors, the scenery (sets) or other large objects that can be considered part of the stage. Occasionally, if a period-piece item of clothing is handled or otherwise appears on screen, but is never worn by an actor, then it would be the responsibility of the prop master, and thus considered a prop. For example, belts, stockings, hats, and other normally wearable items may be considered as props if they are merely picked up by an actor or used for alternate purposes. Similarly, a scene in a shoe store may require numerous prop shoes to fill the sets shelves, and therefore will be handled by the prop master or set decorator.

Many props are ordinary objects. However, a prop must "read well" from the house or on-screen, meaning it must look real to the audience. Many real objects are poorly adapted to the task of looking like themselves to an audience, due to their size, durability, or color under bright lights, so some props are specially designed to look more like the actual item than the real object would look. In some cases, a prop is designed to behave differently than the real object would, often for the sake of safety.

View from Benacantil

Fast motion is a creative way to indicate the passage of time. Accelerated clouds, city traffic or crowds of people are all good candidates for this effect.
Fast motion is also great for showing the progression of a project. Keep your video camera fixed on an object as it is being constructed or assembled, then speed it up to show the entire process in a matter of minutes or seconds.
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