Introduction
ICT club
Getting Started
Simple set construction
Using a tripod
2-d animation
Silhouette Animation
Useful Links

FILM MAKING WITH THE DIGITAL BLUE CAMERA

Using a tripod

For 3-d animation the stand that comes with the Digital Blue is perfectly adequate. But for 2-d animation the camera requires mounting so that it is face down; the best way to do this is with a tripod.

In order to use the Digital Blue with a tripod you first need to remove it from its stand. The stand appears to be integrated with its USB cable and I would not recommend trying to separate the two. You will therefore need to purchase a separate USB cable (USB-A male to USB-B male). These should not cost more than a few pounds. But before you rush out to buy cables and tripods, take a look at the underside of your digiblue:

As you can see from the picture, the digiblue's USB socket is very close to the tripod mounting. This makes it extremely difficult to use a tripod whilst simultaneously connecting the camera to a computer. There are ways of doing it though. Initially I used a full sized tripod with a mounting plate. I substituted the standard mounting screw with a 2 inch long, 1/4 inch thread bolt, a couple of washers and a nut. This was secure and worked well. I have also experimented with using angled USB cables and extra camera screws. However, after much research my perfect solution is...

The perfect solution

The following equipment is required:

Vanguard VS-91 table top tripod (also available at Amazon, but this is the cheapest I have found it and they delivered very quickly)
Hama camera screw (make sure it is this version as they are longer than Hama's other camera screws - there are 5 in a pack)
standard USB-A to USB-B cable (2 metres long) (nothing special about this one, just happened to be a good length and was cheap)

The Hama screw fits into the base of the Digiblue and provides extra clearance of 25mm. The tripod screw then screws into the base of the Hama screw allowing plenty of room for the USB cable to be connected. With the tripod fully extended in a vertical position the Digiblue is held horizontally 27cm above the desk to which it is clamped. This gives a viewing area slightly smaller than A4 (ideally I would have liked the full A4). The camera can be made to zoom in a few centimetres by adjusting the height of the tripod.

Although it lacks the flexibility of the full sized tripod this Vanguard is far less cumbersome and the children do not knock it nearly as much. It is very easy to setup and fits in perfectly with my express animation approach. Armed with this kit you can move on to 2-d animation which in my opinion is the easiest and most successful method for an afterschool club.

Another solution

And another option (cheaper) I have tried out is a photography clamp from Maplin. The flexible goose neck is long and holds the camera well. You do however need to find something to clamp it to. We have clamped it to a table top and then placed our backgrounds on the floor. We have also clamped it to a chair which we have then placed on the table top. The camera can be held much higher than with the Vanguard but in both of our clamping attempts so far it has been awkward to get behind the camera. Working in front and to the side is fine, but means that the "animator" views the scene upside down or sideways - the "cameraman" sees the scene correctly - IYSWIM. And, although clamping the camera higher means that you can work on bigger scenes, bear in mind that the digiblue picture quality suffers the further it moves away from the scene - better lighting may fix this but with limited time, lighting is sacrificed.