Saturday, July 13, 2013

Basing bonanza


A good portion of this week has been dedicated to filming basing videos and terrain.

While I knew going in that these would require a very different approach than the standard miniature painting videos, it has been very interesting to see the details of what must be done.


I don't want to bore you with those details, but for starters, I am very glad that I chose to use the ancient drafting table that weighs a few hundred pounds!  There is a lot of violent action in the carving of some of the pieces, and the camera might have been knocked over on my original setup :-)


I learned that a white background is also better, because the white sculpey gets burned out on darker surfaces.  The camera is not forced to negotiate extreme lights and darks.

As you can also see in the image, the basing videos are really several projects in one, even though they are all related.  These are the bases covered in the sci-fi basing set.  

I was very glad that I tried to make as many of the painting video figures use these various bases, as that provides some solid examples of how these bases can really spice up a figure.  The Camouflage figures are a case in point!


There was one little twist that I am adding in.  See the chain link fence base?  I decided to paint that one and splice that in at the end of the video, since a painted example would be helpful (and I had about 2-3 minutes of space available!).


So, I will show you some pictures of this painted later tomorrow night!


4 comments:

  1. James, what kind of tripod are you using for your camera? Thanks

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    1. That is an unusual item. It has the central pole based on a horizontal bar. That bar was two 'wings' that can be moved in various direction to provide stability.

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    2. Yeah, that is unusual. Where did you pick it up? I'm looking get a camera stand for my own videos. Thanks again

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    3. I got it years ago from Mico Mark. It was on sale, but they may still have it. BTW, it is part of a photography setup, not a stand alone piece...

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