Light writing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Light Writing is an emerging form of stop motion animation wherein still images captured using the technique known as Light painting or light drawing are put in sequence thereby creating the optical illusion of movement for the viewer.[1]
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[edit] Technique
By sequencing stills taken with 4-30 second exposure as lights are moved in and through the frame this effect creates the optical illusion that the light is moving. Zooms, pans, tilts, and most other motion camera techniques can be applied with standard stop motion approaches. The most common technique is to capture multiple second exposures of light moving from one point to another in the frame. As the sequence is built the beginning and ending points of the lights motion can be moved along a given path. When the pictures are put in sequence the light seems to move with classic stop motion jitter. Most commonly, all of the work is done in camera at practical (real world, not a studio) locations.
Light writing is most akin to another form of stop motion animation known as direct manipulation animation.
The stills can be taken with a digital camera or film camera.
[edit] Recent history
Though the technique was employed almost one hundred years ago by Pablo Picasso it has only recently been used for main stream advertisements.[2] Awareness of light writing was raised when Sprint Nextel unveiled an ad campaign featuring the effect in the summer of 2007.[3]
[edit] Effect on the viewer
This form of stop motion animation causes the modern viewer to be perplexed.[4] With the abundance of computer generated special effects and motion graphics this practical approach to stop motion using light sources moving in the frame delights and perhaps confounds the techno-savvy modern viewer.[5]
[edit] See also
- Persistence of vision, a phenomenon which produces an effect in the brain that makes light writing "work".
[edit] Notes
- ^ Russell, Aaron. cleaning up graffiti with time lapse photography. Retrieved on 2007-10-11. “Flickr user, lichtfaktor calls himself a Lightwriter and creates stunning photography by setting his camera to over-expose and ‘painting’ various lights into the shot.”
- ^ Painting with Light. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. “inspiration...comes from a photograph taken of Picasso in 1924.”
- ^ Ozler, Levent. Sprint Races Ahead at the Speed of Light with Help from Brickyard VFX. Retrieved on 2007-10-13. “The spot, shot entirely in-camera, was created from a series of still images linked together to achieve a live action effect.”
- ^ Benson, Nate. the light writing effect. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. “So whats the deal with this effect? is it mostly done in production or in post. I would assume in post, likely in AE or Shake.”
- ^ Airey, David. Light drawing and light writing. Retrieved on 2007-10-08. “Light-drawing and light-writing is getting a fair bit of attention lately”
