Glossary

aperture:

armature:

depth of field: The range of an image that is in focus between the camera lens and infinity.

Generally, the closer to the lens that the subject of focus is, the narrower the depth of field. Additionally, the smaller the aperture of the lens, the greater the depth of field. Although the focal length (whether it's wide angle or telephoto) of a lens seems to have an effect on depth of field, this is actually an illusion. The illusion is that a wider lens has a greater depth of field than a telephoto at a given aperture.

Because in stop-motion animation our shutter speed is not normally fixed as it is with standard cinematography, we have greater control over depth of field than most movie makers. We can close the aperture down to increase depth of field and compensate in the exposure by increasing the time our shutter is open.

This advantage is counterbalanced, however, in that we are often shooting miniatures in stop-motion. The camera is generally positioned close to miniatures and consequently the depth of field is decreased.

f-stop:

focal length:

frame grabber: