Cinematographer/Photographer Zach Settewongse is the creative mind behind COLORFULgrey, a video production company that specializes in commercials for television and web. His motto is “Live life, capture it”, which is something that JOBY can definitely get behind. A big fan of the GorillaPod for both personal and commercial work, Zach was also the winner of  JOBY’s Stop Motion Addict Contest from 2010. We’ve asked him to share his insights on creating stop motion and timelapse videos using the iPhone.

First, here is Zach’s award-winning stop motion video.

JOBY Frame X Frame contest: Zach Settewongse from COLORFULgrey Zach Settewongse on Vimeo.

Hi Zach, can you share a bit of what’s behind your stop motion video?

The video looks simple enough, but actually it took a lot more work than I originally thought. There was a ton of planning and staging of props. I started planning at 10am and finished at midnight. First, I looked at all my stuff lying around for ideas. Then I sketched out the sequence. Next I mounted the iPhone to the ceiling of my garage by the attic hatch so I could still see the screen with my head in the attic. Once I started the time lapse, I realized couldn’t do it alone. So I recruited my wife to help me and I started again. All the clothing and items were pre-staged just out of frame so I could get to them fast. Then I edited the video in Adobe Premier adding titles and sounds. Sorry for the cheesy music, I wanted to make sure I used open source (non-copyrighted) midi files.

What is your advice for folks who are interested in creating a stop motion video?

1.  Draw up a story board. Advance planning helps make your video seamless.
2. Secure your iPhone using a GorillaPod and take test photos to find the edge of the photo area. (You want to make sure the camera doesn’t shift during filming because that will ruin the stop motion effect).
3. Stage all of your props just outside of the photo area.
4. Set the camera to thirty second intervals in JOBY’s Frame X Frame App or recruit a friend to trigger the shutter.
5.  Editing! I used Adobe Premier to edit my video, but my best advice would be to keep your videos short—about 90 seconds or so.

JOBY Note:  If you’re planning to devote some serious time to your stop motion video, we also recommend you put your phone in airplane mode (Settings > Airplane Mode) and connect your phone to a power source. 

Another JOBY Note: Check out Photojojo’s Ultimate Guide to Timelapse Photography for a super detailed explanation of this whole process from set up through editing. 

 You’ve also used your phone to make timelapse videos.  Tell us a bit about that. 

LA to Reno from COLORFULgrey Zach Settewongse on Vimeo.

I love to break the rules and a camera phone is a great friend in mischief. For a while I was on a timelapse kick with my iPhone. I would create timelapse videos using JOBY’s Frame-X-Frame app while flying. Before I took off, I would start the app and place the phone in the plane’s window facing out, start recording, then shut the shade so the flight attendant could not see it. At the end of the flight you end up with a cool timelapse of your journey. Just don’t forget your phone in the window! I know, I know you’re not supposed to have your phone on during takeoff and landing. So here’s where I’ll say, “I’m positive JOBY, Inc does not approve of breaking FIA rules.”  But, I don’t work for Joby, I just love their products and I never had a problem.

What other ways do you use phone photography? 

My phone is my publicist! What do I mean? Well, I always take a photo of myself taking video/photos on location and using my sponsors’ products. Not only do my friends enjoy seeing what I’m currently working on, but my clients do as well.  It only takes a second to ask someone to snap a quick camera phone pic of you working or snap a self-portait using a timer and a GorillaPod. I usually post these photos to Facebook or my blog. Photos help me to create a more personal relationship with my clients and I have found that every one of my clients like seeing their company’s name in post. For me social media marketing is where the majority of my leads come from and camera phone photography is a big part of that.

A quick reminder on the purpose of the contest for new arrivals:

Of course, what would be a contest without prizes:

PRIZES
–Grand Prize: 7D + GorillaPod Focus plus Ballhead X plus featured at Renderyard film festival
–2nd prize: choice of GorillaPod SLR Zoom plus ballhead and your choice of a GorillaTorch Blade or GorillaTorch Switchback
-Runners Up: prize: GorillaMobile for iPhone 4
–Fan Favorite: Point and Shoot Camera

And now, the winners…

GRAND PRIZE

2nd Prize
Action Drawing by: ivnt6558

Caterpillar by Stefano

We would like to thank our awesome contest judges; Mark Reid, Founder and Director of Renderyard Short Film Festival, Estafania Merino, Co-Director of Renderyard Short Film Festival, Trevor Hardy, Animator of Watermill Farm on Nick Kids, Gregory Han of Apartment Therapy and pro-photographer and JOBY pro-team member, *Safe Solvent.

PS Congrats winners! Please contact send me for follow up at EWeinstein @ JOBY.com

If you haven’t downloaded Frame X Frame, the first indispensible free iPhone 4 camera app that easily creates and shares stop motion videos…then today is the day to do so.

The Stop Motion Addict Contest has officially begun. The competition will be fierce as participants compete to win a grand prize bundle including a Canon 7D DSLR, a GorillaPod Focus and Ballhead, and a screening of their Stop Motion film at the Renderyard Short Film Festival in Spain this November.   The contest will close on May 31^st and the winner will be announced on June 8^th.

Contest judges will include Mark Reid,  Founder and Director of Renderyard Short Film Festival, Estafania Merino, Co-Director of Renderyard Short Film Festival, Trevor Hardy, Animator of Watermill Farm on Nick Kids, Gregory Han of Apartment Therapy, Mike Doyle from About.com’s Skiing Guide, and pro-photographer and JOBY pro-team member, *Safe Solvent.  A Canon Powershot S95 will be awarded to the fan favorite video entry which receives the highest number of YouTube “thumbs up” votes.

Stop motion is simple and easy using Frame X Frame. Users just shoot, stitch and share their videos within the iPhone app. To enter JOBY’s “Stop Motion Addict” contest, participants must download the free Frame X Frame iPhone 4 app from the iTunes store, shoot a stop motion video using the Frame X Frame app and upload it to the JOBY YouTube page.

You can stay up to date as the contest unfolds by following the #JOBYFXF on Twitter or by liking JOBY on Facebook.

And now the nitty gritty contest rules:

Contest runs 5/2/2011 – 5/31/2011

To enter the STOP MOTION ADDICT CONTEST
1. Download Frame X Frame free from the iTunes Store
2. Shoot a killer stop motion video with Frame X Frame
3. Upload the video to your YouTube account and share in on this page
4. Get your friends to vote by giving it a thumbs up
5. Repeat! (Up to 3 entries per person)

PRIZES
–Grand Prize: 7D + GorillaPod Focus plus Ballhead X plus featured at Renderyard film festival (link to: http://www.renderyard.com/)
–2nd prizes: choice of GorillaPod SLR Zoom plus ballhead and your choice of a GorillaTorch Blade or GorillaTorch Switchback
-Runners Up: prize (10 winners): GorillaMobile for iPhone 4
–Fan Favorite: Point and shoot Camera

ENTRY GUIDELINES
•Winners (except for the fan favorite) will be judged by an esteemed panel of judges based on –25% Creativity, 25% Technical Skill, 25% Virality, 25% Overall execution
•3 stop motion entries per person (must be shot using Frame X Frame app in either continuous or manual mode)
•Videos cannot exceed 3 minutes
•Contest ends 5/31, Winner Announced 6/8
•Fan favorite will be based on # of thumbs up to the winning entry (thumbs down will not impact fan favorite calculations
•Entrants must have actually taken the video. Purchased or stolen images or videos are not permitted.
•Edgy and creative is good, but pornography will be removed. JOBY ultimately reserves the right to disqualify entries it deems inappropriate.
•Contest is open to eligible participants, 18 years of age or older. This contest is void where prohibited. JOBY employees or family members of employees are not eligible. JOBY reserves the right to disqualify entrants or photographs it deems inappropriate or offensive. Entrants must be the rightful owners of any/all copyrights associated with submitted image(s) or video(s), or else must have explicit permission to distribute the image(s). Copyright violations will result in immediate disqualification. By submitting an image entrant retains ownership of the image or video, but grants JOBY an unrestricted license to publish, promote and reuse the image or video in perpetuity. In the event that a selected winner resides someplace where terms of this contest are prohibited or is found to have violated the terms and conditions of the contest, that winner will be declared ineligible and a new winner selected. All decisions of JOBY, Inc. are final. The names of winners will be posted by 6/8/2011 at: http://joby.com/blog.

Friday has come and it is absolutely fabulous weather here in San Francisco which make us all anxious for a weekend full of running, skiing and who knows what else. This week I stumbled across some intriguing stop motion videos all created with the help of a GorillaPod.  The first is just cool from a construction point of you as it allows you to watch the multi-day construction process required to put together the Technicolor booth for CES. The second is a beautiful ode to the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia Spain. In this well scored piece, the imagery is just gorgeous. My favorite parts are watching the random cleaning of the pool reminding me of some aqua-aerobics classes which I  may have enjoyed.

Technicolor CES 2011 Booth Construction Time Lapse from Alan Amato on Vimeo.

timelapse Ciutat de les Arts i de les Ciències from Jordi Ferrer on Vimeo.

2010 has come to a close and what an amazing ride it has been. At JOBY, we  have moved into new offices, launched some amazing new products and have been thrilled by some of the bewilderingly creativity (all very positive) ways that you have used our products in the wild. Have a wonderful New Years Eve and please do send us some photos!

And now some fun…

Winter Tale (stop-motion animation) from Sergey Yazvinsky on Vimeo.

Lens Stop Motion from Jeff Dillow on Vimeo.

It is still Friday…really… and somewhere in the Pacific it is the middle of the day, so it must be time for Friday Finds.

We have some absolutely fantastic stop motion videos this week.  Executed,  of course, with a Gorillapod. The first one has a lovely twist about halfway through and is beautifully rendered with a touch of whimsy.

Pensées Effeuillées from Aziz Oulhiyane on Vimeo.

The second is another stop-motion film utilizing Legos and humor.

Gorillatorch Blade Takes Aim

It’s been quite a debut for Gorillatorch Blade, with Wired’s claims that it is “tough enough to kill Vampires,” Mashable‘s correct assertion that “it cuts through the darkness,” and Engadget‘s claim that it  is slim.

But before that, we had this great write-up in the Wall Street Journal’s The Fixer column for the Gorillapod. Making it even more appealing, it came with a clever title, “Me, Myself (My Thumb, My Arm) and My Camera.”

I am always impressed by the creativity of the Joby community, but this week the bar was really raised with this awesome video by Mark Stokes which is part of a soon to be growing series entitled “The Life and Times of Joby.” This stop-motion Gorillapod love story is enchanting, hilarious and demands to be shared. Yep, it is so good it can stand by itself as a the Friday Find for the week.