I was pretty surprised that the DragonFrame software turned out to be so straight forward, though then again it was a very basic induction, there are already quite a few useful features I can take advantage of for future animation projects.
To start off with a little basic info, Dragonframe is an image capture software used mainly for stop motion animation (Though it can also be used for other types of animation apparently), many notable animations that have used this software are Laika's "ParaNorman", Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie", and even the award winning animated short "But Milk is Important" (Which I had the privilege of watching at the Bradford Animation Festival last year with friends and teachers). It is also a plus side that the program can be used for both PC and Macs (Though that's pretty much a personal issue for me since switching to a Mac not too long ago…).
Once the camera is properly connected, the software should be able to detect it (If not, your laptop or computer's webcam will be detected instead), with a basic and easy manageable timeline that you can use once you commence the photo taking.
The usual camera settings need to be taken into account when using this software, that being shutter speed/exposure time (Eg, a faster shutter speed catches sharper details while a slower one allows for more stylistic motion blur effects, invoking a visual sense of movement, though this isn't necessary for animations), aperture (A larger one allows for a sharper one as compared to a smaller aperture), ISO (Controls the brightness and quality of the image, the higher the value, the more exposed and grainier it is) and of course, white balance settings.
When exporting files, the high JPEG option would be the best choice, considering how an animation will require oodles of imagery, saving anything larger than that would definitely take up a lot of memory and will slow things down for you, it is interesting to note that RAW images are used for feature films.
The preview panel flips the image, which can be easily fixed with the rotate button located below the preview panel. Focus Check will allow you to zoom into the image to see whether it is properly focused or not. Guide frames like other softwares can be used for titles or main actions (It will allow you to check whether anything important gets cut off before exporting to a certain format). And the timeline, as always allows onion skinning (Especially when you need to fix a certain frame you messed up on earlier), frame insertions, duplications, and tweening. The key pad (Which pretty much works as a camera remote) that comes with the software allows you to take photos, delete frames as well as onion skin.
Finally, opening up an image sequence exported from this software in Adobe Premiere will automatically be made into a movie film.
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