TMM 018: How I Frame Shots & Inexpensive but Important Tools

Danny (3D Printed Tabletop) sent me this exciting photo of the Walking House model.

The first piece of the model has officially been printed in resin. I don’t have a 3D printer at the moment because mine broke, so Danny is printing one for me, and because it’s so big he’s getting help from another printer. I’ve ordered the biggest one so it might be another month until I have it in my hands.

Side note from Rachel: I didn’t realise that 3D printers had a pool of UV resin at the bottom and that you can’t just lift them and move them to a different shelf - sorry Trent!

The three most important tools you should never spend much money on.

Utility Knife Blades

Buy the cheapest ones in bulk. I get like 100 at a time and it will cost you the same as five really nice ones - the truth is, there is no comparable difference, they get blunt at basically the same rate cutting foam and cardboard etc.

Superglue

It doesn’t matter what brand you use, chances are it has all come from the exact same place (this is inside info). When it comes to superglue, it’s the same product but they can change the polymers to make some variations stronger, faster setting or of varying consistencies and each of those options has its own downside.

Bonus tip: Superglue has a very fast pot-life, as soon as you’ve cracked the seal, time is ticking to use it. Over time it will become less effective and take longer to dry. You have about three days, so buying that big expensive bottle of superglue is a big mistake. Get the little, inexpensive tubes.

Bonus bonus tip: Superglue will become weaker as years go by. It becomes brittle and your models will start failing, which is why it’s important to pin your big models.

Chemicals

If you’re buying any sort of brand name chemical, check the back of it and see what the active ingredient is. Sometimes you might get a product that says ‘paint-thinner’ or ‘goo-remover’, but you look on the back of it and the only ingredient is acetone or isopropyl alcohol or methylated spirits. Don’t worry about name brands and try to buy from wholesalers online - you’ll likely get ten times as much for the same price.

How do you frame a good shot?

I am a quantity, not quality guy when it comes to shots, I just try to get lots of variation. I try to make the background interesting as the priority, which typically for me is introducing some sort of light source. However I frame the shot, I’ll typically move a light into the background if there isn’t one there already. It’s gives a nice separation and makes it look a bit vintage.

When it comes to the edit, I will often use digital zoom, and reframe the shot in the edit - so that means zooming in 150% to sometimes 300% which really degrades the quality of the shot which is why I shoot in 6K and export in 4K but you can definitely see the grain. Most lenses aren’t sharp on the edges which is why I’ve invested in a cinema lense, so that the image is sharp no matter where it’s zoomed. Digitally zooming in is considered to some as poor form, like you really should get your framing right in camera, the first time, but I actually like the aesthetic of the gritty graininess, especially when ‘punch in’ really far (yes, this is technical term).

What about warm and cool tones?

I use warm and cool lights that create orange and blue light respectively. You can make for interesting shots by placing them in opposite parts of the scene or one in the foreground and one in the background. You’re really trying to get separation between the foreground and background because you want to capture your audience’s attention in the right areas.

What do you look for in composition?

I’ll often try to sculpt the scene by arranging things on my desk to make things visually interesting. For example if I have a spray can sitting on my desk, I will move it so it’s in the frame but maybe close to the camera so it’s really blurry and creates space. Sometimes I’ll use this to foreshadow or have to a connection to the previous scene, because when you’re cutting fast it’s good to have some visual consistency.

In a sense, when I’m composing a shot, I am arranging all the important aspects in a pleasing way. Commonly, I’ll frame lines so that they'll be parallel with the sides of the frame. For example the edge of the desk or building walls.

Other times I’ll use lines to draw the eye to a particular spot. For example a ruler leading the eye to the key object in frame or the hose of the airbrush leading the eye to me working in the corner.

Composition rules are certainly helpful but you’ve also gotta break ‘em. I don’t want my shots to look too clean - they have to have a homemade feel too. For my more homemade looking shots I like to just pick up the tripod, dump it somewhere, focus and hit record. I end up really liking most of these shots since they break up the video.

Filming yourself comes with a lot of limitations, it’s hard to frame a shot well when you can’t see how it looks on camera, so I will actually adjust myself in the frame, like bobbing down or moving where I am in my seat, in the one take so I can pick the best composition in the edit.

After shooting a long day, it’s easy to get lazy with the framing but often, the hardest shots to get or the shots you want to do the least will be the best shots of the video so it’s important to push yourself. Effort in framing usually gets you good results. I know that’s a little bit contradictory to the homemade shot paragraph, but maybe it’s all about balance - sometimes it's good to put in the effort and other times it’s good to go with your gut.

So it's been a bit since my last video and I was going through the comments and found the response really interesting.

Lots of upset viewers about reworking old models into new things, lots of viewers that think it's cool. I wasn't shocked by this response and think it's sort of exciting to me because it feels like I'm breaking new ground if the opinions are polarising.

And while I don't feel like I need to justify how I use my own stuff I want to share some insight to my choices of hacking up my Nurgle army to turn into art pieces.

One of the biggest joys I've experienced in the last year is when people come visit my studio and they can walk around excited, looking at all the things I've made.

Hearing "I've never seen anything like this before" or "there are so many details I just keep finding" brings me so much joy. It's the #1 reason I invite all the people I meet to stop by.

My goal is to make things that people within and outside the hobby will appreciate for what it is. Dioramas or little art pieces using miniatures accomplishes that more so than a tabletop army in my experience.

I think turning miniatures into art makes people within the miniature hobby stop for a bit and it makes people outside of ask questions other than "so these are for a game?"

I think in a lot of ways the Nurgle Diaries works because it's a collection of miniatures, any singular model for most people is a bit "so what". But I've spent so much time with each of those models that I want to showcase them in a new way to show what I see in them and the narratives I think they might have.

The first episode of The Nurgle Diaries was met with a lot of criticism that mirrored this one.

In order to have made the Nurgle Diaries I had to be destructive and care free in my process. I had to cut models up quickly, use semi-precious parts, mash epoxy over fine detail to then do my best to sculpt it before 30 models set.

I worked that way because it was fun and not being precious about things led to bold choices and interesting problem solving. And honestly my first miniatures I made like this turned out a bit rubbish, but with practice and more experimentation I think I really found my feet doing something different.

I think this is very much the same, I'm finding my feet in this new art form and seeing where experimentation takes me.

One thing about how I view my models since getting into kitbashing is now I never see them as a permanent thing. They can change with me and change to meet my needs. And everytime I change a model it gains new scars but still holds all that old narrative I love about it. When I'd accidentally cut off a limb that was a chance to sculpt a new interesting arm or give it a peg leg or give it a cool mount. Maybe that mindset stemmed from Mordheim warbands I've had which I've always converted to reflect any injuries or achievements they sustain in the game, I love that sorta thing.

Anyway, hope that gives some insight to my process.

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