Here is our list of quality equipment for a person or company who wants to make animation.
If you're into film, please scroll down.
Stop-motion animation and Technology
The Nikon D100 6MP Digital SLR Camera is the single most important aspect to our studio. This amazing camera is incredibly intuitive (even the first photo it took once out of it's box was perfect). It takes TIFF files, which you can easily compile into After Effects to make your own animation. We also use it for all of our photographs on this site as well as our other photographic work. Our favorite thing about this camera is it's versatility and quality. "It's the first thing I grabbed when Providence had a [mini (though it didn't seem it at the time)] flood" says Emily Dodge, the Founder. The D100 is spectacular.
Canon PIXMA iP4000 Photo Printer This versitile printer is our favorite of the printers here at StartMotions. It prints beautiful photo quality images and has worked at least six days a week for over a year without fail. The best thing about this printer is it's seperate ink cartridges, which save us tons of money and ink becuase we only have to replace a single cartridge rather than the entire ink tank.
Adobe Photoshop CS2. Currently, we're using this to make all of our promotional material, including the images on this website.
Nikon Capture 4.3 Software for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras and Coolpix 8800, 8700 and 8400. This program allows us to use the computer mouse to shoot the camera. This is very helpful when doing animation, because you never want your camera to move accidentally. This program also "brings" the photos directly from the camera to the computer, where you can see them through Nikon View (which usually comes with the computer).
Frametheif. This program allows you to "toggle" between frames, and to see your in-progress animation as it goes along. It also lets you easily check for glaring mistakes (like a fresh crumb on the set). Even though it doesn't say it, you do have to pay for it, free trial however. framethief.com
Sony MZ-RH10 Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music Player/Recorder. Minidisc players are excellent for sound recording, they capture all levels of the sound, making it a perfect way to inexpensively record ones own music, noises, anything. The Founder's Minidisc player has been used excessively for various purposes since they first came out many years ago, and it still works! (Make sure you get one that records).
Sony ECM-Ms957 Professional Stereo Microphone This mic picks up great sound and can easily be attatched to you minidisc recorder.
Canopus 77010138100 ADVC-55 A/d Converter External. This is a necessary tool if you're planning on using a video camera and Framethief (or another capture program) to see what your animation is looking like. We also use it for importing peices of nature videos so we can see how animals move!
Though we don't use a memory card during our animation, we do need one for off-scene shooting, animal puppet portraits, and more. This card has been, by far, the most convienient size we've used. Lexar Media 1 GB 80x Pro Series Compact Flash Card (CF1GB-80-380)
In order to have your camera on for long periods of time, without worrying about if the battery will go (just in case, the last thing you want is to have to move the camera to charge/replace a battery), you can power it with this Nikon EH-5 AC Adapter for D50, D70, D70s, and D100
StartMotions was officially started when a third 16mm film print had to be ordered for another film festival. Two By Two's pilot was done on Kodak 16mm film, and becuase of this, had tremendous picture quality and depth.
H 16 Reflex Bolex Rex-4 16mm Camera. This camera was commonly used in stop motion animation. Very reliable camera.
Som Berthoit Pan Cinor Lense. Absorbs light well and allows you to easily zoom with a well-placed zoomer handle.
Kodak Eastman 16mm Film.
Film Developing places are rare. The pilot was developed at CINE Lab in Fall River, MA. They are trustworthy, especially with film.
is the single most important aspect to our studio. This amazing camera is incredibly intuitive (even the first photo it took once out of it's box was perfect). It takes TIFF files, which you can easily compile into After Effects to make your own animation. We also use it for all of our photographs on this site as well as our other photographic work. Our favorite thing about this camera is it's versatility and quality. "It's the first thing I grabbed when Providence had a [mini (though it didn't seem it at the time)] flood" says Emily Dodge, the Founder. The D100 is spectacular.
. This is the main computer we use. This computer is portable enough so it can go anywhere in our studio, yet holds all of our information safely and efficiently. This iMac G5 and the Nikon D100 are indespensible to StartMotions.
This versitile printer is our favorite of the printers here at StartMotions. It prints beautiful photo quality images and has worked at least six days a week for over a year without fail. The best thing about this printer is it's seperate ink cartridges, which save us tons of money and ink becuase we only have to replace a single cartridge rather than the entire ink tank.
and 
.
. Currently, we're using this to make all of our promotional material, including the images on this website.
. This program allows us to use the computer mouse to shoot the camera. This is very helpful when doing animation, because you never want your camera to move accidentally. This program also "brings" the photos directly from the camera to the computer, where you can see them through Nikon View (which usually comes with the computer). 
. This is what we use to import our images so that they're sequencial. Very good progam for animation use.
. Minidisc players are excellent for sound recording, they capture all levels of the sound, making it a perfect way to inexpensively record ones own music, noises, anything. The Founder's Minidisc player has been used excessively for various purposes since they first came out many years ago, and it still works! (Make sure you get one that records).
. This is a necessary tool if you're planning on using a video camera and Framethief (or another capture program) to see what your animation is looking like. We also use it for importing peices of nature videos so we can see how animals move!
to hold more battery power.
