ABSTRACT
These days, there are so many venues for animated cycles. The filmmakers can put them on their phone, on their website (as animated GIFs), or as screen savers. The one thing about animated cycles is that they give the filmmaker a manageable amount of animation, which can be carefully crafted (or not), so that the novice or experienced animator can accomplish some fun animation in a short period of time. In the tradition of the old "trick films", the first exercise is the spinning head cycle. This is a simple exercise that is best done with Dragonframe or a similar capture software program. There are a couple of key spots where the frame comparison mode is critical. The next cycle exercise will require a looser approach with a smartphone. The author was using an iPhone 5S with the Stop Motion Studio app. The phone/camera will be held by hand, not a tripod.
