Dragonframe 5 (DF5) release
Begin your stop motion filmmaking journey today with the digital image capture software trusted by major motion picture studios and independent filmmakers alike.
Create beautiful animation, one frame at a time.
ANIMATE YOUR WAY
Step directly between live view and captured frames or switch to auto-toggle. Loop playback to get the sense of movement you’re aiming for. The playback and stepping functions are fully customizable for your needs.
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Load multiple reference stills or videos and view them with your animation. Blend them with opacity, pull a chromakey (blue screen), and even assign a garbage matte to see just the part you want. Pop out reference videos into a synchronized player if you want it off to the side.
KEYPAD CONTROLS
With the Dragonframe keypad, you can stay focused on animating instead of hunting around with the mouse. And the hotkeys are fully configurable, so if you really like a feature that is not on the keypad, you can move it there.
Perfect your exposure, focus and composition.
CAMERA CONTROLS
Set camera settings such as shutter speed, ISO and white balance directly from the program. Check and adjust focus with Canon, Nikon, Olympus or Fujifilm cameras. Take test shots and get your shot right, before you start.
COMPOSITION GUIDES
Compose for multiple formats with confidence. Create custom aspect ratio masks. Combine masks with TV-safe guides. Add grid overlays for help with composition. Add a push-in mask to allow post-production push-in or panning.
IMAGE REVIEW
Check images at full-resolution. Check for over or underexposed areas with the clipping view. Load images from other scenes to compare exposure and composition. Compare image contrast with the Digital Densitometer.
Program complex camera moves in an intuitive interface.
MOTION CONTROL, INTEGRATED
Integrated motion control means that you can program camera moves and lighting effects from within the same system. It means that you can quickly preview moves using the same camera you will be animating with. It means that the lighting and motion control will be in the right place, at the right time. So if the animator needs to reshoot a few frames, Dragonframe can safely move the rig back into the proper position, every time.
MOVE TESTS
Once you’ve programmed a move, you’ll want to test it out. Run a move test within the Arc workspace and see how it looks. The move test captures video assist frames only, in order to speed up the test process. On a long move, you can reshoot just the section you’re working on. You’ll have the move perfected in record time.
HARDWARE INTEGRATION
You can use a wide range of hardware, from the do-it-yourself Arduino-based DFMoco sketch to off-the-shelf kits from the eMotimo or Slidekamera. See compatible hardware in our FAQ for more information.
NEW IN DRAGONFRAME 5
MULTIPLE CAMERA SUPPORT
Add up to four cameras for additional high-resolution angles or video assist.
INTEGRATED “MAKING-OF”
Capture hands-on ‘making-of’ time-lapse as you animate.
APPLE M1 SILICON (ARM64)
Native support for Apple Silicon.
FRACTIONAL HI-DPI SUPPORT
Improves application scaling on Windows and Linux with fractional scaling (125%, 150%, etc).
MORE DRAWINGS AND REFERENCES
Separate Drawing Layers and References for each magnification view or alternative video assist.
MONOGRAM CREATIVE CONSOLE
Integrates with Monogram Creative Console (Palette Gear) for animation, track reading, or motion control tasks.
ANDROID AND IOS CAPTURE SUPPORT
Our free Dragonframe Tether now runs on both iOS and Android, and supports WiFi connections.
INTEL REALSENSE DEPTH CAMERAS
Intel RealSense cameras provides a way to capture depth information.
DMX LIGHTING FIXTURES
Add lighting panels (such as ARRI Skypanel) to workspace for easier setup and control.
DMX GRAPH MODE
Edit DMX keyframes with curves, similar to Arc.
PROGRAMMABLE ELECTRONIC TRIGGERS
Program the logic out or relay outputs via the DMX timeline.
DMX THREADS
Visually tie DMX badges to a point in the image.
SAFE MOVE BROWSER
Hand the motion control reins over to the art department with a simple move browser.
MOTION CONTROL “AIM POINT”
When used in virtuals, keep the camera pointed at specified point in space.
AUTODESK FBX SUPPORT
Import/export FBX of camera position (with virtuals).
CANON DIGITAL FOCUS + APERTURE LOCK
Canon EOS R + RP with updated stop motion firmware can lock aperture of RF lenses (to avoid flicker) and program focus pulls.
COUPLE MOTOR OUTPUTS
Synchronize (couple) two motor outputs (zDMC only).
LIVE MOTOR POSITIONS OVER OSC
Transmit motor positions over OSC for integration with other systems