Here is some useful tips i wanted to share.

LIGHTING

Two desk lamps is nice. If the lightning are too strong, tape a piece of paper in front of the lamp. Turn off the lamps when you don’t need them! You don’t want to start a fire.

A GOOD STORY

A good story is needed. Start planning some days before you start filming.

SOUND

Record the sound before you start filming. If you dub your film with Windows Movie Maker, you can’t remove noise, and if you do something wrong you have to start over again. Make sure the music you use is royalty free, if not you may do something illegal. Cool sound effects is a plus. If you want to make something cool, ask some others to voice in your movie. One voice is not very good.

ANIMATION

It is important that your animation is good. Animate at 15 fps, or more. Remember to move the charathers just a little bit for each picture. Use the slow in, slow out technique.

SECTURE SETS AND CAMERAS

Secture the sets and cameras with tape or sticky tack. If not, the animation will look choppy. But if you like earthquakes, go crazy.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Some capture programs lets the animator use chroma keying (replacing a colour, like green with a pre-made background), some do not. Most video editing software can do that. For muzzle flashes and explosions, you have to export the frames and import them in photoshop/paint.

LINKS

Some useful links:

http://www.bricksinmotion.com – Brickfilm site.
http://www.brickfilms.com – I think you know.
http://www.detonationfilms.com – Action effects.
http://www.debugmode.com/wax – Composing and effects software.
http://www.heliumfrog.com – Capture software.
http://www.animateclay.com/index.php/articles/72-free-downloads/129-anasazi-stop-motion-animator – Free, open source capture software.
http://www.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.com/monkeyjam – Animation software.
http://www.bricklink.com – Online lego market.