Every so often a product comes up for review on the Crew that is just all kinds of awesome fun! Can it be considered school? Sure. Do the kids see it that way? Absolutely not! Stopmotion Explosion has one such product with their Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit. This kit is terrific. It includes the following:
- 720p HD video camera with internal microphone and manual focus
- 290 page Stopmotion Explosion book
- Animation software
- Requirements - Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, or OS X 5.1+
In other words, everything your child needs to make great stopmotion animation movies!
My kids discovered the making of stopmotion animation films using my cell phone a few years ago, so when I described this product to them, they were super pumped to get it. They immediately had all kinds of ideas for how they would use it. See, they love making stopmotion animation films, but they get tired of setting things up and dealing with the cell phone camera. It gets onerous. With *this* camera, though, all you have to do is set your frames per second. Once you've done that, you click the button on the camera and it takes the frame for you, making sure it is the correct duration. It basically does all of the work for you! Using the software, you have a live feed on the computer. You feel like a true filmmaker. It's really amazing and my kids love it! It makes the whole creation of stopmotion animation so incredibly easy.
Just in case you don't know anything about stopmotion animation, the included book tells you everything you need to know! Not only does it tell you how to make the films, it tells you the history of them, everything you need to make one, all about avatars, settings, lights, special kinds of tables you can buy that are magnetized for true professional results, script writing, camera positioning, and more! My boys are really getting into the whole idea of film creation in a big way!
Because they had to start somewhere, though, here's a video they made of Doctor Who and a Weeping Angel!
The whole process couldn't have been easier! They installed the software on their laptop themselves. They created the story line. They shot the video. (I guess it would help to mention that they are 11 and 12).
My boys and I have one frustration regarding the program, and it is more than likely our own ignorance. Everything about this software is basically plug and play - as easy as it gets. It is easy to create the stopmotion images, and then a one-touch button to compile the video. What we found frustrating was trying to find the video once it was created! I couldn't find an option to specify the location I wanted the video saved, so I had a heck of a time finding the video once the boys had created it. I would love to see an option as simple as a "save as" so that I could know exactly where to find the video when the boys created had created it. I think, though, having gone through the process the first time, one would know the default save location on one's own computer.
Overall, this camera/software combination is a huge thumbs-up! It's so intuitive and so easy that, well, children can do everything! Everyone in my house recommends it wholeheartedly. To see some other super fun videos, be sure to click on the banner below to read all of the reviews! Also be sure to find Stopmotion Explosion on social media:
Thanks for sharing your film! To answer your question about where the video file is saved - it's placed in the same directory where the frames of the animation are saved. This location is specified when you start a new animation, and the program shows you the save file window.
ReplyDeleteFor future reference - you can focus the camera by turning the silver ring on the front. This will help you achieve a clearer image in your next project. :-)