School Days: Stopmotion Explosion - A (Very Cool) Crew Review

As a member of the Homeschool Review Crew, I have been blessed to try out many wonderful resources and products. This latest review is a contender for our absolute favorite. Stopmotion Explosion provided us with their Stop Motion Animation Kit to use, and my 13 year old daughter is hooked. It's funny that often, adults will joke that their young children have an amazing intuition in knowing how to work with technology, while many of us older folks struggle a bit. My daughter certainly fits that description, and constantly amazes me with her seemingly instant grasp of smart phones, computer programs, and such. I can't tell you how many times I can heard throughout the day calling to her to help me untangle some technological mess I've created. So, it was no surprise that she grabbed the kit, and went straight to work.

This kit includes:

- 1080p HD Video camera with internal microphone, manual focus, and clip
- Stopmotion Explosion book
- Stopmotion Explosion Quick Start Guide
- Software CD

What does this kit do? Simply put, it's a way to create your own films, but without breaking the bank to do it. Using the included software, or by downloading the Stopmotion app, you can put all of those lego, Shopkins, cars, and/or whatever other figure collection that your kids have been accumulating, and create fun little movie shorts. Do you remember the old programs that we would watch as children, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, or more recently, the Wallace and Grommit Claymation movies? Those are examples of this technique- Stopmotion. But with this kit, instead of being a passive consumer, you can become a filmmaker as well.

If you have the patience, you can start with the book, which has close to 300 pages of helpful information to get you on your way to becoming a famous filmmaker. I joke when I say this, because reading the book is a must. Rather than being a kit you would find in the discount store, there is a history and art to creating movies. You and your students will learn so much in these pages, including:

- The history of film
- How movies work
- What is an Armature, and how to build one
- How to create a story
- Storyboarding
- Cameras
- Lighting

I could list the Table of Contents for you, but suffice it to say, there is a ton of information, tips, and techniques in the book. This could be a great group activity for Clubs, Co-ops, youth groups, and whatever group you can think of. This isn't simply a toy, but a fun educational activity, for one child, or a group. Here are some examples of topics in the book:

This is from the Quick Start Guide

My daughter was so excited to begin, so she pulled out the Quick Start Guide first, and got going with the actual book later. With this little pamphlet, you can be creating your first film in a jiffy. So, we recruited my husband to help with getting the software loaded onto the computer. There is a CD included, but sadly, our computer does not have a CD Rom player. The download went just fine. My daughter had already been planning out her movie, so we just needed to capture it on film. That's when we hit a wall. The camera kept freezing up on us. It would run for 5 seconds and stop. We would start over, only to have it happen over and over. There seems to be an application on the computer that will not allow the camera to function properly. We're still working on that, and hope to figure it out.

But, all was not lost, because we were able to download the app on my phone, and that has worked just fine, beautifully actually. In fact, my girl absolutely loves this new found hobby. She purchased various poster boards and papers for backgrounds, as well as an inexpensive tripod to keep the phone steady, and has been spending many afternoons coming up with fresh story lines. The app provides great instructions, and walks you through the steps easily. We don't have the sound effects that the software on the computer provides, but the clips are still fun. The only issue is that now I find myself either without my phone, or have my phone drained of its battery, because my daughter enjoys this so much. Let me show you some screenshots from the app. It lays everything out step by step, so it's easy to follow.

This last one is just one page of the clips that my daughter created.

So fun! Now, would you like to see some of the movie clips?

This has been such an entertaining kit that our whole family has enjoyed. You might be looking for a gift, a project, or a cool learning tool. This is a worthwhile option for those and more. We love it, and maybe you will too.