Homeschool Crew Review: Stopmotion Explosion

We were first introduced to Stopmotion Explosion when we reviewed it back in 2016.  My boys LOVED it!  We were so excited to see them on our vendor list this year and even more so when we were chosen to review the updated Stop Motion Animation Kit.

The Stop Motion Animation Kit includes:

• 294 page Stopmotion Explosion Animate Anything and Make Movies  paperback book
•  Animation Software compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 & OS X 7.5+ 
•  1080p HD video camera with internal microphone, manual focus, and clip
• Stopmotion Explosion Quick Start Guide

Stopmotion Explosion began when two homeschooled brothers, Nate and Ryan Eckerson made animated LEGO movies by double tapping the record button in their camcorder.  Many people had questions about the movies they made wondering how they were made and if they could do it too.  "Learn Movie Making With Stop Motion Animation" was released in 2006 and over the years it has gone through technology upgrades and changes and became Stopmotion Explosion.

The Quick Start Guide is only 12 pages long and gives you the basics of getting started.  This is a great tool because once the package arrives of course they will want to get started right away! 


The Stopmotion Explosion Animate ANYTHING and Make Movies book is divided into 17 chapters:   How Movies Work Animation Actors Creating Stories Building Sets Cameras Lighting Composition Animating Flight The Art of War Sound Video Editing Files and Formats Frame Conversions Sharing Your Animations Animating with DSLRs What Next? Index   The book can be read from beginning to end if you are not familiar with anything about Stop Motion or if you need help with a specific area such as sound, you can go to that chapter to find what you need.  The chapters are illustrated with black and white images and also has links to websites and tutorials helpful to making and animating your films.   The Stopmotion Explosion software is very easy to install on your computer.  The kit comes with a CD Rom but if your computer does not have a disk drive you can download it online.  A sound effect software called Audacity also downloads. Both installed fairly quickly on my Windows 10 laptop.     The camera is very easy to set up.  It has a clip and a cord that is 4 1/2 feet long.  The new camera made a big difference from when we used the Stop Motion Animation Kit before.  The last camera was a 720p and this one is a 1080p.  The picture quality was much, much better then before.

The book talks about how you can animate and make movies using anything and this is true.  You do not have to spend any money buying expensive props, you can use whatever you have laying around the house. My boys usually choose LEGO figures but they have also used little robots, plastic dinosaurs and figures, plastic snakes, and even construction paper things they have made.  To get started my boys decide on a movie they would like to film, choose their figures, write a script, and choose a backdrop or make one.  They get all of their stuff set up in the living room and start filming.

The camera is attached to your computer using a USB cord.  If you have a webcam built in to your computer you will have to change to change the source but this is simple to do. Using the software is very easy.  It gets opened up on the computer and it shows a window that your camera will see and a SME box that you use to "grab" your frames by clicking the mouse.  The photos you grab are saved so if you have to take a break you can get back to it later.  After you finish filming you make the movie and save it to your computer.  Then you can use a software such as Windows Movie Maker to edit and add effects to your film.  When you finish that step you can publish your video to Youtube or share it on social media.

Christian absolutely loves Stopmotion Explosion!  A few weeks ago we had a 4 H Talks and Talent competition.  He competed in a category called Technology Showcase.  His talk 5 minute talk was about making Stop Motion films using the Stop Motion Animation Kit.  He demonstrated how to use it and made a very short film in front of the judges.  He won 1st place and will move on to the district competition in June.  And after hearing about his interest in film, a local person who makes promotional videos offered to mentor him and teach him how to use Green Screen and film a 4 H Promotional video.

Here is a Stop Motion he made called Lego Disco Robots.  The lighting in our house is not great and the lamp he uses for extra light broke but it still turned out really good!

StopMotion Explosion teaches children about many different aspects of film making such as sets, lighting, and sound.  The kit is easy for children to use and helps them be successful.  There are many different ways you can use this kit in your homeschool.  Besides the obvious lessons in making films, you could also reinforce things that they have learned in many of their other subjects.  We are studying the lymphatic system in science and Christian thinks it would be a great idea to film a white blood cell destroying all the germs.

Stopmotion Explosion also recently released an iOs app.  Now you can make movies on the go!

To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!