iKit movie software is a complete software product for shooting stop motion animations. It is also quite a bit of fun. And pretty darn easy to use.

You can buy just the software or you can buy the kit that also includes an HD web cam. I got that kit because I don't have a web cam! Here is their website

Let's watch the animation first (54 seconds)

If you want to learn more about this paper diorama animation I have more information here.

How you do it

First off, with a typical stop motion project you use a camera and you take a series of pictures as you move the animation. Then you load those pictures onto your computer, then into a software program that can make an animation. The iKit makes this process easier in that you just set up your web cam as the camera and the photos you take with it are automatically loaded into the software as you take the pictures.

Let's take a look at my workspace for the software and animation. There are three arrows on this screenshot. From left to right they describe what is happening. The first arrow is the web cam set up and connected to the computer. The second arrow is the actual scene for the animation. The final arrow on the far right is the computer with the iMovie software running.

So, what happens here is that using the mouse you snap a picture of the scene and it shows up in the software. Then you move the animation and snap another picture. Etc.. etc. It makes the work of animation so much easier than worrying about a camera.

Let's take a look at the software

When you snap a picture with the web cam it shows up there in the large box that currently says "No Image". As you snap pictures they show up in the timeline near the bottom of the screen. You can see a series of pictures there.

Once you have your pictures all taken you can add sound effects and music to the timeline simply by dragging and dropping them. There are two white boxes with text in them. The one on the left is the sound effects and the box on the right is the music. All you have to do is drag and drop any of those items into the timeline.

About the Software I use in this project. I am using the iKit Movie Software - It is a fun and easy to use software package. It is available on Amazon.com (I also have more about this software right here)

iKITMovie Stopmotion Animation KIT

• Full version of our Animation software with its Unique 2,200 sound effects included to bring your claymation / brickfilms to life.
• Simply connect the free quality webcam included, install the iKITMovie software on your PC and you are ready to animate.
• Includes Greenscreen feature now - Hours of fun guaranteed. Educational and fun .. a perfect gift !

Some of the nice things about this software:

• It has something called onion skinning. This means you can overlay two frames and see them both at the same time. This is how you make a small motion and see if the change is right from one frame to the next.
• It is very easy to use!
• It has a whole lot of great sound effects which add a little bit of panache to your animations. I am talking people sounds, animal sounds, boats, cars etc. Lots and lots of really neat sounds.
• It makes the process of animation a whole lot easier.

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