Stopmotion Explosion: Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit (Review and video!)

My boys have been great fans of stop motion Lego shorts on YouTube, and we've seen some interesting things over the years. Every once in awhile my eldest has also mentioned how fun it would be to try to do something with stopmotion, so when the opportunity came up to review the Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit by Stopmotion Explosion I jumped right on it! We weren't sure just exactly what we'd end up doing (I was expecting some LEGO Police action from the boys),  but whatever we did, *I* was fairly certain that it would be fun AND educational. 

This is what the package looked like that showed up at our door, 

and this is what was inside: 

What's in the Box? A quick start guide, software on CD, an almost 300 page manual, and a 720 HD video camera with internal microphone, manual focus, and clip. 

I'll start out with some of the basic techie information, but keep going down the page to see our final product.

The quick start guide was useful in figuring out how to run the program. The software on CD gave us some issues, but thankfully, if you purchase the book you have the ability to download the software directly from the web, which is what my son ended up doing. The software is compatible with Mac and Windows... we chose to use my son's Lenovo for the recording of the videos, and an app (videoshop) on my iphone to stitch the clips together. 

The software connects to the video camera, which is a fairly basic webcam (you may also be able to use a regular digital camcorder or other webcam with it).  The manual gives information on using a variety of cameras, and how to go about setting it up, but the basic webcam is a good place to start. 

The manual is FILLED with very useful information! From how movies work to building sets, writing stories, techie details on lighting, composition, animating, specific tips for lego and stickfas fighting scenes and all the information you'll need to share your creation, links to resources, and more. It is really amazing, and I feel like we've only just scratched the surface while getting our first video off the ground. 

So... now I'll give you a bit of a "tour" of how our video came together... 

Eldest decided that she wanted to do a Playmobil Stopmotion Music Video. The first order of business was choosing a song. We love Blanca's "Different Drum,"  so that decision was made. Next was choosing characters and coming up with a "theme." 

Here is a bit of "staging"

Some of eldest's original artwork (isn't it fabulous???) 

that had to be completed in steps

and a view of the workstation.

You can see that we really only had overhead ceiling lights (that aren't terribly evident), and one halogen light serving as our spot light. It is ideal to have 3 point lighting, but we worked with what we had. I think that the camera may have been a *little* easier to focus if we had had more appropriate lighting, but again, for a first attempt, using what we had at hand, I think the end result was pretty great! 

Without further ado... 

We are delighted with Stopmotion Explosion! My daughter said she would have LOVED this when she was younger and did huge set-ups with her playmobil, with elaborate story lines. She enjoyed putting together this music video and has ideas for a few others as well. I really loved how she put her own personality and appreciation for Contemporary Christian Music into the message of this video.

The boys (15 and 8) were planning to work together to create a LEGO stopmotion video specifically for this review, but unfortunately they were both hit with influenza one after the other, and weren't able to get anything put together (it does take hours of preparation for something that lasts more than 20 seconds or so). However, I have great hopes that this was just the first in a set of videos that will be produced in our home.

"Stopmotion Explosion Animate ANYTHING and Make MOVIES" is an invaluable resource, jam-packed with so much incredible knowledge, and would make a marvelous gift for any budding videographer!
Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Stopmotion Explosion
• Product: Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit
• Ages: 13+ (Or possibly younger WITH adult supervision/help)
• Price: $79
• Book alone (not in kit) is $24

You can visit Stopmotion Explosion on Facebook and Twitter @stopmoexplosion  

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Trident Kraken AMS Case for the iPad2, 3, 4 (TOS Review Crew) Made in the USA!

Sometimes the TOS Review Crew gets something other than curriculum to review. These items are always interesting, and a nice change of pace.  This latest review item is from Trident Case the Kraken A.M.S. Case for Apple iPad  2/3/4 (other TOS Review Crew members received cases for other Apple, Kindle, and Samsung products, so if you don't have an iPad, make sure to check out their reviews as well!).

The Kraken case is available with a variety of accent colors~ black, blue, pink, red, lime green, purple, orange, and maroon.

I chose the purple case.

I felt kind of funny requesting the iPad case, as my iPad is... shall we say NOT in the best condition... In the photos below you can easily see the cracks that it acquired a year + after purchase. The case I had at the time didn't cover the corners, so it wasn't protected from the 1st drop, even though it was in its case. The case also wasn't very convenient for the 5 yo to use, so we would remove the iPad from the case and let him play with it on its own, hence the 2nd drop, and the 3rd drop happened while it was in the case, but the cover was open...

However, I was very hopeful that a GOOD case would help to protect my iPad from any further cracking, and be much safer for general use. You can bet that if I ever manage to upgrade to a 64G (or more) iPad, this case is going on pronto!

When the Kraken Case arrived I put it on, and found it quite easy to assemble and use. The middle silicone "Colorful" portion of the case fits snuggly around the iPad, and then locks securely into the hardened polycarbonate back shell and front frame. To help safeguard from dust and light water damage, every device control and port is protected with the flexible silicone plugs that are an integral part of the silicone layer. The case is Military Tough, and meets or exceeds Military standard MIL-STD-810F. If you don't know what that means, like I didn't, the specifics regarding wind, rain, dust, vibration, etc... can be found directly on the Kraken information page, but it seems like it should hold up to most of the abuse that a 6 year old might accidentally put it through. :)

Shortly after putting the case on, I was in the waiting room at my daughter's dance class, where I can be found 2-3 times per week. One of the other moms who is also regularly there, and very familiar with all the cracks it has acquired over the past couple of years saw my iPad as soon as I pulled it out and exclaimed "Oh! You got a new iPad?!" With the included screen protector (part of the top frame), the cracks were camouflaged, and much more difficult to see. I replied of course, that I did NOT get a new iPad, but I did get this fantastic new case! :) 

So far I have found the case to be protective, and haven't run into any problems using the controls. It has made me worry less when my 6 year old is walking with it or using it in various settings that aren't as safe as on the couch. Given that I already have damage, I'm not willing run any tests with it, but I can say that I browsed a bunch of the test videos for various cases on the Trident YouTube channel, and well... I'm pretty impressed! Here's their test on the iPad... with a bat! Other cases had doors slammed on them, and huge planks or wood dropped on them, among other extremes.

A few points of interest (pros/cons/sometimes both): 

1. PRO~ It is made in the USA! Hurray! 
2. CON~ I don't find it quite as easy to plug the charger into the power port as when it isn't in the case, but it certainly isn't a deal breaker~ PRO especially when it covers the port so nicely so that dust and debris don't get into it. 
3. CON I wish that there was some sort of a thin flap/cover to protect the included screen protector on the front from scratches when the ipad is in my bag~ I tend to carry it with me most places. 
4. My final CON (see photo below) is simply that this case isn't available for older Apple products~ we have ipods from 2nd to 5th generation, and have had a terrible time finding protective cases for the older ipods that do all the things the Trident cases do... 
• PRO cover ports (So that foil from candy wrappers don't get into the headphone port when the ipod is in your son's pocket...)
• PRO have dust/water-proof cases with included screen protectors~ because they don't bubble or peel off like applied screen protectors, and are easy to clean
• PRO have shock protectors on the corners, as the corners seem to be the most frequent point of impact. 

*Note~ there *is* a case available for the ipod 4... but nothing for the 2nd or 5th... Aegis Series

As you can tell, I'm pretty delighted with our new Trident Kraken Case, and can fairly whole-heartedly recommend Trident Case if you are looking for an ultra-protective case for your electronic device.

You can find Trident Case on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Vine, and YouTube.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Trident Case 
• Product: Kraken A.M.S. Case for Apple iPad  2/3/4.
• Ages: Appropriate for all ages
• Price: $69.95

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~