So yesterday the boys and I were watching some stop-motion lego movies on Youtube. And after we ran out of good ones to watch, instead of saying, “Well that’s that! Go read a book!” like a normal person, for some reason I said…
“So…you guys want to make one?”
They did.
I used a couple of free programs to put it together. JPGVideo will take a series of sequential JPG files and make an AVI out of them. To add the sound effects (Max and Charlie were adamant that there should be sound effects) I used another free piece of software called Pinnacle VideoSpin. Each of them take a little bit of time to figure out, but they’re pretty straightforward.
The boys loved making it (wiggling camera, moving scenery, and all) so much that they begged to make another one. So, today while Tommy and Teddy were napping, we made a second, much more extensive movie.
Now obviously, I did most of the work here. (The boys did help me move the train along, and the “mountain jeep” was totally their idea.) I think an older child would be completely capable of creating a simple stop-motion sequence, (here’s a tutorial that may help if you’re not sure how to start), and maybe for once your kids can entertain you instead of the other way around!
You are so clever. All I remember saying on long summer days was clean your room, read a book or go outside and play. Surely there was something more?