The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

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The Teachers’ Animation Toolkit
DRAGON STOP MOTION
There are many software packages available for both the PC and 
the Mac, at a wide range of price points. The product which gets our 
strongest recommendation is Dragon Stop Motion. It is a powerful, 
professional quality tool, with many advanced features. Some of 
these may be beyond the needs of the typical classroom project. 
However, its ease of use, quality and versatility makes it well worth 
the price. (Currently around £250 for two school licences.)
With Dragon Stop Motion you can connect SD or HD video 
camcorders via fi rewire to a desktop or laptop computer, a PC or a 
Mac. Alternatively, you can use a wide range of Digital SLRs and 
other digital still cameras, connected via USB. We particularly like 
the onion skin facility, which helps students to judge exactly how far 
to move characters between frames.
The software works by capturing preview quality frames for instant 
playback, alongside high-quality frames at SD, HD or feature 
fi lm resolution, depending on the image source used and setting 
selected. The latter can then be rendered as mov video fi les and 
imported to your preferred editing software for post-production.
To quote the website: ‘A stop motion software tool for creating 
stop-frame animation, 3D stereoscopic animation, time-lapse, 
digital effects, and claymation. It is compatible with Mac OS X and 
Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 PC computers and can be used 
with a digital still camera, video camera or webcam. Designed to 
meet the needs of working professionals, yet intuitive enough for 
beginners. It is used widely for feature fi lm, commercial, broadcast 
television and independent fi lm.’
Download a trial version and get further details here:
http://www.dragonstopmotion.com/
5.3 STOP-MOTION ANIMATION SOFTWARE

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