Thank you for joining us for a wonderful week in Bricks & Blox camp! At Classroom Antics, we believe that ongoing learning is very important. This is why we wanted to provide you some really great learning resources that can keep your child engaged in creative building. Below you will find detailed information. Our #1 stop motion software choice for home? Stop Motion Studio Pro for a mobile device. If your child has a mobile device, it's the least expensive and least complicated option.
In our Bricks & Blox camps, we used Roblox Studio to develop an understanding of how to read and adjust code to make their Roblox activity work exactly as it should. You can download Roblox Studio here: Setting Up Roblox Studio | Documentation – Roblox Creator Hub
While there are none we specifically recommend, there are lots of books for sale regarding Roblox game play, coding and building.
The “Bricks” segment of our Bricks & Blox program introduced campers to the exciting world of stop motion animation using LEGO as their creative medium! If you’re looking to further your stop motion animation journey, we’ve included details below on how to purchase the software and materials used during camp.
“Capture Software” will take still photography pictures and compile them into a video. It is also used to put backgrounds on in place of a green (or blue) screen, record voices, add sound effects, music and overlays. At camp we used Zu3D.
Another option is Stop Motion Studio Pro for mobile devices.
We use Zu3D (for Windows) at camp. We have also used Stop Motion Studio Pro (for mobile or desktop devices) when camps were virtual for a short time. Both are easy to use, feature-rich, and reliable. The first one is compatible with our Windows 10 computers at our in-person camp. The latter is easy to use on a smartphone or tablet and does not require families to invest a lot of money on software, and now it is now available for Windows and iOS desktop machines.
First and foremost, we recommend the software that we have used and tested. However, there are alternative capture software programs too. Some others are iStopMotion (for Mac), iKITMovie (for Windows), and Dragonframe (for Mac or Windows). Of these alternatives, if you have a Mac, we recommend iStopMotion as it’s affordable and easy to use. Dragonframe is for professionals that use DSLR cameras and make Hollywood stop-motion movies (it’s very complicated and expensive). We have previously used Stop Motion Pro, which is also expensive, but easier to use than Dragonframe.
Of course, a camera is a must for stop motion animation. At camp we mostly use this Microsoft LifeCam. The price has gone up considerably in the last decade! For that reason, using a mobile device with a built-in camera will be the most cost effective. That said, you can use anything from a webcam to a DSLR camera. Our external webcam of choice us attached via USB to a Windows computer.
Using an external webcam like the LifeCam allows your child to move their camera wherever they would like without moving the computer. Using a webcam that is attached to your monitor is not a good option. Webcams have become very costly, and range from $20 to $500 or more.
If you choose the mobile device like a phone or tablet, the software is significantly less expensive and the camera is built-in. The kids can “lock down” the camera with LEGO just like they do at camp, but with some added engineering innovation.
When it comes to creating building sets for your movies, you are limited only by your creativity. For camp, we created green screens with simple plywood and paint. There are also some really good pre-made stop motion sets with specialized themes.
The Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment (ACE) educational savings account program provides qualifying families with $1,000 per child to use towards approved enrichment and educational activities such as tutoring, academic camps, and before- or after-school programs.
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