What is the simplest way to equip a 7yo and 6yo to make movies?
May 28, 2015 9:45 AM Subscribe
I need a dead simple (and not too expensive) setup for an imaginative 7 year old and a technically intuitive 6 year old to shoot and edit short films.
I have a couple of kids who really want to make movies (primarily stop motion movies). Our seven year old has been putting together story boards, building robots to star in these productions, and begging us to help him make movies for, oh, a year or more. His powers of imagination are great, but his threshold for frustration is pretty low. His sister, age six, is more patient and naturally good with technology, so I imagine she would be doing more of the movie editing. They can both read at the second/third grade level, so a video editing app or program could require some reading and still be usable by them.
Between the two of them, they need a way to shoot movies and edit them...what would this be? Right now, I'm imagining an ipad mini, some kind of video editing app (which one?), maybe a tripod? Does that sound about right, or is there another setup I should be considering (small video camera, plus computer software of some kind)? Right now the only tools at our disposal are an aging Windows computer and an older iphone. I desperately want not to be tech support all summer for this endeavor, so please hope me find a simple, fun way to help them do this. Or, if the answer is "THERE IS NO WAY TO DO THIS WITHOUT MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF ADULT HELP," I'd be interested in knowing that too.
I have a couple of kids who really want to make movies (primarily stop motion movies). Our seven year old has been putting together story boards, building robots to star in these productions, and begging us to help him make movies for, oh, a year or more. His powers of imagination are great, but his threshold for frustration is pretty low. His sister, age six, is more patient and naturally good with technology, so I imagine she would be doing more of the movie editing. They can both read at the second/third grade level, so a video editing app or program could require some reading and still be usable by them.
Between the two of them, they need a way to shoot movies and edit them...what would this be? Right now, I'm imagining an ipad mini, some kind of video editing app (which one?), maybe a tripod? Does that sound about right, or is there another setup I should be considering (small video camera, plus computer software of some kind)? Right now the only tools at our disposal are an aging Windows computer and an older iphone. I desperately want not to be tech support all summer for this endeavor, so please hope me find a simple, fun way to help them do this. Or, if the answer is "THERE IS NO WAY TO DO THIS WITHOUT MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF ADULT HELP," I'd be interested in knowing that too.
Even Vine on iOS makes it easy to do this - my 6yr old and I just did a Lego stop motion movie using Vine, sort of randomly and without any prep work.
posted by annathea at 10:17 AM on May 28, 2015
posted by annathea at 10:17 AM on May 28, 2015
Best answer: Those little flip cameras are fun, so simple to use and the software that comes with it is simple, too. I think you can get them used for about 30-40 bucks online at Amazon.
Please oh please get them a clap board.
posted by ReluctantViking at 10:50 AM on May 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Please oh please get them a clap board.
posted by ReluctantViking at 10:50 AM on May 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My kids (5 and 6) make stop motion (and timelapse) movies on the iPad with StopMotion Studio and on Android with Lapse It Pro. They find these programs simple to use.
posted by y10k at 12:19 PM on May 28, 2015
posted by y10k at 12:19 PM on May 28, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks guys! The stop motion apps you suggested look perfect. I think I'll outfit the kids with a refurb ipad mini, a couple stop motion apps, and the iMovie app for any longer film projects. And I also need to get them a clap board, that would be adorable.
posted by Wavelet at 7:58 AM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Wavelet at 7:58 AM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Omg, and once they've got a body of work, make them a Tumblr or something and post it in Projects!
Then at the 2040 Oscars I can be all smug about knowing their work before they were cool
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:06 AM on May 29, 2015
Then at the 2040 Oscars I can be all smug about knowing their work before they were cool
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:06 AM on May 29, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Maybe their little fingers would be better suited to a used iPad or iPad Mini, though.
Check out these Stop Motion Apps recommended by Brick Films (folks who make stop motion films with LEGO).
There's also LEGO Movie Maker.
Here's a brief video on how to use LMM.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 9:53 AM on May 28, 2015 [1 favorite]