Stop Motion Animation for Kids Using a DSLR

Do you remember my post about how my kids loved making stop motion animation movies with our OgoBild Animate It Studio Kit*? During spring break, they decided to take their stop motion to a new level! It was a wonderful spring break activity – they spent hours making their movies! This is a wonderful way for kids to work on storytelling, plot, and character development!

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Stop Motion Animation for Kids Using a DSLR

The Animate It software is incredibly easy to use, but the camera that comes with the kit is your typical webcam-quality camera. So I put my DSLR camera on my tripod, and gave the kids my camera remote control* so they could take pictures without actually touching the camera (side note: I did try one of the cheap no-name remote controls before buying this one, but it worked very inconsistently so I finally paid the money for a brand name one). This was key to making the movies work, since touching the camera the image around. It also meant I didn’t have to worry about the safety of my camera as much.

I couldn’t get my camera to communicate with the Animate It software, so we downloaded Windows Live Movie Maker (it’s free) and used that instead. It is pretty easy to use, and I am sure we aren’t coming anywhere near making full use of its capabilities.

Here is Johnny’s first movie:

My personal favorite:

One featuring a ceramic alligator he made in school:

And Emma’s first movie:

There is a lot left for them to learn, but they have a nice start on learning a new skill!

Have you tried stop motion with your kids yet? Do you have any videos your kids have made? Please share with us in the comments below, or on my Facebook page. You can also tag me on Instagram.