Stop motion animation used to be the reserve of chaps like Ray Harryhausen before it got all popular again when Aardman Animation decided we all needed a Grand Day out. I’ve always had a soft spot for Harryhausen films, especially the Sinbad ones, so when I was offered the chance to borrow for a limited time the Hue HD Animation Studio, I thought I’d give it a shot.
Previously I’d looked into the whole brickmation scene, that is making stop motion films with Lego. There are a couple of freeware animation programmes around and a ton of (badly) written guides that tell you what cameras to use, how to set up the software and so on but to be honest setting up my computer properly to do it all was so time consuming I gave up. The software was really a hindrance to the creative process, and that’s never ideal. I also missed out on the brief life span of Lego Studios too.
The funny thing with the Hue HD Animation Studio is that although it’s ostensibly aimed at kids, it’s a bit wasted on them really. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to finish my Stormtrooper house share comedy drama that’s being worked on but I found the whole thing so easy to use from start to (not quite) finish. The set up is as easy as plug and playing since the camera is purpose designed to work in tandem with the software provided.
The software is dead easy to use as it’s aimed at kids so you don’t have to worry about technical issues getting in the way of how you use it. Having said that, it does have a proper timeline that anyone who’s used grown up video editing software would recognise, so whilst it’s dressed up as kid friendly, it does work properly. I would absolutely love to show you a clip of what I’ve made so far but it’s too short and doesn’t make sense out of context so you’ll have to check back here in… about 4 years at the rate I’m going unfortunately (new baby on the way in January too!).
So what I can leave you with is a trailer for the kit itself. I was only lent the gear but I’ve decided to put in an order (it’s £49.99 at Amazon) as my actual Christmas present.