Stop motion animation—think Wallace & Gromit, Robot Chicken, or the California Raisins—is a labor-intensive process. But with the right tools, you can actually create these videos using your Mac, without any real experience. Boinx Software has just released the third edition of iStopMotion ($30) to the Mac App Store, making it even easier for users to create their own cartoons.
Our favorite feature is Remote Camera, which allows you to transmit a live feed from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to your Mac.
The idea with stop motion is to take one shot of your subject, make a small change, shoot again, and repeat the process until you have a whole scene. iStopMotion 3 collects those frames, allows you to do modest edits, and even works with green screen images.
Once you’ve collected everything, the frames can be exported to iMovie or Final Cut Pro X for real editing, titles, and anything else those programs offer. It seems like a great app for hobbyists, and experienced users hoping to make their next animation projects a little easier.
.
