Stop motion animation gets easier with an iPad

iStopMotion

Software company Boinx makes noise at Macworld 2013 with version 2 of istopmotion for iPad, improving on its award-winning app

For the uninitiated, making stop motion animation is a painstaking, laborious process. Instead of relying on a video camera to record 24 or 48 frames per second, each ‘frame’ is actually a still picture, with the illusion of motion created with the minute differences between images in series. Over the years, advances in physical production techniques and software have made the process more bearable, but still primarily the domain of ambitious art students and seasoned professionals, until now.

Stop Motion for the masses

Through its programs for the Mac and iOS platforms, software maker Boinx brings stop motion content creation to the masses. The full version of its istopmotion gives Mac users a suite of tools and features to make your Tim Burton-esque animation. Currently in version 3, istopmotion for Mac lists for $49.99, which the company’s site reminds us is down from $499. Yeah, you read that right. You can even download a free app, istopcamera, which turns your iPad or iPod Touch into an integrated capture device, transmitting a live, 1080p feed back to your Mac.

Lean, powerful program

Let’s say you wanted to remove the Mac from the equation and just use an iPad. Boinx has you covered. Its iOS version, istopmotion for iPad, strips away many of the bells and whistles from its Mac counterpart, such as the chroma keyer, flipbook, and the tilt shift filter. What’s left is a lean, powerful program which leverages the iPad’s technical specs to unlock its potential as a content creation device.

Boinx is celebrating yet another Best of Show at Macworld 2013, the second in a row for istopmotion for iPad. Version 2 for iPad, available for a paltry $9.99, brings audio recording and import to the app. While you can’t edit video, or put together ‘scenes’ within the app (yet), you can now lay down a track or time dialogue or audio effects over playback, and make your one scene stop motion masterpiece without closing the app.

Boinx is here