My two boys like to make Lego stop motion videos using a digital camera, a tripod, Windows Movie Maker, a mountain of Lego, and admirable creativity. They had a thirty day trial version of Adobe Premier Pro more than thirty days ago, which was much easier to use, but Dad (me) can not afford the price. I have to commend them for doing this project with the most basic equipment–anything less and they would not be able to engage in this hobby.

It was a summer project, so they had some help from friends who became a bit bored after a while. For some reason they persisted, and now have a six minute movie that isn’t quite finished because school is getting in the way. I expect the hobby will find a place in their schedule during long weekends and Winter holidays.

It would be great if they could use Adobe Premier Pro or another high-end video editing software, as it would keep them interested in the industry, and help them make the decision about possible careers.

I like the idea of thirty day trials as it helps organizations determine whether the software is what they need or not. From the vendor’s perspective, it engenders a desire for the product, especially if it is easy and has features that experts are wont to use. From my perspective, it made two boys rather disappointed, though, to their commendation, not discouraged. How the heck, I still wonder, do they use Windows Movie Maker to create stop motion video?

“It’s a bit difficult,” my oldest son answers. “But it works.” Then they both explain, in detail, how. See sidebar.

Companies like Adobe and Microsoft do make special promotions available for charitable organizations such as schools, and though the donations are difficult to access, a lot of people benefit from their generosity. Regardless, I would like to see a different licensing structure for boys (or girls) working on a project at home.

Of course, this requires that people be honest. I don’t know how many copies of free-for-home-use-only versions of various software programs I have seen on business computers. I also see shareware programs such as WinZip being used in their evaluation state long after the evaluation time has expired. WinZip isn’t an expensive program, and I bought a license at version three or four. Though I’m a bit miffed that WinZip reneged on their promise to provide free upgrades forever, I enjoy using WinZip without the pesky reminder screen, knowing I have helped in the development of a very good piece of software, and with the plain satisfaction of having done the right thing.

Some companies provide educational prices on their software. Non-students and non-teachers take advantage of this and cite freedom of privacy of personal information when asked for a student card. The retailer is then legally required to sell the educational version, so I have been told.

There seems to be enough dishonesty to prevent software vendors from being easy on us in regards to licensing. I’m sure software engineers can devise a way to ensure the software is being used in the manner consented to in the license agreement.

For example, Adobe can let home hobbyists like my two boys enjoy the full benefits of Premier Pro in a free version that restricts the size or length of files, or the quality of videos it will create. Other programs should be able to base their licensing on the amount of time the computer is being used or the time of day it is being used, such that instead of saying for home use only, it would shut down if used exclusively between 9 and 5 for more than five days.

This last suggestion, of course, gets into privacy of information issues. However, I think software companies can be a bit more creative, and generous, in their EULAs.

The benefit of such licensing goes beyond what it can do for hobbyists. The company itself profits by creating a dedicated user base who will be making purchasing decisions when they start working for corporations, starting their own businesses, and writing Oscar acceptance speeches.

My boys have since discovered other programs such as Stop Motion Pro and Muvee that have similar licensing agreements, but are much less expensive.

Meanwhile their project continues, endlessly it seems, and they are learning a lot of great skills–patience being the primary one in their proud Dad’s opinion. The movie moguls aren’t crashing down our door yet, and the Lego.com release date is nowhere near at hand, but don’t be surprised if you see “The Ledger Brothers” on the credits of a big screen movie some day.

Side bar: Want to get in on the stop-motion movie making fun without spending any money? Start by ensuring you have Windows Movie Maker, which you can download at www.microsoft.com. You will also be using Windows Sound Recorder, which comes with Windows XP, and a lot of patience.

The steps below assume you’ve gone through the painstaking process of taking the hundreds of pictures needed–about 12 pictures are needed for every second of animation–to make the movie. With professional grade software you can use the standard 30 pictures per second, each picture representing one frame.

Without any further ado, ladies and gentlemen, here are the steps you need to make your video:

• Download your pictures to a single folder. Rename the pictures alphanumerically (1-9, a-z) in the order you want them. The reason for this will be explained later.


• Go to File, Import into Collections, and select Picture Files from the Files of Type drop down menu. Open the folder that contains the pictures you want to import, press Ctrl+A to select all the pictures, and click Import.


• Select Tools, Options, and under the Advanced tab change the Picture Duration value to the lowest setting possible (which is 0.125, which is 12 frames per second), then click OK.


• Click “Show Timeline” in the bottom pane and select all the pictures from the top frame (Ctrl+A) and drag them into the timeline. This organizes them alphanumerically.


• In the preview pane, press the Play button. If you did everything correctly, you will see your masterpiece in motion.


• Select File, Save Project As, give it a name, then click Save. But wait, you aren’t finished yet.


• Select File (again), Save Movie File, then follow the directions in the Wizard, making sure you select best playback options. Windows Media Player, or whatever player you have installed, will open your new creation.


• What, you want sound with that!?! This is where it gets complicated. Keep the movie open in Windows Media Player and open Windows Sound Recorder (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder).


• Resize the Windows Media Player window so that you can see both Windows Sound Recorder and your video play at the same time.


• To record the sound in sequence with the movie, press the Record button on the sound recorder first, then quickly press play on Media Player.


• Record the sounds as the video plays, then press stop on the sound recorder (this assumes you have all the sounds, including script, ready). Make sure the sound and the video are aligned, and the sound is clear (you can change the quality under File > Properties).


• Save your sound file (File > Save). Put it in the same folder as the video file.


• Open Windows Movie Maker, create a new file, then import the vide file by selecting File > Import Into Collections > select your video, and click Import. The import may take a while depending on the size of the file.


• Drag the video into the Video track of the timeline pane.


• Import the sound file you just made and drag it to the Audio track of the timeline pane.


• Hopefully the sound and video are in sync. If not, you can edit the sound by cutting or pasting new sound files where they are needed. I’ll let you figure that out for yourself.


• Save Project, then Save Movie File.

Congratulations, you are finished. Now all you have to do is make popcorn, invite friends over, and practice your Oscar acceptance speech.