Some interesting stuff I found surfing around and some via Twitter (I can’t remember what by whom, but thank you and sorry for not referencing):
Do you use Skype? Check out TinyChat. “Peer-to-Peer chat service that allows you to set up a one-on-one conversation with a friend in literally seconds. No plug-ins, no software, not even a username required. The only thing you literally have to do is pick a URL for your video on the p2p.tinychat.com domain.” (via Mashable)
TubeChop allows you to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.
At fontcapture.com you can create a font from your very own handwriting. There’s no software to download and install, all you need is a printer and a scanner.
FrameByFrame“…lets you create stop-motion animation videos using any webcam/video camera connected to your Mac, including iSight. Just take some pictures and in a matter of seconds you’ve got your very own stop-motion Quicktime movie!” A freeware alternative to iStopMotion, but installation required.
If you subscribe to other art blogs, you have probably seen this already. Blu’s other video MUTO certainly made it’s rounds. I’m sure this one will too.
DoInk (pronounced ‘Do-Ink’) is a place to enjoy art and animation, and make your own. Have a great idea, but can’t draw? No problem. DoInk brings two things to the table: a community of talented people, and all the tools they need to share their ideas. Once you’ve signed up, you can begin animating, drawing, and sharing. And to speed things up, you can re-use the work of thousands of other users.
Perhaps now I can get some elementary students to try Rotoball for next year!
I’ve been meaning to give tilt-shift video a try for a while now. Click on the picture below to view an example of tilt-shift photography.
Since my school has an annual food fair in May and I have access to the roof, I thought I’d have a go. This video is only a minute long (with titles) and I used 243 photos to produce it. I used Tilt-ShiftMaker as it was the easiest and fastest way. I imported each photo individually and then put them in iMovie where I shortened the time of the photos to .15 seconds. I then merged the photos as DV and sped up the time slightly. video link here via YouTube or view with better quality here via Vimeo.
Here’s a visual treat showing the expansion of the human home. Timely considering the current economic times. Could make an interesting discussion starter in class. If you need a recap of what’s going on financially, check out the Crisis of Credit Visualised which I posted here previously.
I may try and influence some grade 5s at my school to give these two pieces of software a try. Have you used either of them?
Sketchcast allows you to record a sketch with or without voice. You can explain something, have fun, or create art. You may also embed the sketch player in your blog or point people to your sketch channel.
Go! Animate allows you to create animations using templates. Currently some grade 10s at my school are experimenting with this.
Both are free, but require you to register. Doesn’t matter if it’s Mac or PC as it is web based. And just for fun there’s this:
The NFB.ca launches today and has hundreds af animated films and documentaries available for free. “The Sweater” by Sheldon Cohen was an old childhood favourite of mine.
In this animated short, Roch Carrier recounts the most mortifying moment of his childhood. At a time when all his friends worshipped Maurice “Rocket” Richard and wore his number 9 Canadiens hockey jersey, he was mistakenly sent a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey from Eaton’s. Unable to convince his mother to send it back, he must face his friends wearing the colours of the opposing team. This short film, based on the book The Hockey Sweater, is an NFB classic that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages.
