- Makes stop-motion animation much less tedious.
- Automatically synchs with webcam input.
- Required serial is entirely unneccessary; on download page.
- Stop-motion animation software that makes capturing and arranging simple.
- Features onion-skinning, noise reduction, and multiple other advanced features.
- Able to export to (and play from) a variety of formats.
Animator DV could actually change my mind on that.
The program, quite frankly, is fun. For starters, it startled the pants off me when I installed it, opened a new project, and immediately found myself staring at my own ugly mug. The program automatically synched with my laptop's integrated webcam - which could cause difficulties should I try to work on-screen while capturing images, but the feature would work awesomely with external webcams. It's a huge bonus as far as convenience. You've got your filming, sequencing, and editing equipment all in one, making working with sets much easier. All shots are fed directly into the computer, rather than loading from an external source.
A quick run-through of the program reveals a standard suite of tools arranged for intuitive use. It seems like a pretty standard video editing package, but geared perfectly towards bringing stop-motion filming into a digital environment. The best thing is that it's approachable. For someone new to stop-motion but familiar with animation and video editing, the functionality still feels comfortable, easy to adapt to. For an expert, it offers all the tools necessary to easily perform familiar tasks while keeping those tools readily accessible.
I'm rating AnimatorDV 4/5 for one reason: I'm not well-versed enough in stop motion animation to give it a fair assessment and really accurate review. For me, it's a great program. It's sparked my interest and could very well encourage me to try stop-motion animation. A veteran might be able to offer better commentary, so I withhold that last star for the sake of the unknown.
