Filmmaking Resources
The following information comes from the Portland Children Film Festival.
You Can Do It!
These days it is easier than ever to make a movie! Many filmmaking tools that may have been hard to come by in the past are now commonly available on cell phones, computers, ipads and the like. Below are some links and resources to help you get started.
Some Basics on How to Make a Movie
Here are a few websites that show some basic steps in filmmaking:
- Vimeo Video School- Lots of movie making tutorials for beginners and experts.
- Coolspotters-– Movie guide for kids. Lots of helpful links.
- Kids Vid– Tips about scripting, shooting, editing and showing your film.
Movie Editing Software
Movie making software often comes with your computer or can be downloaded easily. There are lots of products out there and tutorials on how to use them. Below are links to programs that you can buy or download for free.
Sources of Royalty Free Music and Sound Effects
Many of these sites offer public domain or royalty free music at no cost. There are many others out there. Remember, each song may have its own requirements of how you can use it and how you should list it in your credits.
- Incompetech
- Free Music Archive
- Vimeo Music Store– Use Advanced Filters function to search free music!
- ccMixter Music Discovery
- Freesoundtrackmusic.com
- Public Domain 4U
- Musopen
- DanoSongs
- Itunes Royalty Free Music
- Pac DV- Free music and sound effects!
- Freesound– Loads of great free sound effects!
- Soundjay– More free sound effects!
Stop Motion Animation
Animating is fun and easier than you might think!
- Article about How to Create a Stop Motion Video
- 36 Stop Motion Animation Tutorials
- Some Cool Examples of Stop Motion Animation
Animation Software
In addition to basic movie editing software, there are tons of free or low cost programs for making animated movies. Here are a few examples for various platforms. Apple and Android app stores offer many more.
- Monkey Jam – A free stop motion animation program. Tutorial
- istopmotion– A stop motion program for Mac/ipad. Promotional Clip
- OSnap!– Time lapse photography and stop motion app for iphone and ipad.
- Animoto for Education– Probably the easiest way to combine photos, videos, and music into a snazzy video. Free accounts for educators available.
- Explain Everything– An app for ipad and android that combines images, video, narration and animation. Good for conveying classroom topics.
- Doceri– The interactive whiteboard for ipad.
- Muvizu– A free 3D animation program for Windows. Example
- Crazy Talk– A suite of products with lots of neat features. Example
- Do Ink – An inexpensive animation program for ipad. Tutorial
- Pencil– Traditional animation software for Windows and Mac OS X. Example
- Toon Boom Animationish– Popular animation software for kids. Review
- Toon Boom Flip Boom All Star– Another Toon Boom Product . Example
- Moviestorm– Online 3D animation product subscription. Promotional Clip