Schools and Students Can Win Big with New Stop Motion Animation Contest

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr. 25, 2012 - Tool Factory announced the launch of the High Seas Animation Contest at the NSBA Annual Conference in Boston to celebrate the release of The Pirates: Band of Misfits, which hits US theatres on April 27th. Beginning April 27th, students can download a free 30-day use of Stop Motion Pro software to film their own pirate-themed animations for a chance to win the grand prize, a trip for two to a North American Animation Festival, the same software used to film The Pirates: Stop Motion Pro Studio HD, a Microsoft HD webcam, professional armature, clay, animation book, and more. Plus, the Judge’s Choice Grand Prize winner will also receive a network site license of Stop Motion Pro Studio HD Edu. to outfit their whole school (a $1,850 value). http://www.toolfactory.com/contests/

Open to US and Canadian students ages 7 to 18, the contest begins April 27th, 2012, and submissions will be accepted through midnight EST on May 27, 2012. Students have 30 days from the contest’s start to utilize the free version of the software to create two minute or less pirate-themed animations, and finished videos will be uploaded to the contest page on SchoolTube for peer judging and viewing. Two People’s Choice winners will take home exciting animation kits containing everything they need to keep animating, and one lucky student will take home the Grand Prize Judge’s Choice Award.

“Stop motion animation is a great vehicle for cross-curricular project based learning, and we’re excited to be working with Stop Motion Pro, SchoolTube, and our other sponsors to introduce students and educators to this versatile teaching tool,” said Kendra Ericson, Tool Factory’s Director of Educational Services.

“Adding animation to the school curriculum is fantastic for both students and teachers,” said Stop Motion Pro Director Paul Howell. “Kids love the freedom to express themselves, teachers can see learning outcomes being achieved, and parents get a kick out of seeing their children using technology creatively. Stop Motion Pro is excited to support this competition and hope that the “Pirates!” theme inspires some fun animation!”

“Given our focus on student video creation at SchoolTube, we are proud to support the High Seas Animation Contest. This campaign promises to unlock student creativity in unique and powerful ways, making it an ideal fit for the SchoolTube community,” said Marshall Roslyn, SchoolTube’s Business Development Director.  

Full contest details will be released on April 24, 2012. Visit http://www.toolfactory.com/contests/ for additional information.

About Tool Factory
Tool Factory is a leader in innovative educational technology and staff development solutions. Tool Factory's mission is to improve US education by providing superior educational software, hardware, staff development options, and an impressive lineup of special education products. The extensive online catalog offers a host of resources to reinvigorate any learning environment. Teachers, students, and parents join the Tool Factory staff in testing products to ensure that they are easy to navigate, fun to use, and beneficial to the learning process. For more information go to http://www.toolfactory.com.

About Stop Motion Pro
Stop Motion Pro (http://www.stopmotionpro.com), produces world-leading software for stop motion animation production. Stop Motion Pro has become an industry standard for teaching animation techniques in schools and universities around the world, and animation studios have embraced Stop Motion Pro with feature films, television series and commercials utilizing this innovative technology.

About SchoolTube
SchoolTube (http://www.schooltube.com) is the leading K-12 video community for students and teachers. SchoolTube is exclusively endorsed by over 25 top national education associations and is accessible in over 90% of classrooms throughout the US. Every month, 4+ million teachers and students around the world discover, create, and share videos on SchoolTube.