Honestech Claymation Studio 3.0 Deluxe review

The final tab lets users add a narration. It works well enough but we wish it could record multiple tracks so we could perform voices for the various characters in separate takes. This – and the ugly titles designer – are best avoided, with much better results available by importing the animations into conventional video-editing software for post-production. Editing the timeline is best done elsewhere, too. Frames can be copied, cut and pasted but it’s all quite cumbersome and there’s no undo function. At least the export options are straightforward, with templates for YouTube, Facebook and iPhone/iPad.

Stop-motion animation is great fun, and Claymation Studio handles it a little better than the modules built into Premiere Elements, Pinnacle Studio and Corel VideoStudio. However, separate editing software is required to make the most of the soundtrack, apply attractive titles and make any amendments to the timeline. It’s also worth noting that producing animations that are more than a few seconds long requires lots of patience – younger children will soon get bored. Still, if Claymation Studio encourages families to do something creative together, that can only be a good thing.