5 Apps for Making Movies on Mobile Devices

Every year at Hollywood award shows, we see fantastic movies celebrated for their rich storytelling and dynamic performances. Your students can become moviemakers, too, thanks to some powerful apps for mobile devices. With these tools, your children can take videos and edit their work to make professional quality movies using iOS devices (iPads and iPhones) and Android tablets.

One good thing about this easy-to-use technology is that students can still use important English language arts skills like writing a narrative, planning a sequential story, and including key details when getting ready to make a movie. These apps can enhance the work that you are doing with children in the classroom and give them room to be creative storytellers.

iMotion HD (iOS: Free, Upgrade Available)

Your students can create a time-lapse or stop-motion film using this video app. iMotion HD lets kids make a movie by combining still photos. They can set this app to take photographs at timed intervals to show elapsed time (like a plant growing or a sunset) or for stop-motion film (using action figures or puppets). With the full version of the app, users can add music and get access to extra export features like uploading their movie straight to YouTube.

PicPlayPost (iOS: $1.99)

PicPlayPost is a video and editing tool that lets users combine videos and still images into a shared frame. With a tap of the screen, the videos will play simultaneously or sequentially, and the still images will be placeholders in the frame. It's a great tool for displaying a combination of pictures as an alternative to a traditional slideshow. Kids can manipulate the style of the frame and add music from their iTunes library to play in the background.

Magisto Video Editor & Maker (Android: Free)

Magisto lets users shoot video from inside the app, edit video saved to their device and create a movie with this footage. Once students select the still images and videos that they want to include, they choose a theme and music. Then the app puts the pieces together. In order to save movies to an album, users will have to set up an account.

iMovie (iOS: $4.99)

With iMovie, students can edit video that they've taken with their iPhone or iPad. This powerful app lets kids create feature films and Hollywood-style trailers using the built-in themes and templates. iMovie lets them add titles, transitions and music as they apply different film techniques like slow motion and panning over still photos. Whether your students dig deep into all of the professional quality features in iMovie or simply scratch the surface, they'll create a fantastic final product.

Andromedia Video Editor (Android: Free)

Students can edit video saved to their device with Andromedia Video Editor. This app lets them organize clips, crop video and even apply the "Ken Burns" filming technique to still images and videos. Users can add transitions to each clip, edit audio, and record a narration using the microphone on the device. After rendering their video, students can share it on multiple platforms.

Have you tried using mobile devices to make movies? How could you see yourself using these tools in the classroom?