Really not bad for a test slide show thrown together in ten minutes is Rena Katinas' slide show.

One more finalist from the FotoMagico Slideshow Showcase: Kevin Miller - "Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia".

Peggy's Cove is a favorite of many, including my wife whose family lived in Nova Scotia many years ago. We were able to return last summer and enjoy the beautiful scenes of this quaint and historic fishing village. The focal point is the famous Peggy's Cove light house. My son introduced me to The Digital Story many months ago. I recently listened to several of the podcasts on a road trip. I grew up with a black and white darkroom as a kid. In the last few years I have moved into the digital photography world and am quite fascinated by it. I just got my first digital SLR and am getting my feet wet with Photoshop CS2 and color management.

ICT Links hosts three Animation Summer Schools:

• Otley - 25th to 27 July
• Billericay - 8th to 10th August
• London Rio Cinema - 14th and 15th August

Make an Animated Film - Participants learn to make a film in the style of Wallace & Grommit. Over the three day period they will create soundtracks, capture animated sequences using the models they have made and put it together in the edit to create their own entertaining mini blockbuster movie which will be put onto DVD after the workshop for all participants. To register your interest please call (UK) 08704 295 264.

Participants of the GCA '06 Model Making for Animation class used iStopMotion to animate their clay models.

Blast on Tour:

Blast is taking to the road this summer with a mobile creative studio offering digital media and creative experiences to young people. The truck is touring for fifteen weeks this summer travelling to fifteen locations across the UK. We're offering creative workshops, taster sessions, arts surgeries, showcase events and lots more. This is your chance to get hands-on experience or simply to show off and share your film, writing, dance, music and art. You can also meet the Blast team and creative industry pros who are there to help. Here are some of the ways you can get on board!

Hal MacLean is on the truck in Sheffield, London, Norwich, Bristol and Birmingham where he will include stop motion animation with iStopMotion.

A very nicely done brickfilm by Matt Gray: "Faithless". Matt writes:

I have just finished my first big project with iStopMotion. The film is about 13 minutes long. Faithless follows the ghost of a murdered man, as he struggles to come to terms with his fate. He witnesses a number of events from his life as he begins to piece together the circumstances around his death.

The credits reveal that Matt used iStopMotion HR, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Photoshop, Final Cut, a Panasonic GS400 DV Cam and an iMac G5 in his 10 months production.

German MACup magazine (issue 08/2006) publishes a review of FotoMagico and compares it with the slideshow features of iMovie and iPhoto. The verdict:

Clearly superior. Pan and Zoom in iMovie and iPhoto are puristic. FotoMagico offers far more options to the user.

MACup rates FotoMagico a 1.9 (5 out of 6 points).