Time for a fun little toy assembly video!

Be it holiday season or birthday time, one of my favorite gift ideas is a kit! I've happily given or received just about anything from model rockets to ant farms, from laser cut skeletons to home brew beer. The best thing about a kit is that it's more than just a singular thing, the kit is an activity, a chance to learn something new, and an opportunity I often take to share time with the gifter.

When my roommates got me a Hexbug Kit this past Christmas, I held off for a rainy day (figuratively speaking since California's in a drought.) When a slow afternoon came along, my roommate and I made turned it into an event, and documented the assembly along the way.

I laid out a little stage, positioned my camera overhead, and away we went (with a break halfway through for some popcorn!) The music credit goes to Podington Bear.

Having just finished editing that video, there are some very important lessons learned: First off, good lord I wish I'd locked the camera settings, especially the focus. WAY too many of the shots are blurry. That's just embarrassing. Second, just don't even bother with windows movie maker. It used to be my go to option to throw together a quick little video like this, but it has gotten to be a piece of work. By the time I finished, it would have been worth it to find a free one alternative online.