Sock puppets

Sock puppets is an app for iPad. You make a puppet show and record the dolls talk. There are six different sock puppets to choose from. You can use four of them simultaneously. You also choose backgrounds. There are eleven to choose from and you can have five pieces in a performance. There are some props too, such as microphone, trees and a stone. There are a total of 16 different properties to choose from and you can have four in a scene. Some of the props you can move while you are recording while some are stuck where you placed them. Students think of course it's fun to get to choose. At the same time the number of choices are limited, which means that you get started with the recording quickly.

When you've chosen puppets and backgrounds, it is time to record the voices. The doll that you click on gets a red marker above it because you will see which one is active. The microphone records when you start talking, and then the active doll moves it´s mouth. You can always switch to another doll while recording. Then click on it and the cursor moves. That way, it looks as if the puppets talk to each other. You can move the puppets across the stage and resize them while recording.

The best thing about the program is that the voices are distorted. You can change settings so that the voices are made lighter or darker if you are not satisfied with how it sounds. You can do this even when you are finished recording. The kids think this is great fun! It also means that they do not think it is such a bad thing to hear themselves. It sounds so totally different!

The version I use is free. It works just fine! The only negative is that the recording time is limited to 30 seconds. Want to make a longer movie, you record several sequences and cut them together in an editing program. If you buy the paid version for 28 SEK you get 90 seconds of recording.

The finished clips can be sent directly to Facebook or YouTube. You need to have paid version in order to save for your album

Lena Söderlund