LEGO Studios

LEGO Studios was a LEGO theme that focused on stop-motion animation and filmmaking. Sets in the line were released from 2000 to 2002. The flagship set, 1349 LEGO Studios Steven Spielberg MovieMaker Set, including a special LEGO webcam and proprietary software that included stop-motion capture, timeline editing, and sound recording and editing.

History
In the late 1990s, The LEGO Group were entering into a financial slump. Sales of traditional toys were down, and LEGO were feeling threatened by more technologically advanced toys and the increasing presence of computers in homes. They began an effort to diversify their product range, and one area they focused on was combination of LEGO with technology and computer interaction.

A 1997 visit to Disney Studios in America by LEGO designer Rick Siegrist later inspired Siegrist to create the first concepts for a movie-related LEGO line, which he presented to the company. When development of a movie making LEGO product began, LEGO wished to partner with an established filmmaker, and presented the concept to Steven Spielberg. Spielberg had previously had the idea to make a toy product that would make filmmaking accessible to kids but had never gotten to the point of partnering with a company to develop it, so he was happy to partner with LEGO. Reportedly, Spielberg had a lot more input than simply lending his name.