Animoto
Animoto goes under the banner "the end of slideshows" -- and justifies it by offering entirely automatic slideshow generation from uploaded images and music. Animoto analyses both the images and the music before generating one of its slick video presentations. Simple to use, it has proven to be a great hit on the Internet, enabling many thousands of users to make slide shows from their images stored on Flickr (or other photo-sharing sites), then upload them to YouTube with a click of a button.
To get the best results, users need to "tell a story" by taking plenty of images that form a kind of narrative. Instead of trying to capture individual moments, users should aim at capturing a whole experience, whether it be a trip to the coast, a walk in the park or a visit to Disneyland. This is because the "brains" behind Animoto is what its developers call "Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology" which takes account of the structure, rhythm, instrumentation and other qualities of the song or instrumental music chosen to accompany the images. It uses dozens of neat editing tricks, like duplication of images, on-screen displacement, cuts and fades, to match the mood and pace of the soundtrack.
The end result is a professional-looking music video, no two of which are ever the same. You can even use a different choice of music with the same set of images to create videos that are entirely dissimilar in their impact.
Comment
Sometimes cited as a classic "Web 2.0" application that maximizes the use of "cloud computing" resources, Animoto adds a slick, professional look to a sequence of slide show images. The program is both time-saving and fun to use.
As its developers point out, it makes YouTube a potential showcase for people who prefer to take only digital stills rather than movies. It was the winner of the Film/TV category at the 2008 SXSW Interactive Festival (2008.sxsw.com).
Tech info
- OS: multiplatform
- Price level: (Basic level) FREE; (All access pass) $30; (Professional use) $250
Animoto Productions
Company quote: "Animoto Productions is a bunch of techies and film/tv producers who decided to lock themselves in a room together and nerd out." Among Animoto's founders are veterans of the entertainment industry who have produced shows for MTV. The company is based in New York City.
From the same vendor:
- Animoto Facebook App
- Animoto iPhone App
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