Animoto is a web-based application that enables you to mash-up your photos and music to make short, high quality vidoes that can be downloaded to your desktop, emailed, or embedded into other sites. The basic service is free and allows you to create an unlimited number of 30-second videos, e.g. movie trailer or teaser length. You also have the option of paying $3 to create a single full-length video or you can pay $30 a year to create an unlimited amount of videos. If you're a Mac user think of Animoto as iMovie amped up.
Using the application is easy. You add images either from your desktop or from another web-based application such as Flickr, Facebook, and Picasa, select the music, finalize the production and you're good to go. Short videos, e.g. movie trailer or teaser length, use approximately 12 to 15 images and you can select music from the Animoto library or upload your own.
I can see the short videos being used in conjunction with a presentation as a way to generate interest in a topic. This could ber especially powerful as a promotional tool, e.g "Wouldn't you like to go here/do this?" and as a reflective tool, e.g. images taken along the way to completing a project.
Leave a comment