I love sharing photos of my family with other family members and friends, both near and far. It’s easy enough to e-mail photos to other people, or give them access to your Photobucket or Flickr accounts. However I like to take things one step further. I love making “movies” with my photos.
I use different video making programs. Some are easier then others. I honestly prefer the easier programs. As a busy mom I don’t always have time to dedicate to putting together an elaborate video presentation. I rather just upload the photos I want to work with and have the program assist me in making the best possible video with little or no effort on my part.
Animoto is a great choice for those who like to make movies of their photos quickly and easily. You can let the program create something for you or do all the work yourself. It’s up to you.
The hardest part to making a video is deciding what photos to use. I would recommend you set up a folder on your desk top and keep the photos you want to make into a video in that folder. That way you don’t have to search through your computer and CDs to find the photos you want to use. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. I was asked to make a video of our dog Espn (pronounced “Es-Pin”) for a PetSmart campaign a while back. All of Espn’s photos were all over the place – on my lap top, desk top, CD’s and three different external hard drives. It took me a long time to find the photos. Thankfully they are all in one folder so the next time I need them I know where to find them.
After you have gathered up the photos you want to use all you need to do is log into your Animoto account and choose the type of video you want to make. There are several different options to choose from.
Here is teh video I made for our dog.
After you have selected your video background you have to upload the photos you wish to use. I found uploading the photos to be a very quick process. Sometimes uploading photos, especially numerous photos at the same time, can be time consuming. I found this process to be quick and easy.
Once your photos have been uploaded you will next have the option to “tweak” the video by adding text, changing the background music and a few other options.
When you feel like you have the video the way you want it you can preview it before processing it into a video. If you are pleased with how the video turned out you can share it with family and friends.
The actual processing time seemed to drag on for a long time with the video that I made for Espn. I would have to “guesstimate” that it took about 20 minutes. Thankfully I was able to work on my computer during that time by opening up a different browser. The time it took to process wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t anxious to see the final version. Sometimes I have an issue with being patient. Ha Ha.
Without further adieu here is the Espn video that I made. YouTube added the ad (not Animoto). Just click the “x” on the ad to dismiss it. Sorry about that. 
If you happen to have the volume on your computer you can hear the background music too.
I actually uploaded about 40+ pictures. I guess there was a limit of photos for this video that I was unaware of because the video only showed less then half of the ones I uploaded. That is OK. It turned out pretty good.
Overall I am pleased with the Animoto program. It is incredibly easy to figure out and to use. If you are “technologically challenged” like I am sometimes (ha ha) you will have no problem creating high quality videos using the Animoto program.
You can also include clips from other videos into your Animoto video. Unfortualy I have nothing handy to play around with.
To learn more about Animoto please visit www.Animoto.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Animoto is a subscription based program. You can use Animoto for free, but you have very limited options and can only make 30 second videos. For $30/year you can get the plus plan. For all the “bells and whistles” you can upgrade to the Pro plan $39/mo or $249/year. For the casual user the plus plan ($30/year) is perfectly fine.
Animoto even has an iPhone application.
Animoto would like to give FIVE lucky readers a FREE one year Plus membership ($30 value). Thank you Animoto!
This giveaway is open to everyone and will end on December 18, 2012 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winners will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winners will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
To enter please visit Animoto.com and check out the sample videos and features. Then come back here and comment on what type of video do you think you would like to create with Animoto.
For extra entries you can use the Rafflecopter widget (below) but you must complete the intitial entry requirement or the additional entries won’t qualify.
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
The post Animoto Review & Giveaway (ends 12/18/12) appeared first on She Scribes.
