Sometimes, with web video, speed is of the essence.
You’re in a hurry and need to knock out a web video quickly to support a sales page that’s going live. You don’t have time to prepare a script, shoot and edit a video in the normal way; what do you do?
Don’t fear, as help is at hand in the form of ever-smarter programs that make quick web videos a breeze – they can do it all in a few clicks.
We take a look at two of the best ones below – Animoto and Xtranormal.
Animoto – www.animoto.com
The Animoto tag line says it all – “fast, free and shockingly easy.”
It’s a program that allows you to make great-looking slide videos in minutes. Animoto has an easy-to-use interface and allows anyone to create a simple video using one of the templates it provides.
The motion graphics incorporated into the templates would take a professional video maker a long time to put together; the beauty of Animoto is that anyone can put a professional looking, high impact video together, simply by clicking here and there. No prior video-making expertise is required at all.
The interface allows you to choose a template, upload images, logos, slides, or even short video clips; you then place them in the order you want them to appear, add titles and text and choose a royalty-free soundtrack from the music library or upload from your own.
It then creates a slide video out of it. After it’s all done you can go back and edit it and change it around.
The limited text space for each slide forces you to be concise so it can be a great tool for getting a punchy sales message across.
Animoto is free for a 30 second video; for longer videos you can pay per video or you can arrange an annual subscription. It’s perfect for high-impact sales slide videos that can accompany a sales page text, for instance.
Xtranormal – www.xtranormal.com
Xtranormal is probably used more for personal videos than business but it’s a great way to add a touch of humour to your quick web videos.
You have probably seen an Xtranormal video without knowing it, as a few of their videos have gone viral on YouTube.
There were some made about the US Federal Reserve that were very popular and also there was the iPhone 4 vs HTC Evo videos that had multiple millions of views – please do not click on the link if you are offended by swearing: this particular one uses X-rated language!
Xtranormal provides a free service and a paid service; the concept is “if you can type you can make a movie”. It works by writing a script which XTranormal will turn into an animation; you choose the characters and it animates the script and provides audio.
If you need quick web videos consider the above two programs. For all other video advice, from choosing video equipment to setting it up, shooting and editing, great tips are found throughout the Lights, Camera, Profits! workshop DVD. In fact there is absolutely no “fluff” in these DVDs – it’s all must-know content! Click here to learn more about it.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. Animoto slide videos. It sounds interesting. I find slide videos with background music appealing and for easy viewing As they comprise mainly of images and short/concise text, I as a viewer am able to focus on the message of the video more while appreciating every part of it.
I have tried my hand on creating Animoto videos and I had fun doing those.
It is really easy to use especially if you already have an outline of what you want to see on those slides.