Introduction: How to Create an MTV-like Music Video W/ Photos in 5 Mins
A few of us computer geeks and tv/film producers locked ourselves in a room for a year and set out to build a tool to help people out there save people like us from "death by slideshows". (Plus we think slideshows are so 1992.)
So we built animoto.com. Think of it as a little black box filled with film & TV producers, tech nerds, robots, and indie rockers. You basically put your photos and a piece of music in one end, shake it up, and a photo music video pops out the other end -- all magically orchestrated to the music and with professional post-production technique.
And it only takes a few steps. The robots pretty much do all the hard work. And creating Shorts (30 second videos) is free. You can make, remix, and share as many as you want.
You need three things:
1. Digital photos or images
2. Some Music (although you can also choose from their library)
3. Computer w/ Internet Connection
http://www.animoto.com
Create a video HERE or click on the steps above for more details.
Here a DEMO VIDEO.
Here a 60 second overview of what the black box technology does:
Step 1: Get Your Images
First, choose the type of video you want to create. Either (1) an Animoto Short or (2) a Full-Length Extended Video. An Animoto Short is 30-seconds or less and is free. Full-length videos require a credit.
You can either UPLOAD images from your computer or RETRIEVE them from another site.
When you choose to UPLOAD images from you computer, use your CTRL or SHIFT key to choose multiple photos from your browser.
When RETRIEVING images from another site, choose from Flickr, Facebook, Smugmug, Picasa, or Photobucket to import from. You will be asked to GRANT ACCESS to allow Animoto to access your photo albums. Then, choose the album you want to animate.
Once your project is populated with your images, you can add/delete, drag to rearrange, rotate,or "spotlight" the ones you want to emphasize in your video.
Step 2: Get Your Music.
You can either SELECT a song from the Animoto collection or UPLOAD one from your computer.
If you choose to SELECT a song from Animoto, you will be asked to choose a genre of music. You will then be given a list of soundtracks which you can preview, learn more about and/or select for your music video. Once you select a song, use the slider tool to choose the entry point of the song.
Step 3: Finalize Your Video
Finalize your video by entering the video information that will appear as credits at the end of the video -- video title, video description, your name. Then click CREATE VIDEO .
Step 4: Voila!
After a few minutes, voila! You will receive an email with a link to your music video!
Review and if you want to put your images and music back through the render engine again to see what Animoto comes up with, just click the REMIX button and choose ONE-CLICK REMIX.
If you want to edit the photo selection or music, click the REMIX button and choose EDITING REMIX.
You now have your own personal music video!
