Both PhotoStory and Animoto have their advantages and depending on why you are creating a video factors into which program you would choose. PhotoStory is a completely free download to your computer but with Animoto, there is a subscription fee if users want to create movies longer than 30 seconds. Animoto is a web-based application. Both programs allows users to import their photos. One trick I learned several years ago and I have taught it to my students, is very simple but not many people think of it. Powerpoint slide shows can be saved as jpegs and then imported into a photostory, just like a photograph. This will work in Animoto also. I like the advantage to set the start and end point of a photo in PhotoStory. That way I can eliminate any parts of unedited photos I do not want to display. I can rotate and crop photos. Being able to adjust how many seconds you want a photo to display is also a plus. Animoto does not have this option. Users can add text to photos and they can also choose the style of the font—another plus. Users are also able to add effects to a photo like sepia, washout, or watercolor. I did not find any of these features in Animoto. Photos need to be completely edited prior to uploading into Animoto. Users can add text in Animoto which appears between photos as the movie plays. Both programs have music in them. PhotoStory allows users to create computer generated music while Animoto has a database for free music available for use. In both, users can upload their own music. In PhotoStory users can add narration, which I did with my photostory example, but it did not appear to be an option in my Animoto version or at least not in the plus plan that I could see. There is no time limit in PhotoStory but if you are using the free version of Animoto, there is a limit of 30 seconds. I did like the layout board better in Animoto. Seeing all the photos on one screen in a grid allowed me to rearrange the order more easily than in the scrolling bar at the bottom of the PhotoStory screen. Both are good options for creating multimedia but it all comes down to the users purpose for use and preference for available features. I will use Animoto to publize the current book award nominees in the upcoming school year and I will probably have the students try it out but for finished research productions, I think I will probably stick with PhotoStory as I like the functionality better.
PhotoStory Example
Animoto Example
Great blog entry... I have not began on my animoto project, but I really learned a lot from your blog entry. I will reply again when I have compared them both.
ReplyDeleteI found that Photo Story had more user controls compared to Animoto. I haven't looked at all of the controls avail if you purchase the Pro series of Animoto. I agree with the options to crop photos in Photo Story is a better compared to Animoto. With my presentation, the cropping in Photo Story created a better impact of the instructional points.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your insight on the two tools in this blog. Thanks!
Great job on the videos. On my Animoto project I used the same number of photos to show the timing issue with creating the same type of presentation. I think I could have used a camcorder and used the still shot function to include more frames of motion in my presentation. Your presentation gave me a better look on how Animoto could be better utilized in education. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAfter trying both programs now, I realize the limitations of Animoto. As David mentioned, the lack of being able to put "emphasis" on a certain part of the photo is a little detrimental to the educational use of Animoto. However, Photostory 3 is an amazing little piece of free software from Microsoft. I did not know about PS3 until now and am chomping at the bit to get to use it in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI am in complete agreement with the number of limitations that Animoto has. Photo Story could stand to possible update their "look" but the overall functionality was much easier. Thanks for sharing your pottery lesson.
ReplyDeleteVery informational post. I agree with you as well as everyone who commented. We can do so many different things with PS3 to put our own personal touch on the video we are making. I read on Animoto that the reason they make it so simple is so people focus on the material rather than the transitions or coloring or font of the words like in PS3. I like the professionalism and simplicity of Animoto but like the personal aspects of PS3 more so.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post! Very imformative! What a great way to share and teach something I agree that the Animoto is nice and does a nice job presenting but the amount of information and audio you can add in the Photo Story 3 is more useful for teaching.
ReplyDeleteWow, lots of great info!!! Very nice tips too! The videos are great!! Using Animoto for publication's a great idea. Last semester a year book coordinator used it for recruiting.
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