Austin, TX., March 10, 2008 - Animoto (
animoto.com), the web application that lets users quickly and easily create personalized, professional-quality videos from their own photos and music,
today launched an application for Facebook, introducing a new powerful
alternative to traditional online photo slideshows. The new Animoto Videos
application lets Facebook users automatically produce high-impact 30-second
music videos from their library of photos. Users feature their favorite
Animoto video on their profile as their ":30 Spot" for friends to view and
comment. The application was introduced today at the SXSW Interactive
Festival, a leading festival targeting Web technology innovators and
digital creatives from across the globe, where Animoto won the SXSW Web
Award last night in the "Film/TV" category.
":30 Spots introduce an amazingly rich form of self-expression on
Facebook," said Brad Jefferson, CEO and Co-founder of Animoto. "Facebook is
reported to be the most-trafficked photo application in the world, and
Animoto Videos makes viewing those photos much more exciting and engaging
for Facebook users."
Similar to the functionality also available for free on Animoto.com,
the Animoto Videos application uses high-end motion design and
music-analyzing technology to automatically create videos from users'
selected photos and music. Users select up to fifteen photos from one of
their Facebook photo albums, pick a song from Animoto's extensive music
collection, and Animoto takes care of the rest, returning a unique video
orchestration with the visual energy of a music video and the emotional
impact of a movie trailer.
The heart of Animoto is its Cinematic Artificial Intelligence
technology that thinks like an actual director and editor, using the same
sophisticated post-production skills and techniques that are used in
television and film. The technology takes into account every nuance of a
song -- the genre, song structure, energy, rhythm, instrumentation, and
vocals. No two video creations are the same. Even videos generated with an
identical set of images and music will each have a completely distinct set
of motion design.
Jefferson adds, "When determining how best to represent Animoto on
Facebook we simply observed what users of Animoto.com were already doing.
They've perfected the art of using Animoto to tell a 30-second story, and
then they typically share their stories with friends through social network
sites like Facebook. The Animoto Videos application now allows users to do
all that without ever leaving Facebook."
For users looking to do more with their Animoto videos, Animoto.com
allows them to also create full-length videos, embed videos to a blog or
favorite social network site, download to a PC or Mac, upload to video
sharing sites like YouTube, and synchronize videos with mobile devices like
the iPhone. Access to such capabilities on Animoto.com costs $3 per video,
or $30 per year for an All-Access Pass.
Animoto will be at SXSW Interactive, Sunday, March 9 through Tuesday,
March 11, at Stand #717 at the Austin Convention Center. For more
information, see
http://2008.sxsw.com/interactive.
About Animoto
The founders of Animoto Productions include veterans of the
entertainment industry who share a passion for helping people better share
their stories and express themselves through online media by innovating
technologies in the field of video production. Animoto Productions, founded
in August 2006, is based in New York City with an office in San Francisco. They are winners of the 2008 SXSW Web Awards in their Film/TV category.
Visit http://www.animoto.com.
About SXSW Interactive Festival
Scheduled March 7-11 in Austin, Texas, the 2008 SXSW Interactive
Festival provides practical how-to information as well as unparalleled
career inspiration, bringing together some of emerging technology's most
creative thinkers. The event features five days of keynote speeches, more
than 120 panels, the SXSW Web Awards, the iF! Trade Show & Exhibition, the
ScreenBurn Arcade, and dozens of exciting evening events. For more
information on SXSW Interactive,
see http://www.sxsw.com/interactive.
Additional Information
Press Kit:
http://biz.animoto.com/presskit.html
Animoto explained in 60 seconds:
http://animoto.com/learn_more
The Buzz around Animoto:
http://biz.animoto.com/thebuzz.html
The Blog from the guys:
http://blog.animoto.com
