Video presentations created with traditional methods like Power Point might be obsolete.As the latest trends in marketing show a huge demand for engaging visual content , images and videos are being consumed with ease.
Pow Toon is an online application for animated video presentations.
Let’s see , excited I stepped inside this beautiful website , I chose a template right away and entered the editor.
How it Works
Movie / Slideshow
On the left side at the top you can select either a movie or a slideshow.The movie plays from start to finish while the slideshow stops whenever there is a change so you have to press the button again.
Underneath is the slide area.
You can insert slides , one after the other.You can drag and drop these slides in order to change the sequence , copy , duplicate or use other functions.
The Play Buttons
The bigger light blue button plays the whole movie while the small one plays only one slide.
By double clicking on a slide you automatically insert it into the screen.
Middle Screen – Working Canvas
On the canva we put the elements we want to work on.Slide by slide.
There is a Zoom button to control your layout.
Timeline
Under the canva is the timeline divided into seconds.With two buttons (+ -) we set the length of each slide.
When we touch an element on the canva … the timeline shows its length.This is very convenient as you can define the length of each element , therefore producing transition effects.Additionally you set when an item appears on the screen.
We can choose from preset templates on each slide , insert them on the canva and we can change each element with new from the right side of this panel.
A very handy button under the timeline is the hold (red) , when pressed it stops the progress bar.
Right Side – Library
Search function
Change style of the movie or slideshow
- Picto style
- Soho
- Marketer Kit
- Marker style
- Infographic
- Don & Betty
- Pixel
- Groovy
- Neighbourhood
- Mission Pack
- Elastic
- Papercut
- Cartoon
- Metro
- Retro
- Label
and more..
Features
- Text (with effects)
- Image (with holders)
- Characters
- Animation
- Props
- Backgrounds
- Markers
- Action Buttons
- Shapes
- Transitions
- Video (you can upload video into the console)
- Canvas
- Sound (you can choose from the sound library or upload any file from your computer)
You can additionally get Voice Over from Voice Bunny as they recommend or from any other source.Or you can record your own voice right into the application.
The text can be inserted with effects , you can change the size , font and other settings.
Any image can be opened separately in a new photo editor to apply various effects and enhancements like
- Clyde , Avenue , Arizona
- San Carmen , Ventura
or you can edit by
- crop
- resize
- lighting
- colour
- sharpness
- focus
- vigrette
- whiten
- red eye
Or you can put them into frames (various styles).The catalogue here is extended offering a great variety of solutions.
I did not expect to find such a detailed photo editor into an online video maker.
The more you practise the better you become and the more addicted I guess.
Now don’t shoot me on the head , it is my first video ever
Pricing
Free membership
- Basic Slides
- No download available (you can export in You-Tube)
- No commercial rights
- 10 tunes of royalty free music
- 11 free styles
- Mac length – Up to 5 mins
Pro – $89/month or $19/month billed annually
- Slides Pro
- Remove watermark
- Privacy
- HD download
- Commercial rights for your business only
- Premium Support
- 20 tunes
- 18 styles
- Max length – 15 mins
Business $197/month or $59/month annually
- All of the Pro features plus
- FULL HD download
- 3rd party transfer rights
- Unlimited music
- 24 styles
- Max lenght – 60 mins
Tutorials
The developers offer some basic tutorials on the matter.They are very useful despite the fact that they are very short and they are not getting into many details.
Examples
- Kickstart your awesomeness
- Use the PowToon Library
- How to master the timeline
- The menu panel
Marketplace
There is an option to Hire a PowToon-ist to create video for you.
- Grow animation studios
- SUTV
- Russ Law
- Yen Li
- Carl Kwan
- Bruce Graham
- Creaninmate
These toonists present some of their samples and their contact details.
Classroom and Webinars
There are some classrooms you can attend for free to get familiar with the application.
Moreover the founder , Ari , is sending emails , sometimes announcing webinars or other educational events.I did not participate in any of these tutorials so I can’t express any opinion.
Jobs
They are looking for partners
- Full stack web team leader
- Marketing director
- Pow Toon movie maker
- UX expert & Junior product manager
All jobs in Israel – Tel Aviv.
Blog
Topics like
- Increase audience engagement
- Prepare students for the real world
- How a short animated video instantly catches the attention
- How to make a book trailer for free
E-Book – The Power of Cartoon Marketing
This is a Free resource you can download right here.
Final Take
I will be using this application during the next days to fully understand its value and functions and I will create more videos that I am going to share here.That first video is a mini project on the fly just to show you how it works.
PROS
It is a valuable resource to create really awesome presentations and mini videos.
A very easy to use application although creating videos is not an easy task.That short 1+ minute video took me over 2 hours to complete.
The great characters , animated elements , props and all the effects make the app really powerful.
Another important factor is that the program runs pretty fast with no delays.I could not believe I was creating videos so easily on my small 11″ notebook.
The features and video effects are enough to create complete cartoon-ish animations.
I really love those kind of videos , you can send your marketing message really fast including variety of photos and other media , and I believe this is what can make you stand out of the competition.
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CONS
On the other hand it sounds like the Free membership is very limited and of course it has the watermark of PowToon.
The pro packages are expensive unless you go for the annual price.
You can set the length of an element on seconds and half seconds.This way you can’t synchronize with music perfectly.
I highly recommend you to try PowToon in order to see if it suits your needs.Times have changed as we discussed and online visitors need quality content , preferably in visual format.
The web is getting fuelled with beautiful apps like this one.Now everything can be done online , would you imagine that 10 years ago?
Other Video Applications I Use
Related Resources
- The Ultimate List of Multimedia Resources
- How to make money online selling arts & multimedia
- How to make money online as a designer
I hope you enjoyed another article , here on Web Market Support.I am waiting for your comments and thoughts and … don’t forget to come without a gun in your pocket.I am not a video creator (not yet..?.. who knows?)…Till next time , your online partner
Download Royalty Free videos
This has got to be the most useful article I’ve seen in a while. This PowToon thing is LEGIT and it gives more the reasons to pump out more videos! LOVE it!
Hey, have you ever used these for promoting your own brand? What kind of response do you get from fans? I think it would be cool if I made some sort of music video clip out of animation 🙂
Matt TheDopestMatrix
Welcome back Matt.You are so kind and I can clearly see you excited.
Like you , I am just starting out in the world of video so I am testing apps and software.
This idea to create music clip with animation sounds so great as I am also a music producer.I have not published anything yet but I have a few songs ready so I am looking forward to create my first clip too.Good luck with your music and videos.
Thank you for another visit and for taking the time to discuss.Cheers
Hi Tasos. Just what I have been needing. I so wanted to watch your video now but my kids have JUST fallen asleep and if I play anything now they will come to “help” me work.
I have recently started with video blogging and I am loving it, but of course my videos are not very professionally done. I just wing it!
I have been wanting to start trying to do video editing so this will be fun!
Signing up now for the free membership and I hope it works well for me. Who knows maybe next year I can upgrade and become a real pro at it!
Welcome back Lynne , I like your spirit , you set goals and you are active.It sounds great that you started video blogging.What kind of videos are?..are you speaking in front of the camera?
For example I have a problem with my accent , as a Greek my voice has nothing to do with English.I would feel embarrassed if I had to talk on the camera.But who knows , may be one day I will get over it.
This tool is awesome and the free membership is more than enough for a start.I wish you good luck with your video projects and take care of your kids.Thank you for visiting my blog and participating in the conversation.
Wow you have so many great web marketing tools on your website. Never heard of PowToon maker until now, but it looks like it’s one very thorough tool, but maybe a bit too advanced for me. I’ve used Animoto before, which I thought was great and very easy to use. But lets say I wanted to learn more on learning how to create free animated videos. Do you have any recommendations on where I can learn to better use a tool like PowToon Maker or is this mainly recommended for graphic designers? It would be so useful in my own online marketing venture and I think would really come down to how experienced you grow with these tools overtime!
Welcome back Pete , I am glad you found this tool interesting.And as I am using it I am getting familiar and I think it is a really great solution for mini videos.
There are some tutorials on their website that I recommend you to watch.They are short but they cover all the important features.I am sure that if you practice all along you will get better.It is not a tool only for graphic designers.
The most important element is the timeline and that is divided into slides.When you work on a project you have the ability to mark (point with mouse) any object and set start and end time.You can play one slide at a time as a loop and watch it till you find your perfect timing.This is very important in case you use music or voice over.We want the objects synchronized with audio if possible.
Practice 30 minutes per day , not to get overwhelmed.In any case I will prepare a video (hopefully soon) explaining the whole process in details.
Thank you for this visit and your support.I wish that you find this tool useful.Good luck.If you have any question , even a simple one , I am here.Cheers.