Video-Making Tools
Word Out 2011 has ended and the information on this page may not be up to date for a more current incarnation of Word Out.
No camera? Cat got your tongue? Still want in on the contest?
If you aren’t up for shooting video, don’t despair – you can still enter for prizes by submitting an animated video via YouTube, or you can submit a comic strip to the website. You can use any software you have, or try some of these free online resources we’ve found.
Animation Online
How much you can do for free here is somewhat limited, but you can certainly do enough to create some fun videos for Word Out! Once you sign up for a free account, you can create a custom character to use along with the stock characters available, and the backgrounds and props are easy to tinker with to get the look you want. There’s a nice tutorial to get you started, but this online tool is super-simple to use, and even allows you to upload music and voices if you don’t like the robotic sound of their text-to-voice translation. Here’s a sample plot summary we made of Emily the Strange: Stranger and Stranger.
GoAnimate.com: Emily the Strange: Stranger and Stranger by AliceTPL
Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It’s free and fun!
(Is this taking it’s time loading? You can go take a peek at it on GoAnimate here, too.)
Free Animation Software
Animation software is another totally legit way to go here. If you have something on your computer already, go ahead and use that. If not, here are a couple of free downloads that you can'try.
This animation tool is, by all accounts, professional grade and loaded with features comparable to some other seriously expensive packages, right up to supporting game creation. This all means that it is not designed to be simple to use and easy to learn for an inexperienced person, but this review by a non-pro suggests it’s definitely possible with the help of some online video tutorials that are out there, as well as a great, supportive community of users. CNet also recommends this for advanced users for its fantastic suite of tools and features.
Muvizu is a download pre-loaded with 3D figures to use in creating your movie. The creators tout it as a tool that will make movies in hours rather than weeks, and recommend the community aspect built into their website as a great place to share ideas, get feedback, and learn new tricks from other users. They also host a gallery of videos, if you’d like to show off your work to others. You can find more information on their About page, and download right from their site. Wired has also written up Muvizu as a simpler way to get an animation worth watching.
Comic Strips Online
Bitstrips is a comic creating tool with great flexibility in that you can create custom characters as well as their stock characters, and you can adjust the expressions, body postures, and hand positions of characters to really create what you want. The backgrounds are not as customizable, but there are a bunch available, or drawing tools allow you to build some new things there, as well. There are also different styles of speech bubbles and captions, which can be tweaked. These strips do all have the same cartoony look and feel, though, so some may not enjoy the style.
This programme is easy to use even for complete beginners, and strips may be published for sharing or not, and left open for editing by others or not. This tool is recommended for use at home, as it does require a Flash plugin, and you do need to sign up for a free account, but there is no limit on how much you can do with it.
Here is a sample we created as a snapshot from the book Sarah’s Face, by Melvin Burgess.
Like bitstrips, this comic strip builder is also simple to use and once you sign up for a free account, has no limitations on your use of it. You can also publish it to the world, share with friends, or keep it private. As this site does not require Flash, it is accessible on more computers, as well, which can be a major plus!
The big difference here is in what you can create. This site offers a range of different styles, and within each style, there is a gallery of people to use in your strip, however you can’t always alter them, or can choose only from a selection of poses offered. This means that you may find something that suits your style better, but may find it difficult to make your characters do what you imagined. There is a huge range of backgrounds and props available as well as having different styles, though, so it’s definitely worth playing with.
Here’s a sample we made from Naomi & Ely’s No-Kiss List that shows a handful of different styles:
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