Animoto
Encyclopedia
Animoto is a web application
that produces videos from photos, video clips and music.
Animoto analyzes the provided photos, video clips and music to generate a video similar to a trailer. According to the website, the song is analyzed, producing a unique video every time. The site also claims that no two videos are ever the same.
By November 2009, 1 million users had registered at Animoto. Their iPhone
application has been installed 300,000 times and two million Facebook
users have used the Animoto Facebook application. One year prior,
in August 2008, 250,000 users in 150 countries had been registered with Animoto.com.
About 10% of users who register at the site end up paying money, so the company has had cash flow since October 2008.
Investors of Animoto include Amazon.com
, Spectrum Equity Investors
, Bruce Livingstone
(the founder of iStockphoto
) and Madrona Venture Group.
Some of the founders include former producers at MTV
, VH1
, Comedy Central
& ABC
. Animoto utilizes the post-production skills some of the founding team honed while working in television in order to produce online content that is on-par with content found on TV & in film.
Animoto is based in New York
, with an office in San Francisco.
While attending the SXSW Interactive Festival in March 2008, Animoto launched their own Facebook application. It became a popular way for users to showcase their photos on the social network
.
The Animoto Facebook application experienced so much viral growth in April 2008, that it became one of Amazon Web Services
's cloud computing
success stories. By mid-April, Animoto's Facebook application had nearly 750,000 people sign up in three days. At the peak, almost 25,000 people tried Animoto in a single hour. Amazon Web Services's ability to meet the demand of Animoto's viral Facebook application resulted in Amazon.com
's eventual investment in Animoto. Jeff Bezos
includes Animoto in speeches he gives regarding Amazon Web Services
.
Along with releasing the Animoto Facebook application in March 2008, Animoto was also a YouTube
launch partner for YouTube's API. Animoto was integrated with YouTube, allowing users to export Animoto videos directly to YouTube easily. As of August 2009, nearly 250,000 videos have been uploaded to YouTube.
On June 2008, Animoto introduced DVD-quality upgrades for users, allowing them to watch their videos on a television.
By July 2008, Animoto for Business and Animoto for Education were launched. Animoto for Education gives teachers and students unlimited access to its full-length video making services for free, while Animoto for Business allows for Animoto to be used commercially.
Since an overwhelming number of professional photographers started to use the Animoto for Business product, Animoto for Photography was launched in October 2008 at PhotoPlus
in New York City
. Since launching, Animoto for Photography has attended every national photography convention, including the Professional Photographers of America
's Imaging Conference & WPPI. Animoto for Real Estate is another off-shoot of the commercial product, which officially launched at the Inman Connect Conference in San Francisco in July 2009. Animoto's pro-package is a White-label product.
In June 2009, the Animoto iPhone app was launched, allowing iPhone users to create video using pictures taken on their phone.
In August 2009, Animoto launched the ability to upload video clips, along with still images. This has been the largest advance to the Animoto offering thus far.
In April 2011 the company added functionality for Apple TV and AirPlay users. .
's Click "Top Websites of 2008"; PC Magazine
's "Top 100 Undiscovered Websites of 2008"; TechCrunch
's Crunchies Runner-Up for Best Design
Animoto gained considerable press around the Webby Awards
, not only due to their win, but because of their speech. The Huffington Post placed the Animoto acceptance speech in their top 12 moments of the Webby Awards Ceremony. Animoto's CFO, Nathan Meagher, wore a wig & disrobed to leopard skin tights in front of a surprised audience and Webby Awards
host, Seth Meyers
of SNL fame. Eventually screaming "Thank you, New York.... WOOOOO," (due to the 5 word maximum speech limit at the Webby Awards), Animoto grew considerable attention for the outlandish speech.
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
that produces videos from photos, video clips and music.
Animoto analyzes the provided photos, video clips and music to generate a video similar to a trailer. According to the website, the song is analyzed, producing a unique video every time. The site also claims that no two videos are ever the same.
By November 2009, 1 million users had registered at Animoto. Their iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
application has been installed 300,000 times and two million Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
users have used the Animoto Facebook application. One year prior,
in August 2008, 250,000 users in 150 countries had been registered with Animoto.com.
About 10% of users who register at the site end up paying money, so the company has had cash flow since October 2008.
Investors of Animoto include Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, Spectrum Equity Investors
Spectrum Equity Investors
Spectrum Equity Investors is a Boston-based private equity and venture capital firm founded in 1994. The firm focuses on business services, entertainment, communications, information services, media, and related growth sectors. The firm currently has a capital base of approximately $4.7 billion...
, Bruce Livingstone
Bruce Livingstone
Bruce Livingstone is a Canadian entrepreneur who founded iStockphoto, an online distributor of stock photography. Livingstone started iStockphoto in 2000 as a project offering stock photos for free over the internet. In 2002, high monthly bandwidth bills prodded him to implement a payment/credit...
(the founder of iStockphoto
IStockphoto
iStockphoto is an online, royalty free, international microstock photography provider operating with the micropayment business model. Images cost between 1 and 150 credits, depending on size and image collection .- History :The company was founded by Bruce Livingstone in May, 2000...
) and Madrona Venture Group.
Some of the founders include former producers at MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
& ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Animoto utilizes the post-production skills some of the founding team honed while working in television in order to produce online content that is on-par with content found on TV & in film.
History
Animoto was founded on August 2006, and launched as a website on August 14, 2007.Animoto is based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, with an office in San Francisco.
While attending the SXSW Interactive Festival in March 2008, Animoto launched their own Facebook application. It became a popular way for users to showcase their photos on the social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
.
The Animoto Facebook application experienced so much viral growth in April 2008, that it became one of Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services is a collection of remote computing services that together make up a cloud computing platform, offered over the Internet by Amazon.com...
's cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
success stories. By mid-April, Animoto's Facebook application had nearly 750,000 people sign up in three days. At the peak, almost 25,000 people tried Animoto in a single hour. Amazon Web Services's ability to meet the demand of Animoto's viral Facebook application resulted in Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's eventual investment in Animoto. Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
includes Animoto in speeches he gives regarding Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services is a collection of remote computing services that together make up a cloud computing platform, offered over the Internet by Amazon.com...
.
Along with releasing the Animoto Facebook application in March 2008, Animoto was also a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
launch partner for YouTube's API. Animoto was integrated with YouTube, allowing users to export Animoto videos directly to YouTube easily. As of August 2009, nearly 250,000 videos have been uploaded to YouTube.
On June 2008, Animoto introduced DVD-quality upgrades for users, allowing them to watch their videos on a television.
By July 2008, Animoto for Business and Animoto for Education were launched. Animoto for Education gives teachers and students unlimited access to its full-length video making services for free, while Animoto for Business allows for Animoto to be used commercially.
Since an overwhelming number of professional photographers started to use the Animoto for Business product, Animoto for Photography was launched in October 2008 at PhotoPlus
Photoplus
PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo is an annual event held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Designed for professional and advanced amateur photographers, PhotoPlus displays recent advances in photography through a variety of exhibitions as well as photography and digital design...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Since launching, Animoto for Photography has attended every national photography convention, including the Professional Photographers of America
Professional Photographers of America
This organization was formed in April 1880 as the Photographers Association of America, Inc., by members of the Chicago Photographic Association and the National Photographic Association. The name was changed to Professional Photographers of America, Inc. , in 1958 to distinguish the association...
's Imaging Conference & WPPI. Animoto for Real Estate is another off-shoot of the commercial product, which officially launched at the Inman Connect Conference in San Francisco in July 2009. Animoto's pro-package is a White-label product.
In June 2009, the Animoto iPhone app was launched, allowing iPhone users to create video using pictures taken on their phone.
In August 2009, Animoto launched the ability to upload video clips, along with still images. This has been the largest advance to the Animoto offering thus far.
In April 2011 the company added functionality for Apple TV and AirPlay users. .
Awards
Webby Award winner in the "Best Services & Design" category; Webby Award winner - People's Voice Award in the "Best Services & Design" category; SXSW's Interactive Award in the "Best Film/Website" category; BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Click "Top Websites of 2008"; PC Magazine
PC Magazine
PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...
's "Top 100 Undiscovered Websites of 2008"; TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
's Crunchies Runner-Up for Best Design
Animoto gained considerable press around the Webby Awards
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
, not only due to their win, but because of their speech. The Huffington Post placed the Animoto acceptance speech in their top 12 moments of the Webby Awards Ceremony. Animoto's CFO, Nathan Meagher, wore a wig & disrobed to leopard skin tights in front of a surprised audience and Webby Awards
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
host, Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers
Seth Adam Meyers is an American actor and comedian. He currently serves as head writer for Saturday Night Live and hosts its news parody segment Weekend Update.-Early life:...
of SNL fame. Eventually screaming "Thank you, New York.... WOOOOO," (due to the 5 word maximum speech limit at the Webby Awards), Animoto grew considerable attention for the outlandish speech.