I selected GoAnimate as the Web2.0 tool to review from amongst one hundred other Web 2.0 tools listed in http://www.onlinedegree.net/100-essential-2-0-tools-for-teachers/. I spent exactly two hours on it - from my first login to the website to creating my first ever animation video that runs 37 seconds. My animation was about two characters meeting for the first time at a Starbucks coffee shop. The story came easy to me because it the story of the first time my wife and I met. My animation sequence consisted of thirteen scenes. For each scene I created, I could choose to select from amongst multiple characters, different background scenes, different props such as such as table, chairs, flower vases. I chose a background score from our personal music collection, to run from the start to the end of the animation. The pictures below are some of the scenes from my animation video.
I was just thrilled to see how sleek the animation video turned out, with all the scenes flowing into each other like a professionally created animation. I'm going to bet my wife will be delighted watching it. I hope she likes the choice of colors I chose for her character. If she doesn't, GoAnimate lets you create your own characters, so I can go back and get her to pick her own colors, choice of dress and the look.
GoAnimate lives up to its mission flawlessly. In the About us section in the website it states, "
We believe everyone has good stories to tell. However, for the majority of us, the tools that are available for us to express ourselves are very limited. GoAnimate is founded to provide an outlet for everyone's creativities and ideas"
When you log in to their website, you might be tempted to click on Create and get started immediately. I would however recommend to start with their two minute tutorial. It is a very animated tutorial in the real sense. An animated instructor guides you through how to select characters, the background, conversation boxes and the music from the left panel and use it on the right panel where each scene of the animation is being created. The best part of the tutorial, is that the animated instructor will not move the tutorial forward, unless you try out each action the tutorial is asking you to take.
The tutorial demonstrates how to apply actions, movements and facial expressions to the character. This gives you the options to decide for each character, if they should sit, stand, talk on the phone, move a prop and many other actions that humans perform. I used the basic account within GoAnimate which is free to users. One of the most useful features in the free version was that within each scene, I could move every single object or character round to a different position within the room or background. In the image with the dining table with the flower vase, the wine bottle and the food, I could move the flower vase to different positions on the table or even keep it hanging in the air. Can creating animation be any easier ?
GoAnimate allows you to download a digital watermarked version of the animation video that you can share among friends, upload to YouTube or impress your near and dear ones on Facebook. If you want a non watermarked version, you will need to apply for a commercial license with GoAnimate, which will have a fee.
They have a plus account, which is a paid account. I have not tested this out. However, GoAnimate's company blog, indicates it has very rich features such as text to speech(characters will say out what you type), image upload(where you can upload your own images to use as characters) and also videos uploads to merge with your animation video if you really want to be mix things up.
While I wait for feedback from my wife, feel free to comment on my blog or use GoAnimate to create your own animation. Let your creative juices flow!.
That's very cool tool. I love this kind of art style, and it seems you can customize your characters in this one. The result from the video clip you did seem decent enough to use in professional world. Thanks for the share!
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