Video is an invaluable social tool for personal and business engagement. But, like almost any creative endeavor, it isn’t easy to do. Adobe has the brand to do something different with its just announced Adobe Voice. The app is only available for the iPad, and it may look and feel like a cross between Keynote, Powerpoint and any number of “journaling” applications however, this is Adobe and the company has the brand and pedigree to make its application resonate with passionately creative people.
And while Adobe needs passionately creative people, it also needs a generation of solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who have grown up feeling that creativity is an essential part of personal growth and happiness.
And, increasingly, social media applications like Vine and Instagram, following on from YouTube, are making visual expression the dominant force in engagement.
Whether you are looking for personal or business success you need to master video messaging. It can be fun but it is also very challenging. A new generation of people is growing up with a great deal of comfort with video communications. Adobe Voice may just become the Notepad default for creativity in this realm and once it is available across other platforms, it could be a powerful business tool, too.
Death to .ppt files. Couldn’t happen soon enough.
Here is an excerpt from Adobe’s announcement today:
Adobe Voice breathes new life into static presentation formats by including a user’s voice and leveraging Adobe’s award-winning technology. Specifically designed for the mobile experience, this new app features an easy-to-use interface and professional-grade production technology that makes crafting a clear, engaging and impressive animated video fun for everyone. Key features include:
— Story starters and example videos to draw users into the experience with an inspirational video feed from the community; and a “wheel” of story ideas to provide helpful prompts that give meaningful structure right from the first click.
— Beautiful graphics that can be added from a library of over 25,000 professionally designed icons, millions of images on the Web or a user’s own photos.
— A cutting-edge graphics engine inspired by Adobe’s market-leading After Effects tool that automatically applies cinematic graphics to a story in real time, including motion blur, 3D, shadows and hundreds of other professional quality effects.
— Animated themes, specially designed for all kinds of stories that can dynamically apply animation effects and make content come to life, from a dusty chalkboard drawing style to animated watercolor that looks like you’re literally painting images on screen. With just a single tap, selections can be made to make videos visually interesting.
— A selection of music to help set the right mood for the message and automatically balance with the Adobe Voice recording to make it seem like it was captured in a professional sound booth.
— A credits and attribution page that is automatically added to the end of all videos to ensure that every Creative Commons icon or image used is accounted for, so users don’t have to worry about usage rights.
