The time consuming pencil drawings and attention to detail would have been non existent! Perhaps some things cannot be rushed..... however in today's fast moving world where the deadline is always yesterday and the customer is always right and wants more for less - Powtoon is on hand to help. So what is this new form of presentation software that turns the novice into artist within minutes, well according to my on line guru, Wikipedia:
PowToon is a company which sells cloud- based software for creating animated presentations and animated explainer videos.
Founded in January 2012, the company released a beta version in August 2012 and has seen fast subscriber growth since. In December 2012 PowToon secured $600, 000 investment from LA based Venture Capital firm Startup Minds. In February 2013 PowToon introduced a free account option allowing users to create animated videos that can be exported to YouTube. The free videos include the PowToon branding.
PowToon is Web-baed animation software that allows users to create animated presentations manipulating pre-created objects, imported images, provided music and user created voice-overs. Powtoon uses an Apache Flex engine to generate an XML file that can be played in the PowToon online viewer, exported to YouTube or downloaded as as MP4 file.
So, thanks to Wikipedia, we now know what PowToon is...... but, how does it work? As a starter for 10, users of PowToon, novices if you will, can customise a ready made online presentation (no copywrite issues here..). Simply replace the texts and images with their own. Timing, backgrounds and animations have already been made for you. Thus in laymans terms, in under 5 minutes, which is how long it will take to throw a presentation together, you can boast your very own unique PowToon presentation, quick and easy and complete with animated cartoon characters - Dream Works... watch your back!!
Now that youre already feeling epic! let's take it a step further. Let us look at a quick You Tube video clip, a tutorial on "How To" create PowToon animated presentation.
PowToon is a company which sells cloud- based software for creating animated presentations and animated explainer videos.
Founded in January 2012, the company released a beta version in August 2012 and has seen fast subscriber growth since. In December 2012 PowToon secured $600, 000 investment from LA based Venture Capital firm Startup Minds. In February 2013 PowToon introduced a free account option allowing users to create animated videos that can be exported to YouTube. The free videos include the PowToon branding.
PowToon is Web-baed animation software that allows users to create animated presentations manipulating pre-created objects, imported images, provided music and user created voice-overs. Powtoon uses an Apache Flex engine to generate an XML file that can be played in the PowToon online viewer, exported to YouTube or downloaded as as MP4 file.
So, thanks to Wikipedia, we now know what PowToon is...... but, how does it work? As a starter for 10, users of PowToon, novices if you will, can customise a ready made online presentation (no copywrite issues here..). Simply replace the texts and images with their own. Timing, backgrounds and animations have already been made for you. Thus in laymans terms, in under 5 minutes, which is how long it will take to throw a presentation together, you can boast your very own unique PowToon presentation, quick and easy and complete with animated cartoon characters - Dream Works... watch your back!!
Now that youre already feeling epic! let's take it a step further. Let us look at a quick You Tube video clip, a tutorial on "How To" create PowToon animated presentation.
Of course, rather than relying on an off the shelf presentation, you may also start from scratch, a blank canvas for your very own creation - a whitewashed sisteen chapel ceiling and you the Michaelangelo.
Now that we understand the What and How, lets review the who? Who is the target audience, This is what Ilya Spitalnik , the Co founder and CEO of PowToon would have us believe:
"As a marketing tool, a cartoon encourages you to lower your guard and stop asking grown up questions like, "Do I like this packaging"? "Am I familiar with this brand"? "Do I have any prior experience with this vendor"?. This is where cartoons become such a powerful marketing tool. You're speaking to the audience via a channel they're conditioned to associate with fun and childhood (most definately not business and sales - so their guard is down and they're massively more receptive)
The level of abstraction allows them to focus on the message rather than petty details, so that they can actually evaluate real benefit"
Spitalnik goes further and suggests that PowToon is not only a powerful marketing tool but also brag that the software suits the following platforms:
*Small and Medium Business Owners
*Corporate Executives and Managers
*Video Marketing enthusiasts
*Web Business Owners
*Internet Marketeers
*Church Leaders
*Professionals
*Consultants
*Bloggers
*Trainers
*Students
*You!
So lets put this to the test! I have set my timer at 5 minutes, lets see what I, a complete newbee and novice can create using PowToon?
So lets put this to the test! I have set my timer at 5 minutes, lets see what I, a complete newbee and novice can create using PowToon?
So there you have it, My meagre attempt at a PowTown Presentation. In actual fact this presentation took 6 minutes 28 seconds to create.... longer than hoped but all things considered not bad at all - what a fabulous tool! talking of fabulous, now would be a good time to grasp the nettle and review what I consider the pros and cons of this software:
PROS
*Lots of features
*Tons of Ready made Features
*User Friendly
*Allows you to share presentations with the public
*supports rich text editing
*Free basic funtions for ever
* 2 days free premium upgrade
*easy to master
*Categorized Music Tracks
*Records Voiceover
CONS
*Several options and features are only available if you upgrade
*Presentations aren't saved automatically(Grrrrrrr)
*Unable to save offline version of the presentation
*Interface can seem cluttered
*Viewing someone elses presentation takes a while to load
* To view, your device must support flash player
*High business account costs $197 a month
Before I throw in my ten pence worth why not read what Stacy Fisher wrote about PowToon in her review in 2015:
"If you are looking for a quick way to find some nice presentation templates & a whole gallery of images that are instantly accessible for use on slides, Powtoon is a really nice choice - probably better than any other presentation maker. Good for a school or similar whereas google slides fits not only this criteria but also for professional presentations that require a cleaner sharp look"
The Final word
I'm afraid I completely concurr with Fisher. Methinks that PowToon has its place, but the professional business or marketing forum is not it, unless your target audience is pre puberty.
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