Videos (Thing #14)

As spring rolls around, public librarians everywhere start planning their school visits to pump kids up for Summer Reading Program.  And I start planning my SRP video.

Two years ago, I was splitting my time between two libraries, and just didn't have the time to make school visits at my soon to be library home.  So, I decided to make a SRP promo video instead.  The school media specialist showed it to each of the classrooms at the two elementary schools in our service area.  And it was a hit!  All summer long, kids came into the library, "Hey, you're from that video!"

So, the SRP Youtube video stuck.  Now, instead of hitting a few classrooms here and there, one grade and not another, or one school instead of another, the video gets show to each elementary classroom at the two schools in the last week before school ends.  Having this option removes the logistical nightmare of  my schedule vs. the teachers, cuts back on my time spent, AND (major bonus) guarantees that every child in the service area is reached.  Our SRP numbers have risen each year, and I think it is at least partially attributed to the video.

That said, I was excited to find a new app to spruce up this year's video!

Socialcam
Socialcam was the perfect choice for me to try, because of the lack of time limits. 6, 30, or even 45 seconds isn't enough for my purposes.

Or not... the Socialcam for Android is a major bust.  Apparently its compatibility depends on your Android, but either way it doesn't offer the full featured app that iOS has.  On my Galaxy S4, I couldn't change filters or edit the video after it was taken.  No adding music or tagging people.  Just title, public or private, and share.

As it exists, Socialcam is no different than uploading an uncut video to YouTube.

Thus began my search for a no time limit free video editing/recoring app app.  I tried WeVideo, QikCam, and countless others I can't even remember!  I scoured other 23 Mobile Things MN blogs.  Nothing was doing it.

And then, I looked at what was already on my phone...tadaa!

Samsung Video Editor

With Samsung Video Editor you can upload previous videos or record new ones.

You can choose from a handful of themes: romance, action, travel, family, and party.  Or you can go with no theme at all.Once you have selected the theme, you can title the video.  Then you can drag and add various clips (photo, video, audio) or record a new video.  Once you have added the various components to your video, you go back to the review screen where you can edit things such as background music, video volume, filter effects, clip sections, and add transitions.


Samsung Video Editor also has an Auto edit feature based on the length you want the video to be, which works surprisingly well.

Exporting the video takes quite a bit of time, but then can be shared anywhere via MP4 format.

I definitely will be using Samsung Video Editor for my SRP video this year!