Creating dynamic and advanced animations and presentations has always been something that has slightly eluded me. While I know the basics, animation takes ages to do properly, and if you want to add moving things to your presentations, it also take a considerable amount of time. However VisualTalks, a new app, facilitates this process, allowing you to create dynamic and animated presentations without too much hassle.
Layout
Once you get used to it, the layout of the app is fairly clear and straightforward, however to start with, it can be pretty confusing. You have to take a guess at what each of the buttons does, and while it does give a tutorial, it’s not a great one and is definitely something that could be improved.
However, after playing around with the app for about five minutes or so, you’ll soon figure everything out and from then on, as far as the layout is concerned, there are no problems. The drawing and painting tools are in the top right hand corner, the video editing options are to the left. Once you know where everything is, it’s easy to use and you won’t have any problems.
Functionality
For some, it still might not be very clear what this does. But what it does is awesome. Is a new way to make presentations and animations, allowing you to do away with the boring powerpoints of the past.
You can draw a scene, then add audio to it so you’re animations take on a new dimension. This works very well, and the recording quality is excellent. No need to start shouting down the mic for it to work. Adding text is as easy as tapping the icon, with many different styles available if you want to make a nice title. Transitions are just as easy, with a dozen different ones to choose from to make your presentation/animation even more dynamic and interesting.
So now you’ve drawn and recorded all your clips, you’ve added some nice text, what do you do now? This is where the app’s in built editor comes in handy. You can cut, paste and put all your clips into one continuous presentation which you can then export either directly to YouTube or to your photo library. During the editing process, you can even insert pre-recorded video from another source. Even though more export options would’ve have been good, most people will probably manage with just the two.
Verdict
VisualTalks is a great way to make your presentations more dynamic and interesting, and will really appeal to you if you have an artistic touch due to the great drawing functionality. However even if you are not the new Van Gogh, it’s still useful, as you can create nice titles and add your own videos to the presentations, as well as add your own audio, recordable directly from the app.
My one main criticism would be to do with the layout. At first it’s not very clear what does what, and you have to spend at least ten minutes trying everything out as the tutorial isn’t great and is hard to get out of. More export options would also have been a nice touch.
Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99 (for limited time only, App Store Link)
Pros:
- Great functionality, it does what it says on the tin.
- Easy to record and edit.
- Awesome transitions.
Cons:
- Tutorial poor, not clear how to get started/what to do when you first open the app.
- More export options would be nice.
This is a sponsored review through Review Roster.
