Animoto Survey Reveals the Next Generation of Home Movies is Here

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Animoto, the leading online video maker that makes it easy for anyone to create and share professional-quality video, today reported new survey results that demonstrate consumers are immersing themselves in video creation, with a majority (72 percent) reporting they use video to have keepsakes that they can watch again and again. The Animoto Video Creation Study surveyed 1,031 U.S. consumers who had recorded or created a personal video in the past six months, and showed that the vast majority (85 percent) enjoyed creating videos, while 80 percent said they create videos to keep in touch with friends and family. An infographic detailing survey findings is available here.

"The next generation of home movies is here," said Brad Jefferson, CEO and Co-founder of Animoto. "Today's consumers are inundated with devices, apps, and software that are all increasingly helpful in shooting, editing, sharing and watching personal video. We were curious about how people thought about capturing video and what motivated them to edit their personal video clips. The survey showed consumers are actively interested in creating videos that can be shared and watched numerous times. They're inspired to bring their life stories to video, so they can preserve their memories and experience them in a meaningful way with friends and family."

Videos Help Keep Relationships Strong
Animoto's Video Creation Study proves that respondents want to share their videos to stay connected with loved ones.  The majority of consumers (81 percent) agree that they feel more connected to family and friends when watching videos of them and 86 percent said they enjoy sharing videos they create. Consumers take a variety of approaches to reaching out:

• Three quarters of consumers (76 percent) have shared videos via Facebook.
• Half of consumers have used email (52 percent) and YouTube (50 percent) to share videos.
• 34 percent of consumers have used text messages/SMS to share videos.

Precious Keepsakes Stored Safely
Consumer-created videos featuring beloved photos and videos have a powerful emotional impact on creators and viewers, and can tell a compelling story in a way that static photos simply cannot. In fact, 65 percent of consumers prefer watching videos to looking at photos, and 79 percent of respondents believe it is important that the videos they create can be watched time and again. Consumers consider the videos they capture and create to be important assets that should be preserved with care:

• 28 percent of consumers store their photos and videos on their PCs and 21 percent of consumers store their photos and videos on an external hard drive or USB.
• Though no single cloud service provider yet dominates, cloud storage is picking up with 21 percent of consumers citing a cloud storage service as the primary place they store their photos and videos.

The Tools Capturing Our Lives
Video is a powerful medium for consumers to exercise their creativity and create compelling, memorable stories. The range of tools on the market to help consumers capture, edit, and share videos gives consumers the ability to create beloved keepsakes that can be watched time and again:

• Three quarters (76 percent) of consumers have used a camera on a smartphone, and nearly two thirds (60 percent) have used a digital camera with video capabilities to record video.
• More than half (56 percent) of respondents use a camera on a smartphone to record video at least once a week, and 16 percent of those who are recording do so on a daily basis.
• 36 percent of consumers use a digital camera with video capabilities at least once a week, and for 46 percent, it's a daily occurrence.

People Want Video Creation to Be Easy
Growing experience and familiarity with the video creation process has resulted in high expectations for video creation tools from consumers. Here are the features that consumers deem most important:

• Almost all consumers (92 percent) consider ease of use important in a video creation tool, and one in four respondents named it the most important feature.
• The top five features consumers want out of video creation tools are: ease of use (92 percent); cost and ease of sharing (85 percent); storage capabilities (84 percent); and editing features (84 percent).

"With new and improved cameras and mobile devices launching regularly, we are capturing video of our lives at an accelerating rate." Jefferson added. "Video creation and editing solutions like Animoto help turn those video clips into memorable and cinematic experiences to share and watch again and again."

Eighty seven percent of surveyed consumers plan to create more videos in the future, and can do so with ease by using Animoto. For more information, please visit: animoto.com.

Animoto Video Creation Study
Animoto surveyed a representative sample of U.S. adult consumers that had created or recorded a personal video in the past six months to learn about the consumer experience with video creation and sharing. The web-based survey was fielded August 25 - 27, 2014 with a sample size of 1,031 (margin of error +/- 3 percent at a 95 percent confidence level).

About Animoto
Animoto is the leading online video maker for consumers, educators and businesses that empowers the creation and sharing of professional quality videos using pictures, video clips, words, and music. The company's patented Cinematic Technology makes it easy to preserve your memories or promote your business through the power of video in just minutes from a computer or mobile device. Founded in 2006, Animoto is based in New York City with an office in San Francisco. For more information, visit animoto.com and sign up online, or download the iPhone, iPad, or Android apps.

Animoto and Cinematic Technology are registered trademarks of Animoto, Inc.

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SOURCE Animoto