Video Editing Software: Moovly vs Camtasia
Moovly Animation Program
My immediate reaction to Moovly is that the signup process was extremely easy the user interface very simple. I like that - online animation programs tend to be overwhelming and Moovly feels much more friendly and familiar. The editor itself reminds me a lot of Final Cut Pro (albeit a much, much less complicated one.)
Moovly does not have actual cartoon characters, but rather a selection of basic graphics, transitions and the ability to upload your own assets. If you want a tool to create an animated music video, or explainer video using pre-made assets then this is not the right choice for you. If however, you have a clear vision of what you want, know how to make your own assets and want a simple, responsive tool to build with… this could be a great choice. Moovly is like a combination between Final Cut Pro and PowerPoint.
Moovly would be an ideal tool for somebody who wants to make a video presentation showing a lot of data, and who isn't satisfied with a more limited product. It's a pretty sparse service in some ways - but in others, it is very deep and powerful (the way you can test different elements makes it clear you could build very involved and complicated projects in Moovly if you desired.)
Moovly Pricing:
Moovly is free to sign up but if you are willing to pay $49 a month (or $299 if you want to do a year) you get access to 170+ million premium videos, sounds, and images.
Camtasia Video Editing Software
Camtasia is the gold standard for easy to use video editing software that does "just enough." Software like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier are powerful but have so many features that learning how to do anything can be challenging. If you are producing video content on the fly, you are going to have an easier time if you are using a video editor that is geared towards people who aren't professional video editors. So what is Camtasia exactly?
Basically, Camtasia allows you to quickly create video presentations with all the features you would expect or need, and none of the features you don't. So if you want to create a compilation of a bunch of video clips you can do that. If you want to create a presentation with lots of text you can do that too. Not only can Camtasia perform basic video editing tasks, but you can adjust audio, add effects, insert titles, add annotations, and more. Using Camtasia you also have the ability to add cursor effects, transitions and other animations.
Screen recording is one of the stronger features in Camtasia. you can record the entire screen or just a specific pre-defined area. This is particularly helpful if you are recording a live stream or other presentation that doesn't fill your entire screen. You can also display cursor highlight effects to show your mouse moving and point out specific things. You can even adjust the opacity of your cursor so it is less obtrusive.
When you go to export videos you have access to full 1080 resolution and are even given the option to upload your videos directly to Youtube or Google Drive.
Camtasia costs a flat $249 which may be prohibitively expensive for some organizations but is still less costly than Adobe Premiere Pro ($240 for a year) or Final Cut Pro ($299)
So Which One is Right for You?
This will mostly depend on how much your organization has budgeted for software. Moovly does everything it tries to do reasonably well but Camtasia is just a stronger software package given its ability to record your screen and the general improved polish and responsiveness of real software. You can definitely tell when you are using Moovly that it functions slower and more clunky than Camtasia does. Moovly is significantly cheaper than Camtasia so if that is a big deciding factor you will not be unsatisfied with Moovly.
