New York, NY—A recent Animoto survey looked at how home videos are evolving with technology and the changing landscape of video creation. They asked how people are capturing and also editing video, what tools they’re using and who’s doing it.
The results are summarized in their Calling “Action” infographic. Key findings: 68% consider themselves their family’s primary video creator and enjoy editing their videos; more than half prefer watching videos over looking at photos. Additionally, 81% said they feel more connected to family and friends when watching videos.
The Animoto Video Creation Study surveyed 1,031 U.S. consumers who had recorded or created a personal video in the past six months. It revealed that 85% enjoyed creating videos. Furthermore, 80% said they create videos to keep in touch with friends and family. The survey also demonstrates that consumers are immersing themselves in video creation. 72% reported they use video to have keepsakes they can watch again and again.
“The next generation of home movies is here,” said Brad Jefferson, CEO and cofounder 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 also 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.”
According to Animoto, the study proves that respondents want to share their videos to stay connected with loved ones. Consumers take a variety of approaches to reaching out:
• 76% have shared videos via Facebook.
• 52% have used e-mail to share videos.
• 50% have used YouTube to share videos.
• 34% percent of consumers have used text messages/SMS to share videos.
Precious Keepsakes Stored Safely
An overall theme: consumer-created videos featuring beloved photos and videos have a powerful emotional impact on creators and viewers, and they can tell a compelling story in a way that static photos cannot. The study reveals that 65% of consumers prefer watching videos to looking at photos. Consumers consider the videos they capture and create to be important assets that should be preserved with care:
• 28% of consumers store their photos and videos on their PCs.
• 21% store the videos on an external hard drive or USB.
• Cloud storage is picking up, with 21% of respondents citing a cloud storage service as the primary place they store their photos and videos.
The survey also looked at what tools consumers use to capture, edit and share videos and give them the ability to create keepsakes that can be watched time and again:
• 76% of consumers have used a camera on a smartphone.
• 60% have used a digital camera with video capabilities to record video.
• 56% of respondents use a camera on a smartphone to record video at least once a week; 16% of those who are recording do so on a daily basis.
• 36% of consumers use a digital camera with video capabilities at least once a week, and for 46% it’s a daily occurrence
Additional Findings
In addition, the survey found that a growing familiarity with the video creation process has resulted in high expectations for video creation tools from consumers. Almost all consumers (92%) 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%); cost and ease of sharing (85%); storage capabilities (84%); and editing features (84%).
“With new as well as improved cameras and mobile devices launching regularly, we are capturing video of our lives at an accelerating rate,” Jefferson added. Eighty-seven percent of surveyed consumers said they plan to create more videos in the future.
Animoto Survey Methodology
Animoto’s web-based survey was fielded August 25–27, 2014. It had a sample size of 1,031 (margin of error +/- 3 percent at a 95 percent confidence level).
Animoto is an online video maker for consumers, educators as well as businesses. It helps empower the creation as well as sharing of professional-quality videos using pictures, video clips, words and music. In addition, the company’s patented Cinematic Technology is designed to make it easy to preserve memories or promote a business through the power of video in just minutes from a computer or mobile device. animoto.com
