How to Use Animotica: A Free Video Editor for Windows 10

The free video editor in the Windows 10 Photos app is great for making some quick memories from your photos and videos. However, for more serious projects, it is a little limited. It just doesn’t offer the depth of features that some users are looking for. This is why an increasing number of people are turning to Animotica. It is a top-rated app on the Windows Store, and it is quickly becoming my go-to video editor on Windows 10.

The app is free to download, and it gives you access to all the basic editing tools you will need. However, for a one-time fee of $20, (and no monthly subscription charges), you can unlock everything that this app has to offer. To help you see what you can get for your money, the following tutorial is based on features you have access to with a Full Pro license.

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Starting a New Video Project

Learning a new video editor always takes some time, but with Animotica you can get up and running in just a few clicks. Here’s how to get started:

1. Launch the Animotica app,
2. Click New Project
3. Click the orange button to add photos and/or video

Once added, the clips you chose will appear on the horizontal timeline at the bottom of the screen. To rearrange your media, simply drag and drop the thumbnail images into the order you need.

Animotica was built to meet the needs of modern video users and this means that you can choose the aspect ratio of your project. All you need to do is click the Video Aspect Ratio button, and choose the size you want. 16:9 is the default ratio and the one that most people will want to use for YouTube or sharing online, but if you are making a video for Instagram or another platform, there are plenty of other options to choose from.

Trim and Split Video Clips

Next up is the ability to edit your video clips. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Click on the thumbnail of the video you want to trim
2. Move the playhead, (the orange line), to the point where you would like your video to begin
3. Click Trim from the toolbar at the bottom and select, Trim From The Start
4. Move the playhead to the point where you would like your video clip to end
5. Click Trim from the toolbar, and select, Trim From The End
6. Click Go Back to return to the timeline editor

If you want to trim the beginning and the end at the same time, select the video and then click Trim. Then, choose the Trim Slider. This opens a new window where you can drag the orange bars at the beginning and end of the video to set your beginning and end points. Once your are done, click Go Back to return to the timeline editor.

You can use the Split tool to divide a video into two or more parts. To do this, select the video by clicking on it, and then move the orange playhead to the point where you want to split the video, then click the Split button on the toolbar.

To change the duration of a photo, click the time stamp underneath the photo, or click on the photo and then select Duration from the toolbar. Photos can be set to appear for up to ten seconds at a time.

Using Video Filters

You can add filters to photos or videos in your timeline in just a few quick clicks. This can be a great way to add some mood to your video or inject some additional artistic flair. Here’s how you do it.

1. Click the photo or video to select it
2. Click Effect from the toolbar
3. Scroll through the filters to find the one you want
4. Move the intensity slider to fine tune the effect
5. Click and hold the Compare button to see the original version
6. Click Go Back to return to your timeline editor when you are done

Adding Text Effects

Titles can be an important way to help tell the story of your video. Thankfully, there are lots of options in this free video editor. Here is how to add text to your video.

1. Move the orange playhead to the point where you want your text to appear
2. Click Overlays
3. Click Add Overlay, and choose Add Text
4. Type the text you need, then click the orange X to close the text editor
5. Drag the handles on either side of the orange bar to choose how long your text appears on screen

You can customize your text by using the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You can change the font, the font size, the style, and any motion effects you would like to use. Once you are done, click Go Back in the bottom left-hand corner to return to the timeline editor.

Video Overlays for Picture-in-Picture

Text is just one of the overlays you can use in Animotica. You can also create a picture-in-picture effect by adding another photo or video on top of an existing clip.

1. Move the orange playhead where you want to add your overlay
2. Click the Overlays button on the toolbar
3. Click Add Overlay, then Add Photo or Video
4. Choose the media you want to add as an overlay and click Open
5. Move the overlay to where you want it to appear and resize as needed
6. Drag the handles on either side of the blue bar to adjust how long the overlay appears on screen. Click and drag the middle of the bar to move the overlay left or right on the timeline
7. Click Go Back to return to the timeline editor

Video Overlays for Green Screen Effects

Another great use of overlays is the ability to create green screen video using Animotica’s built-in Chroma key effect. Before you start, you need to make sure that you have the background photo or video in your timeline. Once you have that taken care of, you can add your green screen footage as an overlay. Here’s how.

1. Move the orange playhead to the desired point in your video
2. Click the Overlays button on the toolbar
3. Click Add Overlay, then Add Photo or Video
4. Choose the green screen clip you want to add and click Open
5. Next, click Chroma and turn on the Chrome Key Effect switch
6. Click the colored circle next to Select a Chrome Key Color
7. In the preview window, click on the shade of green that you want to remove, and then click the X to close the window
8. Move the overlay to where you want it to appear and resize as needed
9. Drag the handles on either side of the blue bar to adjust how long the overlay appears on screen. Click and drag the middle of the bar to move the overlay left or right on the timeline
10. Click Go Back to return to the timeline editor when you are done

Adding Music and Voiceovers

No video project would be complete without a killer soundtrack. Animotica has included some royalty free tracks that you can use in your projects, but for more variety, you might prefer to take a look at the YouTube Audio Library. You can add music by following the directions below.

1. Click Audio from the toolbar in the timeline editor
2. Click Add Audio
3. Choose a track from the library, or click Select File to add your own
4. Click Sound to adjust the track volume and fade effects
5. Click Go Back to return to the timeline editor

Voiceovers can be added in the same way. A voiceover can be a great way to help tell the story of your video and can be added in addition to a music track. Here’s how to add a voice recording to your video.

1. Click Audio from the toolbar in the timeline editor
2. Move the orange playhead to the point where you want the voiceover to begin
3. Click Voicecover
4. Record your voiceover
5. Press Stop when you are done

If you decide to add a music track and a voiceover, be sure to adjust the volume of the music track so that your voiceover can be heard more clearly.

Additional Features in the Animotica Editor

The features above will probably cover 90% of your project needs. However, if you want to dig a little deeper, there are more hidden gems just waiting to be discovered. These include:

• Speed: Make your video clip 4x slower, or 4x faster
• Rotate: Rotate a video 90 degrees at a time until you get the right orientation
• Flip: Create a mirror image of a video clip with the Flip feature
• Transform: Re-frame your video by zooming in or fixing a wonky horizon line
• Background: Choose a background for portrait video to hide the black bars
• Motion: Use a variety of Ken Burns style effects on your videos
• Adjust Color Settings: Boost the brightness, saturation, shadows and more
• Take Snapshot: Capture a still frame from a video as an image

Share and Export Your Video

When you are done, it’s time to save and export your video project so that you can share it with others. Follow the steps below.

1. Click the orange Save Video button in the bottom right-hand corner of the timeline editor
2. Next, choose the resolution you need
3. Click Save, or Save as if you want to choose your save location
4. After the video has rendered, you can play a preview or upload it to YouTube

Animotica saves your project as you are working. If you are not ready to export your video, simply click the menu button in the top left-hand corner of the screen, and choose Back Home. If you are prompted to save your work, you can do that now. When you next relaunch the app, you can click on your project to open it and pick up where you left off.

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