How to Use Animotica: A Free Video Editor for Windows 10 (2023)

Videos made easy with Animotica!

The free video editor in the Windows 10 Photos app is great for quickly turning your photos and videos into memories. However, it is somewhat limited for more serious projects. It just doesn't offer the depth of features that some users are looking for. For this reason, more and more people are turning to Animotica. It is a top rated app in the Windows Store and is fast becoming my favorite video editor on Windows 10.

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

Start a new video project

Learning a new video editor always takes time, but Animotica gets you started in just a few clicks. How to get started:

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

Once added, the selected clips appear on the horizontal timeline at the bottom of the screen. To rearrange your media, simply drag and drop the thumbnails into the order you want.

Animotica is designed to meet the needs of modern video users, and that means you can choose your project's aspect ratio. All you have to do is click the Video Aspect Ratio button and choose the size you want. 16:9 is the standard ratio and the one most people want to use for YouTube or sharing online but when creating a videoInstagramor another platform, there are many other options to choose from.

(Video) How to use Free Windows 10 Video Editor

Trim and split video clips

Next, you have the option to edit your video clips. Here's what you need to know:

1. Click on the thumbnail of the video that you want to trim
2. Move the playhead (the orange line) to where you want your video to start
3. Click Trim in the toolbar at the bottom and choose Trim From Start.
4. Move the playhead to where you want your video clip to end
5. On the toolbar, click Trim and choose Trim From End
6. Click Back to return to the timeline editor

If you want to trim the beginning and end at the same time, select the video and then click Trim. Then select the Trim slider. This will open a new window where you can drag the orange bars at the beginning and end of the video to set your start and end points. When you're done, click Back to return to the timeline editor.

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

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

Using video filters

With just a few clicks, you can add filters to photos or videos in your timeline. This can be a great way to add some mood to your video or add some extra artistic flair. Here's how you do it.

1. Click on the photo or video to select it
2. On the toolbar, click Effect
3. Scroll through the filters to find the one you want
4. Drag the Intensity slider to fine-tune the effect
5. Click and hold the Compare button to view the original version
6. Click Back to return to your timeline editor when finished

(Video) How to Edit Video with Animotica for Windows 10

Adding text effects

Titles can be an important way to tell your video's story. Luckily, there are many options in this free video editor. How to add text to your video.

1. Hover the orange playhead where you want your text to appear
2. Click Overlays
3. Click Add Overlay and choose Add Text
4. Enter the required text, 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 stays on the screen

You can customize your text using the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You can change the font, font size, style and any motion effects you want to use. When you're done, click Back in the bottom left to return to the Timeline Editor.

Video-Overlays für 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 over an existing clip.

1. Hover the orange playhead where you want to add your overlay
2. Click the Overlays button on the toolbar
3. Click Add Overlay and then click Add Photo or Video
4. Select 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 stays on screen. Click and drag the center of the bar to move the overlay left or right on the timeline
7. Click 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 videos with Animotica's built-in chroma key effect. Before you begin, you need to make sure you have the background photo or video in your timeline. Once you've got that taken care of, you can add your green screen footage as an overlay. Here's how.

1. Drag the orange playhead to where you want it in your video
2. Click the Overlays button on the toolbar
3. Click Add Overlay and then click Add Photo or Video
4. Select the green screen clip you want to add and click Open
5. Next, click Chroma and enable the Chrome Key Effect toggle
6. Click the colored circle next to Select Chrome Key Color
7. In the preview window, click the shade of green you want to remove, 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 stays on screen. Click and drag the center of the bar to move the overlay left or right on the timeline
10. Click Back to return to the Timeline Editor when you're done

Adding music and voiceovers

No video project would be complete without a killer soundtrack. Animotica has included some royalty-free tracks for you to 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 instructions below.

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

Voiceovers can be added in the same way. A voiceover can be a great way to tell the story of your video and can be added alongside a music track. How to add voice recording to your video.

1. In the Timeline Editor toolbar, click Audio
2. Move the orange playhead to where you want the voiceover to start
3. Click Voiceover
4. Record your voiceover
5. Press stop when you're done

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

Additional features in the Animotica editor

The above features 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 function
• Transform: Reshape your video by zooming in or correcting a shaky horizon line
• Background: Choose a background for videos in portrait orientation to hide the black bars
• Motion: Apply a variety of Ken Burns-style effects to your videos
• Adjust color settings: increase brightness, saturation, shadows and more
• Take Snapshot: Capture a still image from a video as an image

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

1. Click the orange Save Video button in the bottom right corner of the timeline editor
2. Next, select the resolution you want
3. Click Save or Save As if you want to choose your save location
4. After the video is rendered, you can preview it or upload it to YouTube

Animotica saves your project as you work. If you don't want to export your video yet, just click the menu button in the top left corner of the screen and select Return to Home. If prompted to save your work, you can do so now. The next time you restart the app, you can click on your project to open it and pick up where you left off.

This content is accurate and truthful to the best of the author's knowledge and is not a substitute for formal and individual advice from a qualified professional.

© 2020 Jonathan Wylie

Jonathan Wylie (Autor)from Iowa, USA on 09/16/2020:

I'm glad it came in handy, Dale!

Dale Andersonfrom Hohe See on September 15, 2020:

I had never heard of this, so thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

Jonathan Wylie (Autor)from Iowa, USA on 09/04/2020:

Easy to use and has strong results. Definitely worth a look if you haven't tried it yet!

Victoria Greywingfrom Limassol, Cyprus on 09/04/2020:

Didn't know this program. It looks pretty and simple. Thank you very much!