The YouTube (News - Alert) generation has given us a lot of reasons to turn off our television sets and hit the Internet for film entertainment. Of course, there’s no guarantee that said films will be any good, but a new company promises to at least give us amateurs a few features that will make our homemade films look less like something a five year old conjured up and slightly more applause-worthy.
Magisto, a Web-based video editing service just announced its services, along with 5.5 million in a series B funding round led by Horizons Ventures, the private venture firm of Li Ka-shing, the world's 11th richest man.
To use Magisto, all you need to do is upload a video to Magisto, choose a title and soundtrack, and then hit edit. Presto! Just like that, Magisto analyzes raw, unedited video footage for the best segments and turns all of it into short movies with music and effects that can be shared with friends and family.
“Everybody is shooting hours and hours of video, but nobody knows what to do with it,” said Oren Boiman, Magisto's CEO and co-founder in a company statement.
Videos on Magisto are edited down to under two minutes. Eventually Magisto will offer a premium paid version that allows for longer clips. The premium version will also remove Magisto’s branding, allow for video downloading and give the user the ability to tweak the video if they choose.
The service has had 2,000 users in its closed beta that started in April. Boiman said the response has been extremely positive and he sees users creating an always-accessible clip library of personal events.
Boiman told Globes that the idea for the company was born following the birth of his daughter. “When Tamar was born, I bought a video camera and began shooting. I soon had a huge amount of raw footage that I didn’t know what to do with. My wife and I decided to make a short clip about her brita (baby girl's naming ceremony). We thought it would be easy, but we struggled for two weeks with the material.”
The company, which has 10 employees, is based in Israel, but is looking to hire some employees in the U.S.
Michelle Amodio is a TMCnet contributor. She has helped promote companies and groups in all industries, from technology to banking to professional roller derby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing from Endicott College and currently works in marketing, journalism, and public relations as a freelancer.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
