I daresay a number of you are probably going to be shooting some video in the coming days…of kids opening presents, of carolers at your door, of pre-meal toasts…and of drunken New Years behavior perfect for future blackmail evidence. Whatever your motivation and subject, editing the raw footage is a tedious and time-consuming task that you're likely going to dread, if you aren't already doing so in advance. But according to late-November coverage in the Wall Street Journal's AllThingsD online site, there's another way, specifically if you use the video capture capabilities of an Android or iOS cellphone versus a conventional video camera, and courtesy of an online service called HighlightCam:
Here’s how it works: Give the app as many videos and photos as your patience for uploading allows, and it will automatically generate a highlight reel of your desired length, eliminating the slow bits and including the parts that show faces, action or voices.
The new version of HighlightCam can collect clips from multiple phones and turn them into one communal home video. For instance, guests at a party could stitch together videos from different moments and perspectives. Users can also add filter effects and very basic titles.
This is all compiled into a finished product in relatively speedy fashion, with push notifications sent to HighlightCam users’ phones when their edited videos are ready for download and sharing.
Creating a HighlightCam video usually costs less than a dollar (and the first few are free, for now), depending on whether premium features like music and high resolution are included.
Apparently the investment community agrees with me that the concept has appeal, for as reporter Liz Gannes notes, "Sunnyvale, Calif.-based HighlightCam just closed Series A funding of $3 million led by Quest Venture Partners and including NTT Docomo and Digital Garage. Previous investors were Y Combinator, 500 Startups and K9 Ventures."
If you try out HighlightCam in the coming vacation days, please drop a comment here and let us know how well it works for you. Happy holidays!
