June 2022 Update:
Adobe Spark is gone. History. It has been replaced with Adobe Creative Cloud Express.
The post below is for historical reference.
The name of this app is called Adobe Voice. You can set up, record and upload an explainer video from your couch. Or porch. In your bed in your jammies.
Update 2019; this is an explainer video for the product at the time known as Adobe Voice. It is now known as Adobe Spark Video.
Dang it. Yes, it can be a great tool for teachers, instructors, podcasters but it is an iOS app.
Can't Android get any love? At all?
(Well, yes you can. You can access the web portal. And there have been a number of updates since writing this post. Check it out at https://spark.adobe.com/)
Hmm. Maybe I am being seduced by the glass. So, lets look at the practical details.
Truth In the Details
Adobe Voice provides a lot of free content. There is built in graphics, you can search for Creative Commons photos and there are built-in music tracks. You can add your own voice narration.
You cannot import your own music or video.
The app forces you to think about what kind of video you want to make and then ask you to select a template. This is a good thing because goodness knows we all have seen rambling tech videos.
Once completed, you upload the video to Adobe who then will transmit the video to your social media host for viewing. There is no video that is saved on your device.
Eh, not too crazy about that part.
Adobe provides the web hosting and transcoding to various social networks like Twitter and Facebook and you can get the embed code for your blog or web page.
What's Not To Like?
Well, on the surface it seems like an extraordinary deal.
Forgive my cynicism, but Adobe is a for-profit company. There is are multiple markets for this type of app. Why are they giving it away free? Why free hosting for the animation videos? How many videos are they willing to transcode and store for free?
This is from a company that has switched most of their software products from a physical disc license to a online only subscription model.
I don't have an answer at this time. I do know I am real cautious about one stop solutions. Adobe has the app, the web hosting and a tight control over what users can and can't do with the app. Not that you can't get around it with a little though.
If and when Adobe decides this isn't matching up with what they want to do as a business, poof; your content is gone. History.
And another question. Who owns the final video copyright? They provided the raw materials but it was your idea. Ideas can't be copyrighted. The final fixed form can be copyrighted.
Who owns what?
Questions, and more questions. But it does look good at a distance.
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