Biteable - Creating Podcast Audiograms

Update 2022 - Bitable is ending their free version of their service.

In May of 2022 they retired Bitable Lite. 

Now they are ending the free version of their service. If you have any video on the site that you haven't downloaded you have until August 30, 2022. After that date you cannot download your content. 

This service is constantly evolving and trying new directions. This time it is more business related social media generated content. 

The text below is now historical and you might just go on over to the main site to check out what is going on with the current version. I have other services that I use and probably will not be a customer.

This is a look at the 2021 version of Biteable. It is an online video editor/presentation service with a number of templates that can be used for social media creation and can help you create podcast audiograms. 

Way back in 2017, I had a subscription to the service. I wanted to make explainer videos. It wasn't as easy as I hoped. 

I remember it was more finicky that I wanted to deal with at that time. I bailed out of renewing my subscription. 

Honestly, I forgot about it.

Time marched on. I was looking at another audiogram service and the name popped up. So I come with a raised eyebrow but willing to give it a second chance.

Just a head's up...

Biteable free version can be used for non-commercial use. You may be restricted from using some of the assets available to you. You can download to 720p with two Bitable watermarks on the video.

Biteable Premium and above allows for full access to assets, no Bitable watermarks and export at 1080p video.

What You Will Need

Familiar with navigating to folders on your computer. Drag and Drop or knowing how to find a file or folder will help.

Being patient as you learn how to use the interface, especially on the pre-created templates. 

Devices

Chromebook/Mac/Linux/Windows via a browser.

Assets

Podcast album art

Audio recording - mp3 or wav format

Getting Started

You can start with a blank template or use a template with a pre-designed format.

This is one of the rare occasions where I would suggest starting with a the video tutorial on the site. Then use the blank template to get a feel for the work area.

This is an introduction video from the company on how it works.

Advantages

Once you get the hang of it you can quickly create a podcast audiogram. You can create audiogram videos for the various Instagram, Facebook and YouTube formats

You also have access to animations, audio, and video assets.

You can upload your audio narration.

My 30-second test video mp4 video download was quick. Your experience could be different.

The free version contains two watermarks on the video and downloads as a 720p video. For a podcast audiogram, that should be enough. If you have video, it may or may not be an issue.

Disadvantages

No Captions/Subtitles

There is no native captioning/subtitles. For education creators that could be a concern. 

You could manually add text on an image. Some of the image or video layouts may not be accommodating to displaying text on the screen.

Audio Narration Fade Out

You can select music to go with your podcast audiogram. You can also uploading your narration.

Which I did; had my album cover and my audio.

I discovered that the audio faded out before the narration was completed. 

It took a bit to figure out that you can add a duplicate screen of the album cover. 

This will allow more time. I added two additional duplicates. That solved one problem. But that created another problem.

Accessing Support

I needed to trim the silent time from the end of the video. When I went to look for the help pages or FAQ, I couldn't find it. There is a menu option for support. 

I typed in the word "trim" because now I had too much image and not enough audio. 

I was given suggestions on an un-related topic. I could have done a chat session. I chose not to do that. 

I went back to their YouTube page and watched another demo video. I eventually got an answer.

Editing and Deleting Assets

If you work with a template you might find that you need to remove certain assets. 

Removing the text blocks is very easy. But if you wanted to change a video or remove a scene you have to find three dots on the audio or video track. Left click on the track and they will appear. Click the dots and select delete scene.

To a new user who hasn't seen the training video, it isn't obvious.  I think the idea is to for users to make a few text or image changes to the template and let it rip. 

Summary

Bitable has a lot of pre-made templates to help creators get started. If you want to get a look at the templates, you can check out their YouTube channel. 

Has it improved? Yes, absolutely. 

For novice video creators, this could work as a simple podcast audiogram generator.

If you are a creator that has to churn out social media ads, podcast audiograms or other content this might work for you. 

If you need power and control over every element then go hug on Adobe Premier or Vegas Pro.