Really cool product, lots of potential, pretty well done too, it's really easy to use. One thing that'd be really cool for social videos is to let users add animated gifs from existing libraries like giphy.com and such (basically like Instagram / Snapchat does). Wish you all the best with this project.
Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
271–280 of 300 posts
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#272Two things that drive product value & growth insanely:
1. Dogfooding your own product
2. A free-tier pricing that actually helps one-time users
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#273I showed this to a youtuber friend with 4m subscribers. His first response was "looks easier than our current workflow, but we upload in 4K currently and the demo maxes out at 720p". To be fair, he probably uses After Effects way more than the average expected subscriber, so this isn't a representative sample.
This is legit feedback if you’re targeting this segment. I have relatives in the YT content “industry”, and they’re (inordinately?) obsessed with uploading content at the highest quality YT will allow. If something isn’t pumping out 4K, it doesn’t pass their smell test, for better or worse. So, if you allow 4K exports, I’d advertise it loudly! :)
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
I came to say the same thing. If you're going to compare yourself to AE, then you better bring some heavy hitting features. The iMovie comparison is exactly what I was thinking. It's a FisherPrice "baby's first NLE". That sounds a lot harsher than I mean for it to be, but it is apropos. People that have never used an editor and wants to get into it, then this very well may be an amazing option for them. For $32/mo th…
You can't just compare it by saying "$50/mo gets you the full Adobe Suite" -- there's a hidden cost there. Yes, you get access to the full Adobe Suite of software, but there's a huge learning curve that comes with that and dozens (hundreds?) of hours of learning required to get good. This tool seems pretty much effortless to learn and use. There's intrinsic value in that.
I might take that for granted, as I've been using Adobe software since Photoshop was installed from 20+ 3.5" floppies. However, because of the popularity of the Adobe Suite, you can find plenty of videos on how to do things to flatten the curve (of learning). Like everything else though, some people will naturally take to it like fish in water, or they will struggle with it.
--A fool and his money are soon parted.
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#275Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unsolicited suggestion. Hit up Courtland at Indie Hackers. He has a podcast and your story would be a perfect fit. Should help drive some traffic your way as well
Love Indie Hackers. I wonder how many guests get featured on there from cold outreach. It would be worth a shot. I enjoy being a guest on podcasts.
Check out the IH articles/interviews with veed.io , definitely a market for this type of product
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#276I was excited to see at least some AE features in the browser or more-than-beginner type editing -- but it's more akin to iMovie or a basic templated editor? Impressive nevertheless for one person to bootstrap, congrats.
Fair enough. I needed to get an MVP out and start figuring out ways to make money before I completely go into debt. My goals for the future are to give more customization to the motion graphics and to feature some of the core elements a professional in hurry will need. Nothing too complex but just right. You can also think of it being a mix with other types of video editing tools. I do plan to roll out keyframe anima…
You are probably familiar with crello and canva. Alot of companies use these tools.
If your tool would have keyframes and a bezier editor (like cubic-bezier.com) I would instantly migrate to your tool.
I guess for some customers stock footage is also important - but there you could just partner up with istock etc.
Other things I would hope to see in such a SaaS for marketing motion graphics is: - Motion Blur - gradient with multiple points - basic css styles (dropshadow etc)
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#277[deleted]
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#278This looks great, Michael! Do you take individual screenshot on a headless browser for all layers and stitch them using FFMPEG? I played around with FFMPEG to when my company needed dynamic videos (ie. They wanted to create videos like the ones Facebook automatically generates). And that's at least what I did.
Yeah thats a great approach.
Lottie may be super helpful for you (if you are not already using it).
Are there any better techniques you are using for rendering?
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#279Wow, this looks like the perfect software for my mother, who just needs something simple she can use to put photo collages together with music.
Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies
#280This looks amazing, well done! Really intuitive and easy to use. A minor suggestion: the phrase "Free Demo" on the landing page sticks out to me and feels awkward. I think maybe changing it to "Try" or "Demo" would be more fitting. Adding "Free" seems unnecessary and distracting. I also think it should be highlighted, maybe changing it to blue text. Or maybe green. Just my opinion.
Great feedback. I had demo before some people said it made it feel like an enterprise product where demo was booking a sales demo. So I tried to make it clear it wasnt that. Maybe try sample or something could be more fitting. What do you think?
I agree that "Demo" does make it seem like more of an enterprise application. I got a similar feeling about "Free Demo" and, to me, it felt like it cheapened the product.
I've played around with different words and phrases, and I think matching your other buttons actually works the best. I took two screenshots, one title case and one sentence case. I like sentence case but it's inconsistent with your "Sign Up" button.
Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/1o07pp7