Cool Tool #2: Splice

Splice (download here) is a versatile video editing app for the iPad. Let's get started...

When you open the app and open a new project, you're presented with a mosaic of your photos and videos. You then select all the images and clips you want to "splice" together into your video.

After selecting the pictures and clips you want, you give your project a title and can make modifications to the duration of each slide, the background color, and the format (landscape or portrait). You can also decide if you want there to be a slow zoom effect on the pictures--they call this the Ken Burns zoom.



There's a great selection of music and sound effects you can add to your slideshow! I was really impressed by the quality and variety of the free instrumental music they provide. If you have iTunes downloads, you can also access those songs through this app.

The interface for editing is similar to more professional video editing software like Final Cut Pro. 

In the "Video" section, you can edit each individual slide and video clip. 

You can put a filter on pictures and videos, if you're into that. 

If you only want the Ken Burns zoom on certain clips/pictures, you can turn the effect off on individual slides. 

Add text to your slides. The text can be scaled to any size you want, rotated, and changed into a number of different colors. Choose from a selection of good-looking typefaces. 

In the "Audio" section of Splice, you can scrub through the entire video by dragging the blue circle at the bottom of the screen. Audio clips and music can be trimmed, faded in/out, and layered. 

In between slide transitions can also be applied to your presentation. 

When you're ready to export the video (mov format), you can choose from three levels of video quality. 

Aaaaaaaaaand my final result!

I was very impressed with this app. This could be used in a digital media class of some sort to teach students the basics of video editing; it's that thorough. I've only played with it for a couple hours, and there's still so much that I can explore in the app. There's definitely going to be a learning curve for those unfamiliar with other video editing software. My main concern with introducing this app in the classroom is that it would take a very long time to get all students up to speed with the technology. The app crashed once when I was working, and I'm honestly surprised it didn't crash more often. There's so much going on in the app. Nevertheless, the possibilities for making creative videos and presentations are limitless. The great thing is that it's completely free--can't argue with that.

Verdict: Recommended!