Review of Goaminate
Goaminate is an online application that allows a user to create their animations and post them , all without any drawing. The tool contains several pull down menus. The menu allow the user to choose a pre made character, choose an action or movement and emotion. You can also add a prop for the character to use.
You can have the characters speak; the easiest way is to simply type in the text and choose a computer voice for the character. Another method is to record your own voice and then download it into the frame. I tried this but could not get the application to see my voice files, so I settled for the computer generated voices.
Once you have the character then another pull down menu allows you select a backdrop, such as a living room or a city street. You can also select special effect, such as close ups, pans and fade outs.
The application works on a frame method, like making a movie. You create a frame, then move on the next. When you have your story, you press preview and see your creation.
Using the tool is easy. There is a tutorial but I think the average user could learn just as well by going to straight to the pull down menus and start making cartoons.