When I launched my first business, I was always reading on marketing strategies. Everybody was recommending creating videos and this was certainly something I agreed on. However, I had no idea how to create videos.
I had no creative skills and I certainly didn’t know anything about cutting and merging images.
At that time, I decided to enroll in various courses. I paid for these courses but I never had the time to sit down and learn proper editing skills.
Then I found Lumen5. The software turns text into video. It allows you to import media resources from the web or from your computer. You can also import texts from articles and have them seamlessly integrated into the final video. The best part is this is not something that requires editing skills.
Lumen5 Features
This Is How lumen5 Works
Lumen5 is a video software marketing tool for businesses. I don’t really see it as a tool for individuals who don’t need to market certain products.
There is 2 main method in which you can input the text into the software. You can do so by adding a link or by adding your own text from your computer.
Inserting the Text
If you decide there’s an interesting article you’d like to use as inspiration for your promotional video, you can copy and paste its weblink into Lumen5. The software automatically parses the text and imports it into your video project.
The manual version works better for those creating their own text. This was also my case. I created a text regarding one of my products and its benefits and I decided to import it into the video. It has higher relevance as it’s an original text only appearing in my video.
Lumen5 then splits the text into smaller paragraphs into what the software estimates it should look like. Of course, this is just a default suggestion. By playing around with the text, you can choose which paragraphs area associated with certain images yourself.
At this point, I was wondering how Lumen5 knows which images to combine with the text so I called customer service. A team member explained to me the software looks at certain keywords. For example, if you’re pasting text regarded certain buildings, it will add images of buildings in the background.
Again, this is Lumen5’s default reaction to the text. But you can choose your own images browsing through the software’s media library.
From these images, you have a bit of room for customization as well. You can zoom it or cut only the most relevant sections to appear in the video.
Editing the Video
While Lumen5 is not made to offer advanced editing tools, there are a few features you may play around with.
For example, I like to highlight certain keywords of the text to bring them to the viewers’ attention. You can create texts in various colors to make it stand out from the rest of the paragraph.
You may also choose where the text appears on the screen. For me, this cannot be a fixed position. It depends on the background image to find the right text location.
I always choose places that don’t have busy backgrounds so that the text is easy to read. But at the same time, you will need to analyze each video sequence separately.
Adding Music and Effects
Music and audible effects may also be added at this point. Users are normally tied to what the media library has to offer. But there are thousands of songs you can use to insert in your video.
These sounds and songs are royalty-free. Even if you decide to make your video public, you won’t have any copyright issues to worry about.
Considering Multi-User Video Creation
The software allows multi-user login. This means you can send out the video you’re working on for someone to check before its ready. It’s the type of feature companies use where more employees need to agree on marketing materials.
You can then download the video or publish it directly on social media.
Pricing
You may not need the full list of functions Lumen5 has to offer. The main difference in monthly plans lies in the number of videos you are allowed to create. Here’s the breakdown of each plan.
Starter $19/month
This basic Starter plan allows you to create 10 videos per month. The maximum video resolution at this plan is limited to 720p.
In terms of limits, it doesn’t allow you to add custom branding and watermarks. If you’re representing a company you might need to look at other plans. Furthermore, you are also limited to one user per account with this basic plan.
Premium $49/month
You can create up to 25 videos per month under this plan. However, there are a few restrictions here as well. For example, the Premium plan doesn’t allow you to upload your own audio tracks. If you have a company jingle, you’ll have to choose one of the comprehensive plans instead.
Business $149/month
Up to 50 videos can be created under this plan. This plan supports most Lumen5 features. However, it doesn’t support team management features such as the permission of other team members to view the videos.
Enterprise $ billed Annualy
All features offered by Lumen5 are supported by the Enterprise plan. This is the type of plan you choose when you have multiple videos to create per month and when you need input from your colleagues with the creative process.
Why Use lumen5 Videos?
Lumen5 is not a traditional movie-maker. It simplifies the video creation process considerably. Here are its main strengths.
Web-Based Editing
You don’t need to download anything to use Lumen5. In theory, this means you can edit from your smartphone as well.
I prefer to use the tablet or the laptop for the edits.
However, it also means you can edit your videos anywhere in the world. There’s no need to carry memory drives stocked with corporate videos with Lumen5.
Free Media Library
There’s an estimate of a few million video files, audio files, and pictures in Lumen5. It allows users to maintain a good degree of creativity even by using something stock images.
Instant Videos
It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to create a video with Lumen5. Most of the images are already optimized.
For me, this meant I had no use of my video editing courses. I didn’t have to worry about color correction and white balance ration with my videos.
Pros
Cons
Final Verdict
When joining Lumen5, you get on board with software already proven with more than 400,000 users. If you’re curious about how the videos look and what you can create, you can sign up for free to see the process yourself.
For those who need extra creativity inspiration, there’s a dedicated Lumen5 community group to join on Facebook. You can see what other users publish before anyone else by joining the group.
