Pictory Review: Video editing made easy
In today’s digital world, marketing has become easier than ever before. However, modern marketing is not without its drawbacks. Content creators and marketers face various challenges every day, such as webinars receiving only a limited number of views, research reports having few readers, and SEO-designed blog posts going unnoticed.
This necessitates marketers and content creators to seek better methods or tools to satisfy their audience. One such tool designed to assist is Pictory. The software enables automatic video creation from text, which undoubtedly helps boost your social media presence.
Click here to sign up for a Pictory AI trial free
Promo code “VIDNUME” offers a lifelong 20% discount
Pictory is an AI-powered video creation tool. It allows users to upload long-form text or videos, and AI will automatically scan through a library of royalty-free images and videos to synchronize with the inputted script. Then, Pictory generates short, powerful videos that fit the script and effectively convey the intended message.
According to creators, “Pictory automatically creates branded short videos with high shareability from your long-form content. It’s quick, easy, and cost-effective. No technical skills or software downloads required.”
Whether you’re a marketer, content creator, or anyone needing to create engaging content for your audience, Pictory is suitable for you. This Pictory review will discuss all you need to know about the software, including its features, pros, cons, and pricing.
Note: I am an affiliate of Pictory, which means that if you click on my link (please do!), and purchase this tool, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Pictory Overview
Pictory is a cloud-based video creation tool leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to transform long-form content, including blogs, videos, podcasts, and whitepapers, into branded, highly shareable short videos. All this is accomplished in the shortest time possible. You can either record your own voice or use one of the AI-generated voices to narrate your script.
Pictory features white-labeling options that allow users to personalize the created videos with custom logos, colors, and fonts to establish brand identity. It also enables you to add your intros and outros.
Pictory offers transcription features. It transcribes speech in the video and allows users to retain or cut parts of the transcribed text. This software supports over 20 languages so you can connect with millions of audiences worldwide.
Pictory is perfect for social media managers as it helps convert blog posts into short videos – a move with potential for increased engagement. Additionally, Pictory’s automatic subtitle generation capability can also boost accessibility and enhance SEO rankings for your videos. Users can annotate videos or download them as text files, SRT, or VTT formats.
Click here to sign up for a Pictory AI trial free
Promo code “VIDNUME” offers a lifelong 20% discount
Other users who can benefit from Pictory to enhance productivity include marketers, bloggers, agencies, course creators, Vidnami users, YouTubers, and trainers. Once the short videos are created, you can schedule automatic posting on social media channels by integrating with Hootsuite. Videos can also be downloaded as CSV files.
Pictory Features
Feature | Status |
---|---|
Image editing | Supported |
AI Technology | Supported (NLP, CV, TTS) |
User Experience | Exceptional |
Customizable templates | Supported |
Audio editing | Supported |
Music library | Supported |
Video clip library | Supported |
Transcription | Supported |
Subtitles | Supported |
Special effects | Supported |
Educational materials | Available |
Free trial | Available |
Pricing model | Subscription-based |
AI Technology
Let’s kick off this Pictory review with its Artificial Intelligence technology. Similar to most AI video editing software, Pictory integrates three (3) AI technologies that work together to craft short videos from lengthy text.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) enables Pictory to automatically condense long texts into a few essential sentences, each forming a scene in the video.
NLP and Computer Vision (CV) automatically scan and select relevant background images (or videos) for each sentence in Pictory.
The Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature then narrates these important sentences and provides voiceover in the final Pictory video. You also have the option to record your own voice.
Pictory’s impressive AI allows users to edit videos via text without needing intricate software knowledge. The AI also enables you to create short videos from longer ones.
Free Trial
The free trial package offered by Pictory allows users to create 3 video projects, each with a maximum duration of 10 minutes. It also grants users access to all AI-supported features, including text-to-video creation, automatic captions and subtitles, as well as full access to over 3 million licensed videos and images. Pictory users can upgrade and switch packages at any time.
Pricing Model
Pictory operates on a subscription basis, offering three annual packages: Standard, Premium, and Enterprise. Below are the features you’ll enjoy with each package.
Standard Plan: $19 Per User/Month
Under this package, users can create up to 30 videos (720p video output) and receive 10 hours of video transcription per month. Users can also generate text-to-video projects with a maximum duration of 10 minutes and edit videos up to one hour long. Finally, the standard package provides access to three branded templates, 5000 music tracks, and 25 AI voices for text-to-speech conversion.
Click here to sign up for a Pictory AI trial free
Promo code “VIDNUME” offers a lifelong 20% discount
Premium Plan: $39 Per User/Month
The premium package allows users to create up to 60 videos (720p & 1080p output) with 20 hours of video transcription per month. Text-to-video conversion can span up to 20 minutes, and users can edit videos up to three (3) hours long.
The premium package provides access to 10 branded templates, 15,000 music tracks, and 42 AI voices for text-to-speech conversion. Other features included in this package are automatic voice synchronization, branded intros and outros, Hootsuite integration, and batch video downloads to CSV.
Enterprise Plan: Custom
The Enterprise plan is ideal for large organizations. The features and pricing of this package are tailored to the preferences of the organization and come with a dedicated account manager.
What Pictory Does Well
User Experience
Pictory is a cloud-based content creation software, meaning you can access this software from your mobile phone and laptop. It features a simple and user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate. The software is also very intuitive, as evidenced by user reviews of Pictory. It’s designed for both beginners and professionals to successfully edit their videos without needing any complex software knowledge.
Once you log in, the dashboard will appear. You can choose any feature you want to use on the overview page, including text-to-video scripting, article-to-video conversion, text-based video editing, and image-to-video conversion.
Customizable Templates
Pictory offers over 40 unique customizable video templates. It also features a wide range of dynamic images and styles. Users can customize and create templates to reflect their own personal brand.
Additionally, you can add colors, fonts, animations, logos, intros, and outros. Agencies and content creators can build and save multiple branded templates for clients, their own projects, and more.
You can access, modify, and create videos from older projects made with brand settings. By using template and style features, you can also give them an entirely fresh look.
Click here to sign up for a Pictory AI trial free
Promo code “VIDNUME” offers a lifelong 20% discount
Audio Editing
Pictory empowers users to record their own voice within the app or upload pre-recorded voiceovers. You can also choose from their library of realistic AI voices for Pictory to speak on your behalf.
Pictory users can also control the volume of music or voiceovers. Another notable feature in this Pictory review is the software’s capability to allow users to customize videos through the Audio Setting section within the Audio tab of Pictory.
Music Library
Pictory software boasts a library of 15,000 tracks from industry-leading sources like StoryBlocks and Melod.ie. You can select any of these tracks as background music for your short videos. Additionally, all music from this library is royalty-free. This means you won’t encounter copyright issues.
Video Footage Library
Once you upload your blog posts, videos, podcasts, and whitepapers to Pictory, it automatically scans and selects clips from over 3 million videos and images. The chosen images and/or videos will synchronize with the inputted script. Pictory then creates short, engaging videos that align perfectly with the intended message.
It’s worth noting in this Pictory review that all videos in the library are copyright-free, just like the music and images. So you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement when using videos.
Transcription
Transcription is the process of converting speech in audio files into text format. The Pictory app allows users to quickly and easily convert podcasts, webinars, and Zoom calls into text in just a few minutes. This means you don’t have to take notes during important meetings – Pictory will transcribe the text right after the meeting.
Additionally, you can quickly remove unwanted parts of the video by deleting the corresponding text entries. Pictory’s advanced AI automatically filters out filler words like ‘um’ and ‘uh’. You can also generate automatic summaries with this software. Finally, you can download the transcription as a text file, SRT, or VTT format.
Subtitles
Data shows that 85% of social media videos are watched in mute mode. This is why adding captions to your videos will attract more viewers and increase engagement as well as exponentially boost viewing time. Pictory allows users to add captions or subtitles and automatically correct errors.
Adding captions to your videos will help people with hearing impairments or those in noisy environments access your content. Captions also help your video content rank higher on Google and YouTube, enhancing discoverability. Pictory creates highly accurate captions, ensuring maximum clarity of your message.
Educational Material
The Pictory website features educational resources guiding users on how to use the software and instructing marketers as well as content creators on how to monetize the app. Pictory also has a blog where they instruct users on navigating specific features.
There’s an advanced video marketing course instructing users on topics such as strategic video marketing and repurposing, developing your personal brand through video, top video production tips and tricks, AI in B2B sales, LinkedIn marketing, and more.
The website also showcases case studies demonstrating how Pictory has successfully helped other businesses. Lastly, the Pictory support team regularly hosts free training sessions and has a Facebook page where users can learn and ask questions about anything related to the software.
Click here to sign up for a Pictory AI trial free
Promo code “VIDNUME” offers a lifelong 20% discount
What Could Be Improved?
Certainly, Pictory is an excellent tool for creating videos. Many marketers and content creators love it. However, we wouldn’t be fair in this Pictory review if we didn’t address some shortcomings of the software. Below are some aspects of Pictory that need improvement.
While Pictory’s transcription tool is excellent and highly accurate, only newly uploaded video files can be transcribed using the software.
Pictory needs to provide audio recording functionality. This would allow podcasters to record episodes for their audience. Another suggestion we’d like to make in this Pictory review is the addition of a dictionary/pronunciation guide to help Pictory transcribe words more accurately.
Special Effects
While Pictory’s transcription tool is excellent and highly accurate, it only supports transcribing newly uploaded video files.
Pictory needs to incorporate audio file recording functionality. This would enable podcasters to record episodes for their audience. Another suggestion we’d like to propose in this Pictory review is the addition of a dictionary/pronunciation guide to assist Pictory in transcribing words more accurately.
AI Technology
As observed in user reviews of Pictory, some users have meticulously curated personal media libraries that they upload to their personal Pictory library. It would be fantastic if the AI could scan this content instead of just available videos and images.
Pictory should also allow users to control the amount of text summarized in the Article To Video section. Users should also have the option to select or deselect parts of sentences rather than just entire sentences.
User Experience
Several enhancements could be made to the overall user experience of Pictory. One area is the ability to customize customer profiles, not just brand settings but also uploading images, projects, etc. This would be highly beneficial for agencies working on different client projects with extremely diverse brand requirements, uploaded audiovisual content, etc.
Another area needing improvement is the media library. While Pictory already offers excellent content, it would be even better to have more options for stock videos, images, and music. Additionally, Pictory could include an option on the storyboard panel to merge one or multiple scenes when users upload text.
Lastly, the ability to store and play videos from the Pictory Cloud would be a fantastic addition. Anyone who enjoys sharing links to videos on social media or sharing them with colleagues for feedback would find this feature extremely useful.
Pictory Review: Final Thoughts
Pictory is a highly AI-powered video creation tool. Users can quickly transform long text and videos into concise, engaging video content. The transcription and subtitle features help marketers gain a competitive edge by improving the ranking of their content on SERPs.
However, there are still areas for improvement. For instance, users cannot currently stream videos directly from the Pictory Cloud.
In conclusion, Pictory is an excellent video creation software with numerous benefits for agencies, bloggers, social media managers, podcasters, and YouTubers.
Click here to sign up for a Pictory AI trial free
Promo code “VIDNUME” offers a lifelong 20% discount
See more: Agility Writer Review 2024 – The Best Content AI Writer I’ve Tried – [Full Review]