Xtranormal: If you can type, you can make movies

Xtranormal is a "website that hosts text-to-speech based computer animated videoclips, featuring animated three-dimensional characters speaking in monotone computer voices” (Wikipedia).

Upon opening an account, each registered user is awarded 300 Xtranormal points (xp), the site’s form of currency. Movie Maker users gain access to 19 different packs of characters and scenery with different themes, among them the Presidentz pack (famous politicians), Pawz (cute animals), Playgoz (Lego-type toy figures), and Celebz (trendy celebrities). Within each pack, characters and scenery options are assigned different prices on a three-tiered scale (37 xp is the cheapest rate for a character or set; 150 xp is the most expensive). Once a character or set is purchased to make one movie, it is owned permanently and can be used in any additional films.

Filmmaking in Xtranormal is a four-step process. Users first choose either one or two characters, then select a location. In step three, the moviemaker can choose appropriate background noise, such as drinks clinking in a bar scene. The final step is writing the script and assigning gestures and facial expressions to the characters, such as angry arm crossing or eyes widened in surprise. Another part of the scripting phase is selecting camera angles to emphasize certain points or simply make the film more visually interesting. Once the script is written and the characters animated, the film can be previewed and re-edited multiple times before publication to YouTube, Facebook or the Xtranormal site. But once published, films cannot be changed.

The company responded to requests for an educator platform by introducing a new service targeting teachers in Nov. 2011. This has a slightly different fee schedule than the earlier version: $10 a month, plus .50 per student account. So a professor could create 10 student accounts and pay $15 a month. This comes with a number of perks:

• Can add as many accounts as you want for students (at a cost).
• Access to all actors, sets and services -- no need to purchase them individually.
• Administrator access to all student accounts and availability of grading tools.

A 14-day trial is available if instructors are unsure about how they'd use this software.

New features added in the fall of 2011 include title and credit screens and the ability to record your own voiceovers and upload them (each new features costs 100 Xtranormal points per movie).

Instructors are using this technology a variety of ways: to introduce units or reinforce the main points in a lesson, to provide instructions for assignments, or a means for completing the assignment. Two instructors in Colorado had their students create videos, then had the class vote on the most successful one.

Disclosure: This entry was updated and slightly modified from a paper I wrote for a class over the summer. The full paper can be viewed below.

Other uses (embedding was disabled for these, but I liked the ideas):

• Word of the Day - Scrawny 
• Mr Lytle's Class - Bill of Rights Assignments

Advantages:

• Mostly humorous.
• Instructions are fairly straightforward, but you must sign up for an account to view anything and even see how it works.
• Lots of languages and ethnicities represented.
• Movies can be downloaded to computer or posted to YouTube (but it's an additional fee).
• Very appealing to younger students: Geico Insurance actually used Xtranormal to create a series of ads last year because they wanted to reach younger consumers.  
• An alternative to a traditional presentation or paper.

Disadvantages:

• Takes a few tries to get the hang of the camera angles and expressions for the characters.
• Getting the characters to pronounce words the way you want can be tricky.
• Movies cannot be changed once published.
• Computerized voices can wear at you after a while.
• Fee-based service, even for educators.  
• Might not appeal to older students.
• Definitely intimidating for inexperienced computer users (although it shouldn't be, if a little guidance is provided).

Works Cited:

"Xtranormal." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.

Further information:

Baumbach, Donna J. "Web 2.0 & You." Knowledge Quest 37.4 (2009): 12-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 June 2011.

Gamerman, Ellen. "Animation Nation." Wall Stree Journal 14 Feb. 2011. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 June 2011.

Metter, Ellen. "Xtranormal." The Charleston Advisor 12.2 (2010): 54-57. Print.

Price, Elizabeth L. Integrating Web 2.0 Technologies into the College Classroom Using Xtranormal. Florida State University, 15 June 2011. Web.  14 Nov. 2011.