Some people enjoy reading your poetry themselves and others want to hear your poetry interpreted in your voice. For the latter audience, let’s create a multimedia poetry video that animates the text of your poem to your voice over audio. This process also works great for creating music lyric videos. First, we will gather or create our media (images, audio, and video clips) and then we will use a free video editor to put it all together.

Here is an example of the video we will create, with animated background, background music track, and animated text: All About Her (spoken word poetry by Ohio poet Joey Polisena)

DISCLAIMER: I am not associated with nor do I receive any payments from any of these product or service providers. I am an artist who benefits from these technologies and resources. OK, fine–I’m also a nerd who enjoys turning what I know and learn into tutorials for writers, artists, and others with tight budgets.

Gather Content

First of all, start off with a shorter poem. Video production takes some time and you will learn more by starting with shorter pieces that allow you experiment with effects and animations.

Start by recording your poem. Review this tutorial to create your audio with Audacity.

Then, gather your background video, graphics, and music. Please verify your rights to use content before you use it. Read the license carefully and compensate the artist what they ask (if you use the sources below, the price is usually attribution at the end of your video). Just as you work hard at your art, these artists work hard at theirs. If you use someone else’s art to enhance yours, respect them.

Copyright Basics

• USPTO | Copyright basics
• What is Creative Commons?

Graphic Sources

• Pixnio
• Unsplash
• Pexels
• Pixabay

Video Sources

• Pexels Video
• Coverr
• Pixabay Video

Audio Sources

• Uppbeat
• Pixabay Music
• Free Music Archive

Install the video editing software

For this tutorial, let’s introduce you to VideoProc Vlogger. I searched and tested so many free video editors for a good Adobe After Effects alternative that would allow me to easily animate text. I used PowerPoint for a while, but PowerPoint just doesn’t give the timing detail to really synchronize the words and audio.

Then, I found VideoProc Vlogger, a free video editor offering timeline-based editing, transitions and effects, and all the cool stuff needed to create a multimedia poetry video. NOTE: If you have a bit more experience with video editors, I recommend getting to know Divinci Resolve. It has a bigger learning curve, but more effects and features.

If you are brand new to video editors, feel free to poke around the learning resources to get a general feel the app interface and navigation: VideoProc Vlogger YouTube channel and the VideoProc Vlogger online guide.

Here is a quick guide:

Create a new project

1. Upon opening the VideoProc Vlogger, you will be prompted to scan your system hardware. Once complete, click Next to create a new project.
2. Enter a Project Name and chose the save Location.
3. For the Video Resolutions, choose 1920 x 1080 (16:9) 1080P for TV and YouTube formatting or 2400 x 1080 (20:9) Note 20 for TikTok and other smartphone formats.
4. Click on New Project
5. Click on the + in the upper-left corner of the library and Add Media.
6. Navigate to and select your recorded audio, background music, videos, and graphics to import them into the project.
7. Save the project frequently.

Create an animated background using a photo and effects.

You can use any of the previously mentioned Video Sources for animated background videos, or you can create your own. Follow these steps to create a simple motion background with a photograph and VideoProc Vlogger’s Effects.

1. Drag the image to the Video track on the timeline and extend it to match the audio file length.
2. Double-click the image in the preview window to select it and then scroll down the properties panel to the Transform section and click on one of the Fit to screen options to make the photograph fit the video.
3. Click on Transitions and drag a transition to the beginning of the image to control how it appears. Drag its right edge to a position ahead of the audio.
4. Click on Effects to browse the effects library. Double-click an effect to preview it.
5. To apply an effect to the image, drag it from the library to the image on the timeline.
6. Drag the right edge of the effect so that it is the same duration as the photograph.

Tips:

• You can layer effects on the same image or video.
• If using multiple video clips or images to create a background animation, use the Transitions between them.
• Use the Overlay tracks to add other graphics on top of the main background.

Add and animate text on the screen

For the best quality audio-video synchronization, you will animate each word individually. Yes, as previously mentioned, video production takes some time. However, once you build the first set of animated words, you an duplicate the text that already has the right font, size, color, and animation applied.

The more you synchronize items to audio, the better you will get at reading the waveforms and when words begin. As you are learning, listen to the audio file and place the playhead about a quarter (0.25) second before the first word, which should be the title of your poem. You can see a timestamp above the playhead, which can help you estimate a quarter of a second. (See image below.)

TIP: Zoom in to the Timeline for more precise placements by clicking dragging the slider in the upper-right corner of the Timeline toward the +.

1. Click on the Text button under the preview window.
2. In the Text box on the properties panel, type the first word of the poem’s title.
3. Select its font, size, color, outline, and shadow using the options in the properties panel.
4. In the Animation section of the properties pane, select a Move In and Move Out animations and change the timings to 0.25. NOTE: For words with more syllables, you may want to increase the timing. Generally, for two-syllable words, I will set the Move In to 0.40, and, for a three-syllable word, I will set it at 0.50–0.60.
5. Click and drag the text item in the preview pane to position it on the screen. To activate the preview window, double-click it, and then you can click on the text item to move it.
6. Click the Play button under the preview window to view the animation. Tweak, as needed.
7. In the Timeline, select the text item and drag its right edge after the poem title and byline, but before the first word of the poem would begin.
8. When you are happy with the text animation, select it in the Timeline and copy it ([Ctrl + C]).
9. Move the playhead about a quarter of a second before the second word of the title and paste ([Ctrl + V]).
10. Change the text in the properties panel and drag its right edge to align with the first word of the title.
11. Repeat for all words in the title and byline.
12. For the first word of your poem, you will likely want to use a smaller font than you did for the poem title. Format, place, and animate the first word of your poem.
13. Then, copy and paste it for the other words.

Tips:

• Text alignment is manual in VideoProc Vlogger, but you can set up guides for yourself. At the top-left of the preview window, click on the Show Rulers button. Then, you can click and drag from the rulers to create colored guide lines over the preview window. This allows you to align your items to the guides.
• Don’t put too much text on the screen at once. Try to keep each scene/text set to 1-2 lines of poetry, and then animate those out before the next set appears.
• Vary the size and shape of text sets to give more life to the video. Sometimes, only show one or two words. Other times, fill the screen in words. In other words, break the rules when it serves you and your fans.
• Use fonts that are easy to read. You will be tempted to use unique and artistic fonts. However, please remember that these videos give your audience only a few seconds to process each word. If you make their brains work harder, they might bail on your video. If you’re not sure, stick to Arial.
• For added visual effect, try staggering the end points for text in each set.
• You can learn more advanced techniques for animating text on the VideoProc YouTube channel.

Add background music

To add background music:

1. Click the big + at the bottom of the track list and choose New Audio Track.
2. Drag the music audio file to the new audio track, aligned to the beginning of the video.
3. In the properties pane, reduce the Volume between 0.15 and 0.3 to your preference.
4. Optionally set the Fade In option.
5. Set the playhead at the end of the video, select the music track, and click on the Split button.
6. Delete the clip on the right.
7. Add a Fade Out option so that the background music fades out at the end of the video rather than cutting off abruptly.

You can further tweak and edit the audio file by clicking the Audio button under the preview window.

Add end credits

Be sure to include your website or other marketing information in the end scene of your video. Make the end scene about 5-6 seconds beyond the end of your audio and include your web address and attributes for the graphics, videos, and background music you used to create the video. You can find some “credits” templates on the Titles tab.

Publish the video

Before you publish your video to MP4 (the most sharable format), move the playhead to the beginning and watch it from beginning to end. Tweak animations and sounds, as needed, and repeat the preview until you are able to play the whole video with no changes.

All good? Let’s publish your video:

1. Click on the VideoProc button in the upper-left corner of the app to access the menu.
2. Choose Export Video
3. It should default to the same file name and location as the project file, but you can change it.
4. The Video codec should be AVC (H.264).
5. The Audio codec should be AAC.
6. Choose other audio and video options as needed for your video. TIP: If you need to reduce the file size of the final video to send through email (not recommended), you can try these setting tweaks:
   1. You can reduce the Quality to Medium or Low.
   2. You can reduce the FPS (frames per second) if you video has simple animations.
   3. Change the Audio Channel to Mono.
   4. Change the Audio > Bitrate to 96.
7. Click on Start to create the MP4.