Is this for real? And to think I wasted all that time actually learning how to write, shoot, and edit. Now if they can just work on AI actors...

http://www.syracuse.com/business/prnewswire/index.ssf?/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=NY1&STORY=/www/story/08-14-2007/0004644929&EDATE=Aug+14,+2007

It is just for still images. Great idea...

could be usefull if you need some video loop for a DVD menu.
while the style seems more dedicated to MTV style , metal-rock branch....
would be interesting to feed the system with some beethoven music.

What is sounds like it is doing is the cuts, transitions - making a better slideshow with music. From the FAQ :

"The heart of Animoto is its newly developed Cinematic A.I. technology that thinks like an actual director and editor. It analyzes and combines user-selected images and music with the same sophisticated post-production skills & techniques that are used in television and film."

You send in the music and images and the computer randomizes it with cuts, transitions, images pans etc. It does not replace a video/film director by any means.

Computers will never replace human directors and editors, no matter how much a programming company would try to convince us otherwise.

Still, pretty incredible and very cool. It would definitely be useful for some things.

Back in the 20th Century, after dealing with a lot of fellow workers who wouldn't RTFM, I came up with a sayting that I pasted atop my monitor:

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity."