Animoji are new and hip, but you can only make recordings of up to ten seconds via the iMessage app. In this tip, we’ll explain how to make longer Animoji movies.
Make longer Animoji movies
People with an iPhone X will be one of the first things on their new phone to test how the Animoji function works. In addition, the iPhone X uses Face ID to see how the muscles in your face move and translates them into realtime to different emoji. So it seems like a turd is talking and like a monkey is singing.
Animoji can be used exclusively in iMessage and is therefore part of it. To send a message to someone as an animated emoji, you can take 10 second recordings. Apple has set that limit itself. After you send them, you can also store them locally and distribute them on other networks. If you want to make longer Animoji movies, you have to make a few detours. There are two options at this point.
Also check out the 8 best Animoji Karaoke movies
1. Take a screenshot
A screen recording seems the easiest solution, although you have to take extra steps if you really want to do it properly. With iOS 11 it is possible to make a video of your screen. You can also do this with the preview function of Animoji in iMessage, which produces a longer video. It goes like this:
- Swipe down from the top right corner on the iPhone X to open Control Center;
- Tap the record icon (the white circle with a circle around it);
- A timer counts down to the recording and top left the time indication turns red after starting;
- You can turn off the recording via the control panel.
The video is now saved in the Photos app. So you can share it immediately, but there is more on the screen than just the Animoji that matters. To cut the video to size, you can use iMovie, for example.
With the iMovie app on iOS it is possible to load recorded videos and then enlarge the images. You then zoom in the recording until only your Animoji is in view. In this crop you save the video and then share it.
2. Download this app
There is a standalone app that records Animoji for up to 20 seconds. That’s still not long enough to mimic entire songs, but at least it offers double Apple’s limit. Still, this is not the most obvious solution as you need a developer account to use it.
The app is called SBSAnimoji and is with a roundabout way download via GitHub. SBSAnimoji uses a private api from Apple that developers can get started with. However, developers are not yet supposed to make their own Animoji applications, so the app will not appear in the App Store any time soon.
While developers can get a taste of it, Apple has not disclosed whether third parties will be allowed to use these Animoji APIs to develop their own apps for the App Store.
Buy iPhone X.
Animoji are only available on the iPhone X. That is because the other devices, such as the iPhone 8, do not have Face ID and therefore cannot make a good 3d scan of your face. You can buy a separate iPhone from 1159 euros, but an iPhone X with a subscription is also available from various providers.
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