Do you need to capture your screen activities, test out color combinations, or join multiple videos into a single one? In this visual communication Sharewood Guide I have collected some cool new tools to help you prepare, organize and communicate your visual and video messages more clearly.

Photo credit: Avner Richard

Here the full set of visual communication tools I have chosen for you this week:

1. PicPick: Capture regions of your screen, grab pixels colors and whiteboard on your desktop
2. ColorCombos.com: Test out color combinations and grab a palette out of any site
3. FlickrIn: Embed a set of Flickr photos, that you can generate by username or tags, on your website
4. TimeRime: Build Flash-based visual timelines that you can share or embed on your blog or site
5. ScreenToaster: Record screencasts and share them online
6. Muveemix: Create mixes with videos and music, and publish them on the Web
7. Foto2Avi: Arrange all of your videos and pictures into a new movie easily
8. YouEmbedTube: Search for videos by tags, and get a Flash widget that points to them

Here all the details:

Visual Communication Tools

1. PicPick
   
   PicPick is an all-in-one software for developers, graphic designers and home users. It enables you to capture regions of your screen, that you can later edit into the integrated image editor. PicPick also integrates useful features such as pixel color picker, pixel ruler, screen whiteboard and more. PicPick is a portable application, which works only on Windows machines. Free.
   http://picpick.wiziple.net/features







2. ColorCombos.com
   
   ColorCombos is an online resource that people can use to test out color combinations easily. You can use the Combo Tester, which allows you to see how different color combinations work together on the screen, the Combo Library, to browse into a collection of pre-made combinations, but also grab a color scheme from a website by pasting its URL into a box. The service is free to use, no registration needed.
   http://www.colorcombos.com/








3. FlickrIn
   
   FlickrIn is a free service that allows you to embed sets of Flickr photos on your website. You can type in tags or any Flickr username, select the number of pictures the widget will have, and click generate. A preview will be shown to you, along with the HTML and Javascript embedding code. The service is completely web-based and free to use.
   http://www.flickrin.com/








4. TimeRime
   
   TimeRime is a timeline creator that allows you to build up a Flash timeline easily. Timelines can be filled with text, music, pictures and YouTube movies: each timeline has some controls such as in / out zoom button and date slider, as well as an embedding code and a sharing link. TimeRime is free to use, but registration is needed.
   http://www.timerime.com/

Video Publishing Tools

1. ScreenToaster
   
   ScreenToaster is a web-based screencasting software that lets you record screen activities without downloading any software. Working on any Windows, Mac, and Linux machine, ScreenToaster allows you to start recording your screen by pressing and stop just pressing a key combination. When you're finished recording your video, the output file will be immediately saved into your account, so that you can whether share its link or embed it everywhere. Free.
   http://www.screentoaster.com/








2. Muveemix
   
   Muveemix is an online video mixer that lets you join multiple videos and add music to them. To create a mix, upload all of the videos you want to add, select an audio file from your hard disk, give it a name, and click on "Make Muvee". You can then get a sharing link to send your video to other people, or simply embed it on your website or blog. Free.
   http://muveemix.com/








3. Foto2Avi
   
   Foto2Avi is a free video editor for Windows that anyone can use to combine videos and pictures. You can import images (BMP, JPG and PNG), videos (AVI, MPEG, MOV, WMV and FLV) and music, and combine them into a new movie (AVI, FLV or MPEG): you can add transitions, apply basic effects, or add animations, subtitles and logos. Foto2Avi is free to download and use.
   http://www.trustfm.net/divx/SoftwareFoto2Avi.php?b2=1






4. YouEmbedTube
   
   YouEmbedTube is a Flash widget creator you can use to embed a set of videos inside your webpage. To create a widget, just type some tags, select the number of random videos that will be embedded in your widget, and click preview. You can then get the code, and embed it on your webpage to let people see the videos you pointed at.
   http://youembedtube.com/

Originally written by Nico Canali De Rossi for Master New Media and first published on October 26th 2008 as "Visual Communication And Video Publishing - Selected Tools And Web Services - Sharewood Guide Oct 26 08"