Animoto and Magisto are two producers of what is fast becoming the next big thing in the app market: automatic, cloud-based video editing applications.

Cloud computing basically takes the heavy-lifting out of personal computing (whether you use a PC or a mobile device). It allows the user to work in a program, for instance, without the necessity of having the infrastructure or resources to run that program. It’s the modern-day equivalent of the Flintstones having an octopus or a monkey washing the dishes in the dishwasher. The only difference here is that no animals are harmed in the process. (That was a joke, by the way.)

Automatic video editing basically works like this: you submit your videos or photos to the service provider (Animoto or Magisto, for example) and choose some theme music, a background—and presto! You have a nicely edited short film that you can instantly share on Facebook or any number of social networking sites.

If you are wondering how they make their money, they use the “freemium” business model, where a basic service or product is provided for free and a charge is added for more advanced features or services.

Both Animoto and Magisto understand that today’s consumers are increasingly using their mobile devices to run their lives. A cellphone is no longer just a phone. They understand that most people do not have the time nor the desire to transfer all their videos and photos back onto their computers in order to spend more time sorting through them—never mind using a program like iMovie or Final Cut or Premiere to edit them.

The Animoto website states that some of its producers come from the film and television industry. It is precisely that knowledge of post-production that they are bringing to you, the consumer. It is easy to conceive of a day when even Hollywood filmmakers will be editing films in a similar fashion. You can almost imagine Thelma Schoonmaker editing Raging Bull or Goodfellas on her iPhone while sipping a gingerbread latte at a local Starbucks.

Okay, that one is a little hard to imagine. But it is the way of the future. So the next time someone tells you to get your head out of the clouds, tell them you are working on the next great American film.