Want to get our attention in a hurry? Tip us on a digital magazine concept for the iPad that combines footage captured by a prototype RED
Mysterium-X sensor from inside of a Frank Miller style, noir hellscape. Of course, just because it was created for the iPad doesn't mean that the concept isn't applicable to any of the hundreds (
not an exaggeration) of tablet devices destined to arrive over the next year. The feature concept, created by Alexx Henry and Andrew Grant together with co-directors Cory Strassburger and Ming Hsiung, redefines the art of infotainment. And make no mistake: as mainstream media fights for eyeballs this is blood for blood and by the gallon. These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They're back. There's no choice left. And publishers are ready for war. See the video (and making of) after the break.
Update: While the making-of video says the footage was shot using a "RED Epic M-X Sensor" a screen grab of the actual camera shows that it's a
RED ONE (with M-X sensor), not an
Epic. Image after the break.
posted March 18th 2010 4:58AM
That will NOT PASS Apple draconian puritan app approval!
See that 3 characters started with S and ended with X?
@ewlung
Dont forget Apple lets "classy" sex appealing apps pass like SI and etc....so chances are this will too, plus the app isnt just that one thing, theres more to it
@abedinthehouse
Don't mistake "classy" for "revenue generating"
The video is in Flash format... Ô the Irony.
;)
@grandmainger
actually this video is in .mp4 format - encoded with h264 - perfectly playing on my iphone.
And anyway, this is an application concept, not just a video...
@huskiiiii really? My iphone just shows the plugin missing icon.
@huskiiiii Lier
@lookseehear
did you follow the link to the vimeo site? http://vimeo.com/10207926
this is playable.
Also you can download the mp4 file, and sync it to your iphone/ipod
That was Epic!...Oh wait!
@huskiiiii
Actually this video is in Flash format, but mobile users are lucky enough that Vimeo is kind enough to replace it with h.264 for them.
All in all, it looks like a well formed concept.
@Twisthem488
The Video is in H.264 format, the player just happens to be Flash,
or if you go to Vimeo HTML5 or if you go via the iPhone it's own built in player.
Am I in Hogwarts, again?
With this whole tablet concept, it's been %$#%#@ from the beginning. First of all, we are supposed to have like 4 or 5 thousand geeks, you know, using some desktop OS, and suddenly you have all these ****ing casual users, being hip and savvy. It's ridiculous. And on top of all that, it's supposed to be a computer, and suddenly we got this ****ing mobile OS, that has an integrated ecosystem. We'got fanboys. F'k'ing nightmare, dude. I'm never, ever buying another Apple product again, ever.
@onlymyrailgun Calm down man and move to the next article no one wants to hear you rants go to apple free engadget. I am sure apple won't miss your sales.
@onlymyrailgun Also, there is no censorship of swearing on this site...
@Oli D
And NOBODY saw "what I did there"...
I was trying to start a discussion on what the dude was ranting about at the end of the "making of" video. Guess I failed, lol.
RED FTW
iPad Fail
what a load of tosh. What is this, 1990's interactive CD-ROMs all over again?
@mrklaw This will only lead to the further decline of journalism. I want to READ things for myself, I have not leased out my imagination to corporate branding. This will only reinforce a generation who already thinks reading is dead.
@mrklaw The reason this looks tacky isn't because of the animation or anything tech-related, it's because such magazines are... well, tacky. In other words: do you think this content would be any less dumb in print? It's just a concept of how one of these stupid magazines (I don't even know what to call them) would look on the iPad. I for one am much more interested in how the New Yorker or National Geographic will look.
@Parkettpolitur
Also anticipation the National Geographic and its whole back catalog! Now that's epic!
@mrklaw
It is utterly ridiculous.
All that is is a Flash site with an iPad frame stuck around it.
Call it a "concept" and get plastered all over the tech blogs? Perfect publicity vehicle.
@LAY just what I was thinking. Hmm Flash Microsite, where is the magazine?
And you mine as well make it a flash microsite and just market that to kids instead as they won't need to have an iPad to get the info.
Fun for two weeks. After that people will probably just skip all the animations.
@MAIcrosoft
I absolutely disagree, arguably, as long as people have eyes, they will love that animation, photographic artistic flavor on what ever is out there. Especially when you consider the fact that a very big percentage of magazines' sales are because of photography and images on cover or inside the magazine.
@Techno1q
True!
They could make it nice though with all the flashy animations and such, but it will get annoying when it takes this long (i mean, this was 1:45 to navigate trough somewhat like 5 pages of tiny content, imagine having to read a whole magazine that way) and I compare it with Flash Intro's from websites from 1999-ish which took ages to finish and you cannot skip. Making things move and all that interactive stuff is awesome! But making things take forever is not cool
@MAIcrosoft
I truly hated these silly long Flash animation on web pages, especially when I was just looking to quickly read the content. And there were no option to turn it off. But this magazine just shows proof of concept for the iPad. I could see the "theme" idea taking off with say New Moon fans. Or Miley Cyrus fans for example. They're not only just looking to read but to be entertained. To be interactive. Imagine a fan being able to tweet and stay in contact with their idols.
@Techno1q
All the people that are against this concept are obvious trolls, don't feed them.
Nice to see the mac farm during post production work. I can't wait to get an iPad and see the new generation of apps/media that come to market for it.
I'm curious - will Apple allow any lewd content being read on the iPad? Or will they gain some sort of position to censor any kind of material that would violate their idea of decency?
I agree with mrklaw and MAIcrosoft; The first thing I thought of was interactive CDs and it made me cringe. Furiously clicking through the detritis just trying to get the basic info I need.
When iPad was first revealed, most people crapped all over it becuase it wasn't flashy (pardon the pun) enough - there were no magic unicorns. Until a few brigher observers pointed out that simplicity was largely the reason the iPad would succeed. But if Apple won't give consumers the flashing crap they never wanted in the first place, then leave it to the misguided marketeers!
You want to sell me magazines? I'll be shopping in the iBookstore... put them on the rack with an eye catching cover page and a few good articles... I'll probably buy it.
Don't bother making a custom app... I don't shop at novelty stores.
Well, I LOVE IT! This is the future for comics!
I would buy it!
@YLA G I never thought about this being in comics. That would freakin be AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
So the idea is that I pay actual money for this sort of content?
@awake
well, not you, but, people who have jobs, yea.
@Wesscoast
LOL, brilliant reply :-)
@Wesscoast +1 Haha!!
@Wesscoast
One of the best burns on engadget.
This is taking the act of reading and turning it into a game for the wrong reasons. Really, this is only meant for passive-readers who stopped reading in the first after they got past picture-books or for the ones who have forsaken reading altogether for getting brain-fed junk-media. Not to mention, did you look at the “lifestyle” tag associated with VIV magazine, they will be nothing more than one big AD meant to keep future generations addicted to ADD medication and overpriced accessories.
If this says anything about the future, I am very worried indeed.
@GSClarkery
You're railing against pre-digested 'junk media' on Engadget.
I think that in itself is a more distressing indication of the decline of the written word than anything I saw in the demo.
The iPad is a new and exciting platform and all I see from the get-go is corporate novelty pollution.
I really hope there are independent media outlets out there whose main focus will not be to continue to distract the masses.
This reminds me of a modern version of those old 3DO games just like the stuff coming out Penguin reminds me of the old encyclopedia cd's that were interactive
That's not an Epic - that camera is the RED ONE (probably with the upgraded Mysterium-X sensor).
The Epic beta program hasn't started yet. You can get the same sensor as an upgrade for the RED ONE (I think it's a $5750 upgrade) but the Epic is smaller, and is able to shoot 5K resolution at up to 100 frames per second, with higher frame rates at lower resolutions (the RED ONE only has enough processing power to do 30 frames per second at 4K, or 25 at 4.5K, 60fps at 3K, and 120fps at 2K).
I love that the video for this article can't be viewed on an iPad.
@mikethebigo Vimeo has already tested h.264 html5 video on their site...so it's really not that far fetched. Not to mention youtube.
Wow, you droid fangrrls are really jealous.
"any of the hundreds (not an exaggeration [/over-50-arm-based-tablets-launching-this-year/] )"
you guys can count, right?
@mrqs heard of Intel?
@Thomas Ricker
i'm not saying it is an exaggeration, i'm saying the link doesn't rebut it and the title of the link makes it look funny
it looks nice but if you really want to read something after one week you will hate the animations cause they just consume time and stop the reading flow, also the production costs for this are way to high to have it on every magazine and article.
I would see this more like a tech demo and it could be used for adventure games or something.
I haven't had the chance to watch the videos yet (running late)...
.... but I find it comical that magazine publishers have been crying bloody murder about losing money left and right, but now they are essentially creating mini-movies (with all the cost overhead that goes with that) to make digital versions of their magazines?!?!