Spott
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App for film buffs is a great idea with flawed execution
I am a pretty major film buff. I even wrote a book on a sixties movie producer. So I was pretty excited to hear of Spott, an app that uses augmented reality and your iPhone GPS to find the nearby locations where films and TV shows were shot. It's a great idea for an app. You can enter Al Pacino and see where his movies were filmed. You can also search by title. You can even get a map that will point you to locations anywhere in the world. Alas, the app is pretty thin in the data department. While there are lots of movies listed, there is an awful lot missing. Here in Southern Arizona, endless westerns were produced. Tombstone, Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Trial of Billy Jack, Easy Rider. The list goes on and on. What does Spott list for this area? Nothing. Nada. Utah is completely empty, and Utah has been the home of hundreds of films. As I said, this is a great idea for an app. The developers let you sign up and add data that is missing, and even submit photos of yourself at movie locations but frankly, it's not my job to do that. Even though movie locations are not the main purpose of the IMDB app, you can get that information from there, but it's not designed to let you search by location in the iOS versions. I would say Spott is a good start, but at US $2.99 I'd like a more complete database, and more images. Spott bills itself as the 'ultimate tool for film fans' but it still has a way to go to meet that description. I'm hoping the developers will step it up a bit and make Spott all that it could be. Spott runs as a universal app on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and requires iOS 3.1.3 or greater.
Premiering tonight: AFK film offers laughs, epic gaming scenes
Tonight is the premiere of /afk, a short film that tells the story of a single WoW player with a dream to solo Onxyia before he quits the game for good. Earlier this week, WoW Insider spoke with Benjamin Dressler, the director of /afk, and got the scoop on some of the origins of the film. Today, I'll be following up that interview with a review of the film and a few more words from Dressler on the more detailed aspects of the production. /afk is a short comedy that combines live-action footage with in-game animation and machinima. The story follows Piet (Martin Schnuerch), a student whose parents want him to take control of his life and break his gaming habit. He is unwittingly submitted to counseling, where he meets with the brutally honest psychiatrist (Eva Spott.) Piet is cooperative to an extent, telling his in-game friend Nippi (Bill Dean) early on that he intends to quit the game, but as the story progresses, it's apparent that he's very torn on the matter. He questions whether he is addicted and what he wants to do with his life. To make the decision harder on him, Piet has always wanted to solo Onxyia in the game and liken himself to a mythical dragonslayer, like Beowulf or Siegfried, a task he has not yet fulfilled. The film takes place during Piet's final days in the game, when he spends his time with friends and preparing for his face-off with the dragon. Update: /afk is now available for viewing.
