SilentFilmDirector
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MacPhun takes Silent Movie Director to a retro level with its new Vintagio app
MacPhun refreshed its Silent Film Director app for the iPhone and gave it a whole new look and a brand new name. Now called Vintagio, the video recording and editing app lets you make retro-looking videos in just a few minutes. There are a lot of options in Vintagio to let you design your video, your way. You can record in low quality mode (192x144), which is appropriate for MMS, or go full bore with 720P video. Other options include the ability to slow the video down, speed it up or even play it backwards. The app includes 7 filters that let you film an 80s disco video, a 60s hippy flick, a 1920s flapper movie and more. There are 11 original soundtracks in the app and these clips match the default filters perfectly. If you don't like the track selections, you can always import music from your iPhone's library. You can even add noise to the soundtracks to give them a vintage feel. When you first open the app, you can choose to shoot your video in Express Mode, which is quick and easy, or Pro Mode, which is filled with options to let you get the perfect look. In Express Mode, you only need to select the filter effect, the recording quality, the soundtrack and the video speed (1.0x, 1.5x, and so on). Once you make these four quick choices, you are only a few minutes away from a completed video. Vintagio's Pro Mode gives you control over your movie by letting you choose the details for your film. You can also load saved images or saved videos and add both titles and transitions. If you want some fresh content, you can record new videos or snap new photos for your movie. Pro Mode also includes the same filters and soundtracks that are available in the Express Mode. When you are done arranging your composition, you can render it to your device. Rendering in both the Express and Pro Mode takes a few minutes. While you wait, the app show you a status bar and interesting trivia to keep you entertained. Once the video is done, you can share it on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also save it to your camera roll. With these new features and a dose of creativity, Vintagio will let you create a flick that would make Charlie Chaplin proud. You can download Vintagio now from the iOS App Store. It's available for US$1.99.
Daily iPhone App: Editing capabilities make Silent Film Director a good bargain
I had the pleasure of talking with Alex Tsepko with MacPhun, the company behind the well-received Snapheal, at Macworld | iWorld 2012, and he showed off several of MacPhun's other apps. My absolute favorite out of the batch was Silent Film Director, which competes among other vintage-video apps such as Super 8. Silent Film Director was just updated with a number of new features, so it was a great time to get my hands on it. You get a lot with the basic version of the app, and it's easy for first-time users to grasp. Within minutes, I had a simple 1920's style film set to period-appropriate music of one of the cats acting startled. The rendering time was quick - in HD, my 15-second movie took less than a minute to render. You can also see videos created by other Silent Film Director users. To get finer editing features, such as cropping, splicing and piecing fragments together, adding title cards, play video with the original sound, add in still photography and more, it requires a 99-cent in-app upgrade. There are also some large ads for other MacPhun products that I felt were a bit intrusive, but it was only when the app launched, and I was able to dismiss them quickly. If you're updating from a previous version of Silent Film Director, new features include variable video speed, reverse mode, new speeds, a new soundtrack, the ability to add retro noises to music, music fade in/out and full HD support on the iPhone 4S and compatibility with iOS 5. Silent Film Director is $1.99 in the App Store, but if you want to do any editing beyond basic movie creation, it's worth the 99-cent upgrade. Silent Film Director's robust movie-editing features give it the nudge needed to make this my go-to vintage-video app.
TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for the best iPhone photo and video apps
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! TUAW is asking for your votes for the best iPhone photography and video apps of 2011. The iPhone is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras possible. That's not because it has stellar lenses, great low-light capabilities, or high shutter speeds -- because it doesn't -- but because it's always with you. Developers have stepped up to the plate with some of the most innovative apps for iPhone, all in the photography and video app categories. In the photo app category, readers nominated FX Photo Studio (US$0.99), the ever-popular Camera+ (currently on sale for $0.99), social networking / camera app Instagram (free), new photo editor Snapseed ($4.99), and panorama powerhouse 360 Panorama ($0.99). For video apps, we have iVideoCamera ($0.99), Filmic Pro ($0.99), Silent Film Director ($1.99), Apple's own iMovie ($4.99), and the fun TiltShift Video ($1.99). As with the Mac video and photo apps, I've broken out the voting into two polls. Please feel free to vote for one video app and one photo app, and we'll announce the winners in a few days. And now, let the voting begin! %Poll-72151% %Poll-72157%
