In the film world there’s a whole hidden art form called “Story Boarding”. This is where an artist takes a script and draws out all the images the camera will see in an almost comic book type style. This helps the director and cinematographer stay on track with how the film will look.
To get this done you have to either be an artist, hirer an artist, or use expensive software. I’m not an artist and don’t hire any, so when I story board I use a program that cost over $800, and I’ve been happy… but something was missing.
I’ve wanted to have a way to do story boards on the fly, and luckily… there’s an app for that. “Hitchcock” by Cinemek allows anyone (and I do pretty much mean “anyone”) to create professional looking story boards using photos of the actual locations right on your phone.
For any budding or established filmmaker with an iPhone I can’t recommend “Hitchcock” any more highly! Within minutes of downloading the software I was able to put together a nice little story board that included all sorts of camera movements and even voice work from the actors. And when I say “within minutes” I mean I had the whole thing done in less than 20 minutes. It’s that easy to use.
Application Modes:
Sure, this isn’t a game so the modes are a little different, but there are some cool wrinkles to this app. Once you’ve created your story board you can upload it to Cinemek’s servers and then print out a full color version of it that looks almost as good as anything my $800 program can do. Oh, and since I haven’t mentioned it yet… this app is only $20. Sure that’s a lot for people used to playing $1 games, but it’s a drop for what you get.
You can also view your boards in a movie version, complete with sound. This even shows all of your dolly and camera movements. It’s very cool to see the camera zoom in on a picture just like it would in the actual film. Sadly, you can’t upload this to the server, and can only watch it on your phone, but it’s understandable. Imagine if everyone was uploading their little movies (and many of them on Jailbroken devices so they didn’t pay for the right) to the server… it would seriously overload things. I’m happy with how it is for now.
Controls:
Incredibly simple to use. Even people who don’t understand film or story boarding will be able to make really cool story boards with this app. Everything is done with simple grab and drag controls and you can make your way through things even without going through any instructions.
In fact, while this certainly isn’t a game, it can be a lot of fun for people. Imagine being able to create your own comic book complete with movement and voiced dialogue. I brought this to a play rehearsal and we created our own little sequel to the show that had everyone laughing hard.
What We Liked:
+ Finally a useful story board program for filmmakers on the go.
+ Incredibly easy to use.
+ Professional looking story boards can be sent to anyone.
+ Seeing the boards as a movie.
+ Voiced dialogue added, easily.
+ Turn any photo into a location site, or take them on the spot.
+ Even fun for non-filmmakers
+ Best $20 a filmmaker can spend.
What We Disliked:
– Only one track for sound (for now).
– Needs a photo to start, no ability to use a “blank” canvas (for now).
Final Verdict:
I’ve already said it… No filmmaker with an IPhone should be without this app. Not only is this one of the easiest story boarding apps I’ve ever used, it’s one I can take with me everywhere. And it’s fun for anyone.. This could easily be a hidden party game. But I’m glad it’s Professional grade.
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Just to hit it again… if you (or someone you know) is into filmmaking… this is the best $20 they will ever spend towards their craft. I have already used this several times in my “real job” when I’m on locations and want to show people what I’m looking at doing. There are things that can make it better, but I’m very happy with it as it stands…
And remember the part about it actually just being a fun app to goof around with and create your own comic book panels… that’s an app that someone should be working on right now! You know, with pre-drawn superheroes at the ready… Man I wish I could program stuff…
Bob
Agree with the other comments that this definitely looks impressive.
Useless on my 1st gen Touch, but impressive nonetheless.
On the other hand, even if I had a camera, my creativity was crushed in my formative years when I was told I had to colour in the lines, so I probably wouldn’t be any good at this, but damn does this app look awesome.
Oh my god, this looks incredible!!!
Sadly, this would be wasted on me for my pathetic skills at artistic creativity, but in the right hands, this can be truly awesome. Great review and well done on picking this one up! Definitely one easily overlooked, yet so powerful in the hands of a creative iPhone user.
As for the iPod touch camera, I’m sure that it will be added in on the next round. All accounts for the spacing inside etc all hint that it was either a software issue controlling the lens, or strategic, in order to avoid cannibalising the iPhone sales this final quarter.
I second Stewie’s comment. Wow! Both my brothers produce music video clips and one has been helping produce pilot episodes for a comedy series. They’ll be very interested to see this app.
Wow, that’s pretty darn impressive. Too bad Jobs didn’t put the cameras in the new iPods or I might be downloading this right now.