» Posts Tagged ‘ipad’
Lifehacker is currently running a great series called “Lifehacker Packs,” wherein they round up all their favorite applications for the iOS, Android, and Mac platforms (no Windows love yet). Many of these applications are free, and each post is a great resource for anyone looking to add some creative/productive/fun tools to their computerized lives. The compilations are aimed at anyone, not just filmmakers (the full links are at the bottom of this post), but I’ve grabbed a number of relevant apps (and Lifehacker blurbs) for independent creatives: More »
As a desktop screenwriting application, Celtx has never threatened industry stalwarts Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter, despite its advantage (in terms of adoption) of being free. However, it seems the just-released mobile version of Celtx is ahead of the game instead of playing catch-up. “Digital rebel” Stu Maschwitz kick off his post on Celtx with the following: More »
One of the many items on my “to write” list is a “helpful applications for filmmakers” article. I was thinking if I spent some time on the Moon I could write all of these articles, but short of that (anyone who’s seen the Duncan Jones/Sam Rockwell film will know what I mean), there are just too many potential articles to crank out while also trying to make movies! Thankfully FilmmakerIQ and Filmmaker Magazine have both posted application roundups, which, as you can guess from the “filmmaker” in each publication’s name, focus on applications for filmmakers. Highlights from both articles include: More »
Since the iPad was announced I’ve been thinking about it as an agent of change for filmmakers. In that article at FreshDV, one of the reasons I didn’t talk about the iPad as a potential on-set production aide was because I had my own ideas for designing and developing such an application, although I didn’t end up pursuing such an undertaking due to lack of time and resources. Now that the “magical and revolutionary” device is out there in the wild, however, others are developing applications for this purpose and finding uses for iPads on set. HDSLR pioneer Vincent LaForet has shared a short video demonstrating the iPad being put to use on a recent shoot in LA for a new Sony Playstation game: More »
Is your film playing at a film festival? Are you selling DVDs or T-shirts? What if you’re a photographer selling prints out of your home? Maybe you’re a street artist doing sketches of tourists, or an artist selling paintings or sculptures at a street fair. Hell, you could be mowing lawns for money. Now imagine you had a miniature cash register that takes credit cards, accept signatures, and send receipts automatically, all using the mobile device you’re already carrying in your pocket. For filmmakers and other independent creatives, Square is a big deal. More »
When the iPad was announced in January, I wrote a piece at FreshDV employing some contrarian thinking — everyone else was saying “the iPad and HTML5 will kill Flash!” — and stated, “Flash is suddenly valuable again:”
With Flash, you can develop your rich-media experience once, and then output to web, iPhone, iPad, set-top boxes, and Blu-Ray platforms all at once… For productions with smaller budgets, being able to output to several different platforms without incurring huge costs will be… well, huge. And the iPad, I suspect, will be the crown jewel in Flash’s cross-platform strategy.
Now here’s Christian Cantrel from Adobe AIR (of which Flash is a key part) demonstrating this in action, on many different platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Droid, and, yes, iPad. More »
For creatives who get their hands on an iPad, the first thought is often, “what kind of app can I develop for this?” I toyed with an iPad at Apple’s 5th Avenue store yesterday and, watching people eagerly touching the screen one after the other, had a different idea.1 However, for those of you who have a concept for a mobile app, the easiest way to mock-up an application is to grab the free iPad PSD; all of the buttons, text, and other elements are separated out into Photoshop layers for you. There’s also a freely available iPhone PSD, which I used for a quick design job for Diversion Media last week. One note of caution: if you’re designing for clients or publicly presenting your app concept, change the time. As you can see, the designer who put together these helpful photoshop files had a little fun with the clock by setting it to the universal stoner time of 4:20. It’s much more subtle in the iPhone version, and I didn’t notice it until the client brought it up on the conference call; oops.
Finally, if you want to create an icon for your theoretical app, here’s the icon PSD; Apple’s design elements are also available as a vector kit.
- Obviously, I didn’t actually do it or I’d be in jail. My first thought was actually to make a joke about anthrax, but wasn’t entirely sure of the current status of habeas corpus. [↩]
My guest post on the iPad at FreshDV inspired some polarized discussion; whereas I focused on the new distribution possibilities offered by the iPad, detractors saw the device as just a big iPod Touch. Whether you buy into Apple’s hype or not, there’s certainly a lot of it: watch the following video for every superlative in the book.
Here’s the lead from a post I wrote immediately after the Apple iPad announcement yesterday; it’s now live over at FreshDV:
The Apple iPad offers a number of exciting new possibilities for filmmakers and story architects thanks to its screen size, connectivity, and interactivity. At first glance it may seem like just a big iPhone, but it’s priced to move and — whether you plan on buying one or not — in 60 days it will be in the hands of millions. For filmmakers and independent creatives, there’s a lot of brain candy contained in that thin body; here are seven ways I think the iPad will change filmmaking and interactive storytelling.
To read the article, head on over to FreshDV.
Ty: Like you stated though, all you need is a PC that runs iTunes (for now) With the new Apple TV, Apple Decides the Living Room Can Wait
Ty: Ah. Good point. Ever since switching over to Apple I've kind of taken fo… With the new Apple TV, Apple Decides the Living Room Can Wait
William: What I want to see is a device that will bury the cable companies. Time Wa… With the new Apple TV, Apple Decides the Living Room Can Wait
Koo: That's a good point -- all you need is another piece of Apple hardware tha… With the new Apple TV, Apple Decides the Living Room Can Wait