NoFilmSchool » ipad

A Veritable Cornucopia of Apps for Filmmaking

Koo — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:47:22 +0000

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:

Action Log Pro – Action Log is a film and television logging tool, designed for use on location or in a studio with up to 25 recording devices. At the touch of a button the logging system keeps track of all reel names and timecodes for each recorded piece of action.
Evernote – I love Evernote for keeping Web research organized — and for their elephant logo. — Esther Robinson, director
GoodReader GoodReader is terrific for script reading. You can widen the type to fit the page and then lock the scroll vertically. It’s by far the best way I’ve found to read screenplays. — Jason Kliot, producer
pCAM Film+Digital Calculator – A Cinematography and Still Photography calculator for Photographers, Directors of Photography, Camera Operators, Camera Assistants, VFX Supervisors, Script Supervisors, Gaffers, Grips, Motion Picture Editors, Production Designers, Art Directors, Film and Photography Students.
Qik I have found myself using Qik on set to share live videos from our shoots with Twitter followers, Facebook friends and Kickstarter backers. Here are some of those videos. — Arin Crumley, director
Screenplay – Black Mana Studios’ Screenplay is the world’s first fully-functional mobile screenwriting application. It allows professionals and hobbyists alike to write complete movie and television screenplays directly on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Storyboard Composer – Cinemek Storyboard Composer for iPhone and iPod Touch is a mobile storyboard and pre-visualization composer designed for Directors, Directors of Photography, Producers, Writers, Animators, Art Directors, film students and anyone who wants to be able to visualize their story.

Head on over to the respective sites and check out their full lists for a cornucopia of applications that just might help you on your next project:

22 Filmmaking Apps for the iPad & iPhone – Filmmaker IQ
SOFT SELL – Filmmaker Magazine

iPads Being Used as On-Set Production Aides

Koo — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:26:30 +0000

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:

Along similar lines, Philip Bloom has posted a roundup of iPad clapperboard applications, for using the Apple device as a slate (pictured above).

One of my goals with NoFilmSchool is not only to talk about disruptive technologies, but to actually create and share innovative tools for use throughout the production process. File this under “eventual” goals, not “near term,” but as Android-powered tablets make their way into the marketplace, I’m excited about the possibilities that an open platform might offer for filmmakers — above and beyond the iPad.

Link: Using the iPad on set – Vincent Laforet

Square allows independent creatives to accept credit cards anytime, anywhere

Koo — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:50:33 +0000

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.

In any of the aforementioned situations, one of the main obstacles to getting paid is, by default, most of us only have the capability to accept cash on the run. This immediately cuts down on potential customers, because not everyone carries cash, so conversion rates are lowered by virtue of a potential customer saying “I don’t have the cash on me.” If we’re selling something that’s expensive, even less people carry a lot of cash, so then we’re forced to respond, “here’s my card, check out my web site.” That’s not a conversion. 90% of the time we’ve just lost a customer. But what if we could easily say, “I accept credit cards?”

Here’s how Square works. Square is a small gadget (pictured) that plugs into your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android device’s headphone jack. It allows a customer to swipe their credit card by reading the magnetic strip, transmits the credit card data to your phone using the device’s audio input (converting 1s and 0s into bursts of noise), and then authenticates the card using the device’s wireless or Wi-Fi signal. It allows customers to sign for their purchase using the device’s touchscreen, and then emails them a receipt and enters the transaction into your sales database.

The device itself is (currently) free. You can download the Square app today in Apple’s App store or the Android Market. Then you head to Squareup.com, give them your mailing address, and they’ll send you the card reader free (Square has reported on Twitter that they’re currently backordered on devices, so it might take a bit). Square charges a transaction fee of 2.75% per transaction, plus $0.15 for a credit card swipe, which is competitive, with, say, Paypal’s fee structure (and Paypal does a whole lot less for the money, if you ask me). There is no setup fee, transaction fee, monthly fee, etc etc. There are a lot more features worth checking out, but here’s a quick demo:

For more details, here’s Square founder Jack Dorsey (who also invented a little thing called Twitter) presenting Square at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference today:

Square isn’t the only kid on the block. PAYware mobile (by VeriFone) and Paypal on the iPhone are two current competitors, with many to follow. But Square’s simplicity and fee structure seem to be set up perfectly for independent creatives.

What do you think? Anyone going to sign up?

[via TechCrunch]

One app, Five screens

Koo — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:00:08 +0000

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.

“There isn’t a single line of code that I had to change to get this application to run on all these different operating systems and all these different devices.” For indie creators who may be working on a story world that includes mobile apps and multiplatform games connected to a feature film (like, ahem, me)… well, I already said it. Huge!

The interesting thing is that, through this multiplatform strategy, Flash and AIR are becoming more of an authoring platform that outputs desktop or mobile apps — without relying on the Flash player. So I think those who state that Flash has peaked are right — but only if you’re talking about Flash as a plugin that lives on your desktop. If Adobe pulls this off, even if you don’t (or, in the case of the iPhone/iPad, can’t) install Flash, you’ll still be running Flash-based apps — without even knowing it.

Time will tell just how perfectly this “write once, publish many” approach works for more complicated applications, and how efficiently they run (I’m not a huge fan of TweetDeck because it uses AIR and is more sluggish than it would’ve been if coded natively), but for the budgets many of us are looking at, this is probably the only way to go multiplatform. And it’s arriving at just the right time.¹

[via Engadget, forwarded by Zack]

Adobe CS5 launches on Monday.

Helpful resource: iPad & iPhone PSDs

Koo — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:00:14 +0000

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.

Seen: iPad Keynote in less than 180 Seconds

Koo — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:00:20 +0000

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.

On a personal level, after pitching to studios dozens of times last year, I’ve realized that I don’t drop enthusiastic adjectives like Steve Jobs does, and that rather than saying “this is what it is,” I should be saying “this is what it is, and it’s awesome.” Thanks, Apple — lesson learned.

[via Mashable]

Guest post at FreshDV: 7 ways the iPad will affect filmmakers and creatives

Koo — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:45:44 +0000

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.