Instagram Debuts New App To Enhance Videos
- by Mark Walsh @markfwal, August 26, 2014
Instagram is raising the stakes in mobile video with a new app that aims to make every user a mini-Spielberg with tools like tracking shots and time-lapse shooting that give videos a slicker,
professional look. The new Hyperlapse app features stabilization technology for creating smooth time-lapse videos even while in motion, like walking through crowds at an all-day festival. Instagram boasts that what was once only possible with more expensive equipment, like a Steadicam or high-priced tracking rig, is now possible through the free iPhone app (with an Android version on the way).
“From documenting your whole commute in seconds or the preparation of your dinner from start to finish to capturing an entire sunset as it unfolds, we’re thrilled about the creative possibilities Hyperlapse unlocks,” stated an Instagram blog post Tuesday announcing the app.
Unlike Instagram itself, Hyperlapse doesn’t require users to create an account. Users tap to start or stop shooting, and set a playback speed via built-in slider up to 12 times faster than normal. “Capture your bumpy trail run and share your 5K in 5 seconds,” suggests the Hyperlapse page in the in the App Store. The description also promises videos can be shared easily on Instagram and Facebook.
Why not simply build the functionality into the Instagram itself? “We didn’t want to create a special use that would just be hidden,” Mike Krieger, Instagram’s co-founder and CTO, told Wired, in an extended interview about the development of Hyperlapse. It also continues a recent pattern of companies like parent Facebook and Foursquare releasing specialized, standalone apps instead of adding features to flagship apps.
Along with individual users, the app will obviously also give brands a new platform for creating brief, cinematic-style videos on mobile devices. The release of Hyperlapse comes just days after Vine introduced new editing tools and the ability to upload existing videos to the Twitter-owned video app.
“It’s super lean and mean, and just opens up more ways for people and brands to go beyond the standard Instagram and Vine photo/stop-motion formats,” said Sean Miller, SVP, strategy at digital agency Rokkan, of Hyperlapse.
Because the only native sharing options in the app are to Instagram and Facebook, he suggested it would appeal mostly to brands already on Instagram looking to keep their content fresh. “But, I don’t think brands who aren’t on Instagram are going to flock to the platform based on this feature alone,” said Miller.
Introducing Hyperlapse from Instagram from Instagram on Vimeo.
Hyperlapse is available now on PromotedApp for local and global consumer discovery - http://www.promotedapp.com is helping Apps get easily discovered and seamlessly shared throughout Social Media.
The article itself doesn't do the justice. But the video advertising this new app, Hyperlapse, says it all. Many people in America are visual learners, including myself, and find visuals to be more enticing and appealing than text. This is what makes marketing and advertising so crucial.
This app has also stepped above all before it and handed its users the tools to be a “mini-Spielberg.” With tools like time lapse shooting, tracking shots and new stabilization technology, its users can film anything they desire with a professional finish.
If its makers weren’t thinking enough ahead, they made this app free and available to all with an IPhone (soon coming to Android). Hyperlapse also doesn’t require its users to create an account, which will make many users happy.
If I had the chance to improve this article I would have made its video advertise its tools and explain what they are and how they work. The video may have been visually appealing, but there is definitely room for improvement. The video itself was similar to what a Hyperlapse video will look like, but viewers who have never seen this app before need explanation!
On another note, how are the reviews on this new app? If they are exceedingly well, they should be advertised in the article for new users to see. This will grab the reader’s attention to this new product and force them to want to try it out for themselves. Maybe Instagram can begin to advertise this new product. I am an Instagram user and haven’t heard of this app until this article, so getting its name out there more will make it more successful.