Iphone Application for HV20

[Jay Youth]

I was thinking about leading a team of app devs to produce an application that will be a helpful companion to the HV20/30/40.

I was wondering what features in an app would you like to see?

Examples so far,

A screen with differing colors and brightnesses for white balances

A bright white screen just for exposure hacking

A Dof calculator

External Audio recording!

A slide by slide tutorial on many useful hacks.

The new iphones are rumored to have an HD output, therefore there may be a use for us hv20 owners.

perhaps in app advertising for accessories made by form members as well as application consumer coupons?

Also I'd like to see who'd be interested in this App to get an idea for demand, and how much you'd be willing to pay based on features.

These features alone don't seem to warrant investing in a project like this yet, however I know you people are very creative and can maybe tell me what can be useful to you in an ipod touch/iphone application.

thank you guys!

[threadhanger]

You beat me to it. I've been enamored by my iPod Touch lately and have been thinking of ways to use it with my HV20. Using a variable light screen to control the gain was my first thought. A slate board would be another. I think iTunes has several of those listed.

I have a list of ideas for this app, and others, but haven't found a collaborator.

[Jay Youth]

Well, I'd love to hear to your Ideas. Are you a programmer or an idea bringer?

[pro-hobbyist]

You beat me to it. I've been enamored by my iPod Touch lately and have been thinking of ways to use it with my HV20. Using a variable light screen to control the gain was my first thought. A slate board would be another. I think iTunes has several of those listed.

I have a list of ideas for this app, and others, but haven't found a collaborator.

The clapper board is a great idea! One where you could edit the date, scene, shot, etc. And maybe tweek the lighting on that screen because if you held up a bright lcd screen in front of a camera it would throw off the exposure/wb!

[threadhanger]

Well, I'd love to hear to your Ideas. Are you a programmer or an idea bringer?

Obsessive idea bringer. I love brainstorming and making lists. I don't know anything about programming. And my iPod is the first Apple product I've ever owned.

As for my "Filmmaker Buddy" app, here's what I had in mind:

Slate board
Adjustable brightness screen for gain control
Possible color bars screen
Special fx sounds and lighting fx for "in camera" special fx
A script writing template
Idea randomizer
Tips on cinematography, directing, writing, editing, and acting. Tip of the day each time the app is used?
Journal.
Checklist. Inventory notepad.
List of cliches in films (possibly for what to avoid)
Audio recorder
Quick Links to sites like IMDB, Celtx, Youtube, Vimeo and camera forums

And most importantly.....

List of ideas/things to shoot. Basically ideas on how to be original and make the most of what "budget" you have. How not to look like everyone else. I'd mention everything from "faux" tilt shift photography stuff, to stop motion, and video podcasts.

[threadhanger]

I also forgot to mention:

Using the ipod as a telepromter.

If stereo bluetooth is ever made availabe for the ipod with the 3.0 OS upgrade, it's possible you could put a single bluetooth device in one ear for actors to hear their dialogue. As long as the camera is on the other side. Kind of like Marlon Brando when he got lazy in his career.

It's all possible you could put some kind of flashing motion alarm on the app. Set the iphone/ipod on top of your camera somehow. Have it remind you when you are panning too quickly.

[koolpenguin89]

How about instead of just a white screen for the exposure tgrick, you could have a variety of different colored screens to white balance to. If you guys need any field testers, let me know.

Dylan

[DebG.]

Hey, I would LOVE anyting you all come up with for my iPhone. Great ideas so far.

Liking the idea of a customizable checklist of equipment needed for a shoot, so as not to forget. Checklist of things to do (in order) when shooting, eg lock exposure, white balance, check audio settings, etc. Checklist of shots to get; storyboard PDF upload to iPhone/Touch; script; etc.

I guess iPhone/Touch too small to be a telepromper visually, but liked the audio (in talent's earphone) idea. What have people used for a teleprompter in past, eg for a newscast-type video blog, etc.?

As for price... it's hard to break the iTunes App Store's popular .99-$2.99 range unless it is a REALLY REALLY good app.

Good luck!

Deborah

[colonelpanic]

Definitely a taker here for audio recording in the max quality the iphone has to offer. There are voice recording apps for $0.99 (lol) but you really get what you pay for.

You could run into an issue as for the external mic input as it is integrated in the 3 ring mini jack. To get the best possible quality you'd probably have to somehow solder the leads from a good mic onto a 3 ring jack.

Does anyone have the hardware audio specs for the iphone on the input side, aka A-D conversion? I suppose that D-A conversion runs at 44.1 / 16bit for the ipod. Apple is silent about this but I suppose as input is targeted mainly to voice it's probably not very high...

[blondandfun]

Make a little iphone holder on top HV20, iphone facing you, and have it go through inspirational quotes to help you relax while shooting.

"You are a wonderful artist"
"you mean a lot"
"you will succeed"
"you are in control"
etc....

program it to also show reminders... in a soothing way with transitions and black/white

[Jay Youth]

Make a little iphone holder on top HV20, iphone facing you, and have it go through inspirational quotes to help you relax while shooting.

"You are a wonderful artist"
"you mean a lot"
"you will succeed"
"you are in control"
etc....

program it to also show reminders... in a soothing way with transitions and black/white

Actually I think you need a vacation and a massage. haha I'll see if I can have my programmers develop a separate application.

[CycleWriter]

I also forgot to mention:

Using the ipod as a telepromter.

If stereo bluetooth is ever made availabe for the ipod with the 3.0 OS upgrade, it's possible you could put a single bluetooth device in one ear for actors to hear their dialogue. As long as the camera is on the other side. Kind of like Marlon Brando when he got lazy in his career.

Why do you need stereo bluetooth for a single earpiece? The iPhone can do this already. One of the main reasons I don't have an iPhone is because it doesn't support A2DP profiles. All part of Apple's strategy to prevent the iPhone from cannibalizing iPod sales.

[iThinkergoiMac]

Why do you need stereo bluetooth for a single earpiece? The iPhone can do this already. One of the main reasons I don't have an iPhone is because it doesn't support A2DP profiles. All part of Apple's strategy to prevent the iPhone from cannibalizing iPod sales.

iPhone OS 3.0 is going to support that, if I recall correctly. Simply a matter of prioritizing which features to implement first, not some evil conspiracy.

[threadhanger]

Why do you need stereo bluetooth for a single earpiece? The iPhone can do this already. One of the main reasons I don't have an iPhone is because it doesn't support A2DP profiles. All part of Apple's strategy to prevent the iPhone from cannibalizing iPod sales.

I meant stereo bluetooth as opposed to something like file-sharing bluetooth. I've yet to get a straight answer on whether or not the iPod Touch is going to get full bluetooth. I hope so. I love using my Jabra earpiece with my cellphone. It's great for listening to podcasts and audiobooks.

[iThinkergoiMac]

I meant stereo bluetooth as opposed to something like file-sharing bluetooth. I've yet to get a straight answer on whether or not the iPod Touch is going to get full bluetooth. I hope so. I love using my Jabra earpiece with my cellphone. It's great for listening to podcasts and audiobooks.

It's likely it will. The iPod Touch OS typically gets all the same features as the iPhone OS, with the exception of the phone-specific stuff. But there's no way to know for sure until it comes out.

[CycleWriter]

iPhone OS 3.0 is going to support that, if I recall correctly. Simply a matter of prioritizing which features to implement first, not some evil conspiracy.

Give me a break. The company that revolutionized the way we listen to portable music didn't think their iPhone worthy of stereo bluetooth? Even my RAZR V3xx that I bought in Feb. 2007 had A2DP. Yes, Apple is evil. Only their customers don't know this.

[iThinkergoiMac]

Hahaha... apparently they do think it worthy of bluetooth stereo since it's being implemented ;-)

[EssentialParadox]

It doesn't sound like a bad app. I'm particularly interested in the inventory and the ability to put down notes and ideas. If you set up a database of different aspects of filmmaking (directing, acting, cinematography) and even genres (horror, comedy, drama, action) and allowed to just put ideas randomly into each category for recall later on, that would be helpful.

Also the filmmaking "Tips" and "Clichés" lists I find quite interesting. If you had a ticker at the bottom of the screen on the main menu just scrolling random ones across that would be a nice little thing. An ability to call up some little anecdotes from famous movie productions would be cool too.

I'd pay no more than 1.99 for it, though.

Good luck!

[iThinkergoiMac]

The app sounds pretty neat. Using the screen for white balances I think is its biggest weakness I've seen. Those screens look white to our eyes, but they look bluish to the camera. You'd have to correct for that as well, which would be difficult, I imagine.