Who remembers the SonyEricsson T68? Just around the time that we were still being impressed by colour screens on our mobile phones, the T68 went one step further. You could plug in a special camera adapter and take photos (with a 640x480 resolution) from your phone!
How far we have come. Camera hardware in mobile phones has become more advanced over the years, and behaviourally, taking photos with your phone has become quite the norm (so much so that standalone digital camera sales are rapidly decreasing).
The launch of the first Apple iPhone hailed an era of professional-quality photography and videography, and since then other leaps in tech like the Samsung S4Zoom, with a built-in optical zoom lens, or the Nokia Lumia 1020's massive 41-megapixel camera (a resolution of 7728 x 5368 pixels), continue to put powerful equipment in the hands of ordinary smartphone users.
The software has also advanced, and with tools like Instagram available on even the most entry-level of Android handsets, beautiful photos that are good enough to print can now be achieved by anyone with an eye for a good photo.
Video was the next frontier – Vine was bought by Twitter, and not long after, Instagram introduced a video function within its own app. As more people become connected online through mobile devices, data charges drop and speeds increase, video creation grows in popularity.
Enter Hyperlapse. This new app (only available on iOS for now) pushes the envelope as far as what can be achieved on a phone, and is packed with clever technology.
It's really simple, actually. Hyperlapse is a standalone video app, and it does just two things ... really, really well:
- Stabilises your footage, making your handheld, jumpy video look cinematic in its smoothness
- Allows you to speed up video to create timelapses
While both these technologies have existed before, the simplicity of Hyperlapse is what makes it so good. The app uses your iPhone/iPad's built-in gyroscope to create smooth panning, and it just works from the get-go. You don't even need to be on Instagram to download it.
Our clients in the tourism industry have already embraced Instagram as an important platform for marketing destinations and attractions, engaging with followers, and encouraging user-generated content. In my mind, the potential for Hyperlapse to create stunning video content for social media marketing purposes is huge.
I did a Twitter search for #hyperlapse, and then selected results that were "near me", to see how South Africans have been experimenting with the new app so far. One thing was clear – if nothing else, Hyperlapse is fun!
You've heard enough about it, now see some examples for yourself. Below is a mix of local videos, and great examples from around the world:
Hyperlapse is free from the App Store.
