by Vine and Instagram make it easy for would-be filmmakers to create brief epics of the imagination using just an iPhone, with no traditional editing required. But those looking to expand their horizons will find far more creative options with a modestly priced app from the creators of FocusTwist. Presumably a play on the word “vignette” as much as it is a nod to Twitter’s micro-moviemaking service, Vinyet delivers 23 real-time cinematic filters along with a host of pro-end features, like stop motion, time-lapse, animated GIF export, and more control over captured segments.
Although it’s not a full-featured video editor, Vinyet does offer far more options than either Vine or Instagram – both of which happen to be available as export options for completed videos – along with Facebook and the ability to save to Camera Roll in one of three sizes: 480p (Low), 640p (Mid), or 720p (High). There’s no option for 1080p HD output here.
Sadly, videos are automatically cropped to square format when shot, and imported clips can only be trimmed for length – 16:9 videos are otherwise center-cropped, losing any content that might be at the far left or right edge of the frame. Once clips are assembled, Vinyet can replace existing audio with a song from your iTunes library, which makes for a more compelling soundtrack for movies with non-speaking subjects. For novice animators, Vinyet also features “ghost mode,” a modern-day version of the onionskin technique used by stop-motion animators in a bygone era to line up objects for the next frame (or segment, in this case). All filters feature real-time live previews, so iPhone-tographers will always know exactly what they’re getting.
Although Vinyet can create seemingly endless looping movies, videos can’t be shared if they’re longer than the permitted six or 15-second length allowed by Vine and Instagram, respectively. Vinyet is also limited to a single movie at once, with no way to save a project for later editing.
The bottom line. Despite a couple of limitations, Vinyet is a powerhouse app for creating looping mobile movies, with a wealth of extra features that Vine and Instagram can only dream of.
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