Socialcam continues to improve its iPhone app, which it hopes becomes a sort-of Instagram for video sharing. The latest update adds a bit of real-time video editing and the addition of themes, titles and soundtracks to make videos look and sound more professional.
Nearly everyone nowadays has video cameras built directly into their mobile phones, but the amount of video shot — and shared — is pretty small, at least compared to the number of video camera-enabled devices out there. The problem the Socialcam team has been trying to solve is, “How do you make the videos you shoot with your iPhone appealing enough to want to share with others?”
The first step in that evolution was adding filters — basically letting anyone shoot a video with a black-and-white, 1970s or sepia tinge to it. Themes take the idea a step further, by overlaying a more professional touch on top of the videos.
Themes can be added through a separate editing tab of the Socialcam app, which means that those who wish to just point, shoot and share can still do so. But if you want to add a title and spruce up your video, for instance, by making it look like a postcard or a news broadcast with ticker and all, you can easily do so. Themes include:
- Journal – Makes your video look like a journal entry
- Post Card – Makes your video look like celebratory post card
- Classic – Gives your video a simple “classic” title
- Casual – Gives your video a handwritten title
- News – Adds a lower third to your video branded with the Socialcam logo
- Travel – Adds a geo and date title
- MTV – Gives your video the music video “metadata” on the botton left
- Ticker – Adds a news ticker with title, creator and date
- Reporter – Adds an unbranded lower third to your video
In addition to themes, Socialcam has teamed up with music licensing company Friendly Music to provide fully licensed, instrumental background soundtracks to their videos. They can choose between 10 different tracks, based on mood, and adjust sound levels between the music and microphone.
Finally, Socialcam has updated the app with a few smaller features, like notifications when Facebook friends check out a video and general Facebook Open Graph capability. It also improved video quality by about 50 percent, and added the ability to create an account with your Twitter login, in addition to Facebook or email.
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