iPhone Video editing app delivers for basic movie-making

ReelDirector Review

Anyone can record video with an iPhone, but it takes a real Spielberg to make a movie. That’s the idea behind ReelDirector, an app for the iPhone and second-generation iPod touch that attempts to be a full-fledged movie creation tool where you add video clips and photos, and even record an audio snippet, set transitions between scenes, type in the movie credits, and render a final Quicktime movie.

Making “real” movies with ReelDirector is simple and quick, but the $8 tool from Nexvio is a little lacking in deep features.

Developer: NEXVIO INC.

Age rating: 4+

Compatibility: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch (2nd generation).
Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later.

The app uses a professional approach—instead of presenting you with an initial option to record a clip or add photos or record audio, you first set the movie properties. You can name the movie and type in credits, set the default transition (say, swipe left), and set the quality to either Normal (480×360) or High (640×480). The term “high” is a misnomer because this is not exactly high-def quality and is actually normal video, the highest the iPhone supports.

Once you tap in the movie properties, you can then add existing movie clips. Strangely, there is no way to actually record a video clip unless you use the Camera app first. You can also add static images and—from within ReelDirector—record audio clips and add them; a recent update to the app also lets you import soundtrack music from your computer.

Once you add a video clip, you can create mark in and out points to edit the clip to an exact cut, such as when your subject finishes speaking—a very cool feature. The interface for this uses a jog dial that movies left and right; it’s incredibly easy to use. You can also split a clip into two movies.

For any portion of your movie, you can set a transition. ReelDirector provides quite a selection of fades, wipes, pushes, and blurs. You can even set the volume for a video clip. It’s easy to “scrub” (or advance through) a movie once you add media, although the video does not actually play when you scrub like it does in Final Cut or other desktop tools.

Once you are done making your epic, you can then render the movie. ReelDirector warns you that this takes time, and the app is not kidding. In a movie that had about five clips—each around three minutes or so—with a few recorded clips and several static images, the app took around 5 minutes to make the final .mov file. Once rendered, you can e-mail the clip to offload it form the iPhone. (There is an option to compress the file to reduce the size.)

No one ever claimed the iPhone was a full-blown replacement for a computer-based editing station. But companies like Nexvio keep trying to pack as much power into their mobile apps as possible. ReelDirector doesn’t pretend to be Final Cut, but it does attempt to add more than you get with the built-in Camera app, allowing you to make an honest-to-goodness movie. End credits, copyright notice, transitions—they are all intended for more than just goofy YouTube antics.

In that sense, ReelDirector is a bit lacking. It just doesn’t have the advanced features a pro tool needs, such as special effects and the ability to record a video right from the app or support for pro file formats, such as DivX. However, ReelDirector does provide a great feature set for making a basic movie, whether you are into YouTube or not.

BEST APP on APPLE’s Rewind 2009 List!

Full-blown video editing for iPhone 3GS!

Note: iPhone 3G & iPod Touch can only import photos

———————————————
NEW in 2.4
- Import and use your own music as soundtracks
- Option to turn off photo pan & zoom
- Improved processing speed of still photos
- Properties of new project are saved and reused

NEW in 2.0
- Multitrack sound recording and mixing
- Add photo with Ken Burns(pan & zoom) effect
- Trim & split of imported clips
- Add videos from synced folders (Turn it on in Settings app, default is off!)
———————————————

ReelDirector makes it simple for everyone to create movie right on iPhone 3GS. With a drag-and-drop timeline, multiple text watermark styles and 27 pro grade transitions, you’ll turn your scattered video clips into polished movies in just minutes.

✎ MEDIA COVERAGE

“ReelDirector is a powerful, easy-to-use, and fun iPhone app for creating videos with titles and effects.”
- tuaw

“ReelDirector beefs up iPhone 3GS’s editing capabilities”
— MacWorld

This Week’s 10 Best iPhone Apps – October 23, 2009
— Gizmodo

“File this one under “sent from the future”. ReelDirector is a pretty full-featured movie editor” … “a quite amazing demonstration of the march of technology.”
— Wired.com Gadget Lab

“ReelDirector App Adds Surprisingly Capable Video Editing To The iPhone 3GS”
— OhGizmo

✩ ESSENTIALS

☑ Add and stitch together clips, drag-and-drop to rearrange order.

☑ Add text watermarks of title, opening credits and closing credits with 4 styles and 9 positions to choose from.

☑ Put transitions between clips to smooth or blend the change from one scene to another. With 27 transitions to choose from, create professional looking videos with ease and fun.

☑ Import you own music files and/or record voiceovers to create and mix soundtracks.

☑ Share your movies by email or save to Camera Roll where you can upload to YouTube, copy back to computer, etc.

✂ EDITING

- Timeline: scrollable, seekable within clips, easy to arrange order
- Preview: full preview of frame at current timeline position, with watermarks and transition applied
- Record soundtracks and adjust position, volume and fade in/out
- Trim: you can keep original and go back to revise, or make a final cut
- Split: cut video into 2 or 3 clips seamlessly
- Add photo with Ken Burns effect

Ⓣ TEXTS

- Title and multiline opening and closing credits with adjustable length
- Combine 4 styles and 9 positions to create 36 different appearance
- Gradually fade out title and opening credits, fade in closing credits

⇄ TRANSITIONS

Animated preview for each transition, easy to find the one you like.

1. Automatically insert transitions between each clip in your project, just pick one in Project Properties; or

2. Add/change transition for each clip while editing.

Available transitions:

- Cross Dissolve
- Fade Through Black/White
- Flash Through Black/White
- Blur Fade (fade out of focus)
- Blur Cross (first scene fades out of focus)
- Wipe Left/Right/Up/Down
- Wipe Soft Left/Right/Up/Down
- Wipe Blend Left/Right/Up/Down
- Push Left/Right/Up/Down
- Push Left/Right/Up/Down with Border

NOTE

- Currently it is NOT technically possible to load music directly from phone’s iTunes library. ReelDirector handles its own library: please select Music tab, tap “+” button and follow the instructions.

- We did NOT disable loading video on iPhone 3G/2G. This feature just isn’t there except for iPhone 3GS. We are exploring alt

Tags: iphone, iphone app, ReelDirector, ReelDirector iphone app