Sunday, March 15, 2015

Hyperlaspe to Kerry Park

The walk up to Kerry Park is a steep one. Regardless of which way you go, you will burn calories. I decided to use the fairly new iOS app Hyperlapse to film the trip.

Hyperlapse states that their algorithm will fix shaky video, but apparently they didn't prepare for someone like me. I wasn't aware that I bounced that much when I walk.



In this video, I went the long scenic way up to Kerry Park. The first time I went to Kerry Park, I went the short steep way that had me cursing myself for even wanting to go up there. I had just visited the Space Needle and bought a painting for my dad and his wife. I wanted to go to the same spot as the painting so I could take a photo. Unfortunately that day the mountain was not out. So I continued to believe that the photos I saw of Mount Rainer looking huge behind the city was mythology.

Since the city I grew up in was fairly flat, I was upset that Seattle was built on such steep hills @_@. There are hills in The Bronx, but they taper off after a short while and they are not as steep as Seattle. If they are steep, there are steps to go up, but even so, they are still not as steep as the hills (mountains) in Seattle. Getting to Kerry Park feels like a big accomplishment. 

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Quick Review: Vittle and AirSketch

I found an app that records what I draw. It is made by the same company that makes a note taking app that I like called Inkflow. I opened the note taking app and a pop up for their latest app popped up. Normally I find this annoying, but that day I didn't mind. The app is called Vittle.



They have a free version that allows users to record up to two minutes. The paid version allows users to pause the recording, change colors, and use a pointer. It also allows the user to lock the camera position so that when the user zooms in, the audience will still see the full drawing. Users can combine several clips onto one and export it from the storyboard page.


Their target audience appears to be people who give presentations and teach, but I can see artists getting use out of this app as well. The drawing tools are on the bare side, but an artist could use this to record morning/night time daily sketches and post to their blog or various social networks.

When searching their website, I also noticed the app AirSketch. This app allows the user to project the app's whiteboard screen into a browser window. Anything that is drawn on the whiteboard will display in the browser page. To get to the browser page, at the bottom left of the app, there is a wifi icon, clicking on that brings up the configs to set the port and show the server address that needs to be typed into the browser. The device and computer that is displaying the device's screen need to be on the same network.



The free version only allows the user to draw and erase. The paid version has so many more features like changing colors, page manger, zooming in and more. The paid version is on the expensive side compared to the price of most mobile apps ($19.99). I don't have a job function or hobby where I need to present digital items and draw often, so the free version is good enough for me. The free version can be used for playing Pictionary, Hangman, or even chatting to a friend from across the room.