Like GIFs? Tumblr? Got an iPhone? $2.00? Okay, good, then you’ll probably like this new app called Stilly [1] , which is either the most ridiculous thing ever or the most fun you’re going to have all weekend. The app, in a nutshell, turns anything you capture with your iPhone’s camera into a jiggling, wiggly, color-flashing GIF.
Well, you know, kind of!
Because it seems primarily designed for use with Tumblr for now, the company promoted [2] it on its official blog today, saying just “this is addictive.â€
And it is.
The app is dead simple to use. It has only one button to create the GIF, and another toggle to turn “Colors†on. The end results aren’t exactly the same kind of professional GIFs (oh wow, I’m writing that?) that you might find elsewhere on Tumblr, however, but it will do in a pinch.
Tumblr is already filling up with people posting using the pre-populated #stilly tag [3] , which probably needs some sort of seizure warning.
The app is kind of reminiscent of Vine, but Vine was getting too high-brow for us anyway, what with its movie trailers , short films, comedic experiments [4] and all. I mean really, Vine for filmmakers [5] ? C’mon. Can’t we just have a stupid toy every now and then?
Stilly will do.
The app was created by longtime Tumblr user Ian Broyles, who has been on the site since 2007 and loves GIFs and photography.
“I have been making GIFs in some form since 1995 and got my first digital camera the same year. I love playing with images, and moving ones are even better,†he explains.
“When I was 19, I made a site [6] with my brother, David Broyles, that got a blurb in Time Magazine and was mentioned on the Today Show during the Bush/Gore tie up. It was based on funny GIFs I made out of candidates’ heads on dancing bodies from TV/Film. It was shared all over the web before social network via send-a-friend forms. I made a decent chunk of money for a teenager and moved out to Los Angeles to work in film as I didn’t care for school.â€
“GIFs have been good to me,†he adds.
Broyles says he starting working on Stilly in December 2012, before he had heard of Vine and before it was released. He doesn’t think the two apps are all that similar, not only because of the creations’ length, but also because Vines are harder to make and send to friends.
Stillies, though, can be sent via iMessage, SMS or Tumblr for now, with more sharing options in the works along with a few other features, too. However, the core experience will remain very basic. And now that the app is launched and people seem to be enjoying it, Broyles says he will work on building an Android version too.
Links
- ^ Stilly (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ promoted (staff.tumblr.com)
- ^ #stilly tag (www.tumblr.com)
- ^ comedic experiments (mashable.com)
- ^ Vine for filmmakers (filmmakermagazine.com)
- ^ site (tvdance.com)
- ^ Stilly is $1.99 here in the Apple App Store (itunes.apple.com)
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