7 Apps To Create Cinemagraphs On Your Smartphone

7 Apps To Create Cinemagraphs On Your Smartphone

Previously, we showed you how to create Cinemagraphs, still photos with subtle motions made to suspend your belief or just for fun. Simply put, cinemagraphs create GIF animations with small elements that move while the rest of the picture stays static. They give a pretty awesome effect when done correctly. But having a cinemagraph-making app on your Windows PC gives you a slight disadvantage: you have to transfer your clips into your PC before you can start making your cinemagraphs.

On the smartphone or tablet however, your videos are already in your gallery and if it’s not good enough, you can just shoot a video clip on the spot before running an app that can help you make a cinemagraph.
Today, we are listing 7 apps to help you create cinemagraphs on your smartphone or tablet. With the help of these apps, the creation of cinemagraphs is simple, fun, and now at your fingertips. Best of all, they all have the share option to help put your cinemagraph on the Internet in no time.

Cinemagraph Apps for iPhone

1. Cinemagr.am

To create cinemagraphs with this free app, start by recording a video with your iPhone. Hold your iPhone steady to get a better end result. It does not matter how long the video is, you just need a small portion of the recording. The small segment you extract from your recording will be used as the static element of the cinemagraph.

To create the animation, highlight the area which you want to animate. Next, change the speed of your cinemagraph and choose to play it forward, in reverse or in a forward-and-reverse loop.
You can then preview your cinemagraph and add filters. Once that’s done, you can post it on the app itself, or on your favorite social networking site (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr). The app also supports hashtags and geotags.

Using Cinemagr.am is very much like Instagram; you have your own profile where friends can follow your uploads and like or comment on it – even the navigational buttons have similar functions. You also can ‘repost’ what other users have uploaded. [Free]

2. Flixel

Most of these cinemagraph-making apps require you to have a steady hand while recording; to address this shakiness, this app, Flixel wil let you know if your video is too shaky while processing your recording. You get only 4 seconds of recording time, which once processed can be trimmed, have filters added to it or looped.

From here, there are 2 routes that you can take: either save it as a fully animated clip or create a cinemagraph by tapping the ‘Cinemagraph it’ button. When tapping that button, you highlight the area which you want animated. Once that is finished, your cinemagraph is ready and you can now share it.

There is a number of sharing options to choose from: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or by email. You can also save it without sharing, keeping the cinemagraph private for your own viewing pleasure, or save it as an MP4 or GIF file on your iPhone’s Camera Roll. [Free]

3. Echograph

There are three steps to creating a cinemagraph with Echograph. The first is to trim the duration of the video; it allows your clip to be 5 seconds or less. You do this by adjusting the front and back sliders of the playback bar. In this step, you can also reverse or add a pause to the end of your clip to compliment the effect you’re trying to achieve.

Secondly, choose your still frame (the static backdrop) of your cinemagraph. You can choose this still frame from any point of your original video by using the slider on the playback bar. Lastly, highlight the areas that you want to animate. As you can imagine, the combination of the still frame in step two and animated area of step three will give you a cinemagraph.

Then you can save it as a low- or high-definition cinemagraph and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or by email. You can also share it with the Echograph team for a chance to be listed as a ‘Staff Pick’ on their website. [$1.99]

4. Kinotopic

Creating cinemagraphs or ‘Kinos’ is quite simple. You start out by recording a 3 second long video or trim a video from your camera library. Then, add filters and highlight the area you want to animate – so far it’s a typical cinemagraph app.

What’s unique about this app is that under ‘Settings’, you can stabilize your clip. This feature is similar to what is found in the Windows program Cliplets. If you have a slightly shaky clip, you can use this to better enhance the effect of your cinemagraph. Once you’ve completed creating your cinemagraph, you can share it on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

There are two versions of the app: the paid version allows you to save high-quality cinemagraphs and allows you to use it without registering through email or your Facebook account. Another unique feature is that Kinotopic will set you up with your own profile page which can be accessed at kinotopic.com/username. [Free]

5. iCinegraph

Start making your cinemagraph by picking a video from your camera library or recording a new clip. When recording a new clip, a timer is shown to show you the duration of your recording. What’s unique about this app is that the recording duration is not limited to just a few seconds.
In the next step, you’ll pick a keyframe which will be used as the static backdrop of your cinemagraph. This app gives you a box to outline the area you want animated instead of a highlight option.

You can box out a small area to create a cinemagraph or cover the entire canvas to create an animated gif. Once you’re done, you can preview and save your cinemagraph. Depending on how long your video clip is, this can take some time to process.

You can save the cinemagraph on your iPhone Camera Roll and email it to your friends. Since you cannot view a cinemagraph from the iPhone photo library, iCinegraph comes with a Viewer that allows you to view all cinemagraphs on your iPhone. [Free]

Cinemagraph Apps for Android

1. Fotodanz

Once Fotodanz is launched, you’ll be at the capture screen where you tap the button at the bottom to begin recording. You can record for a duration of 3 or 5 seconds and it’ll automatically stop. Unlike previous apps, instead of highlighting an area, you’ll have to draw a circle around the area you want animated.

In the next step, you’ll be able to preview your cinemagraphs and return to the previous step to refine it if necessary. You can then select a number of filters to use with your cinemagraph. Once you’ve saved it, you’ll be taken to your photo album where you can share it through email.

At the moment there is no direct social network sharing option to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Google+ yet, but they’re developing future updates on the app to include that. [Free]

Pictoreo

Pictoreo requires a registered profile before you can start using the app. You’re only allowed 3.5 seconds of recording time and you highlight what you want to animate. You’ll then get a instant preview of what the cinemagraph would look like and you can refine it with the eraser.

Name your cinemagraph and share it on Facebook, Twitter or the Pictoreo network. Note that the final outcome is not a GIF format but an MP4 video file that gives the same format. There is also the option to geotag your cinemagraphs. [Free]

So start making your cinemagraphs now or share with us your favorite cinemagraph-making app in the comments.

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