Condition ONE Could Change The Movie Viewing Experience

A new iPad app arrives today that could someday change how each of us watch movies. Condition ONE uses the iPad 2’s built-in gyroscope to let users physically control the camera’s perspective in movies simply by moving around the iDevice. The end result is quite remarkable. Created by photojournalist Danfung Dennis, the 210 MB app creates a visceral feeling of being inside a video. As such, merely rotating and tipping the iPad 2 manipulates the corresponding field of view as you see fit. This includes looking up, down, left, right, and diagonally in any direction. We found the technology here so immersive that we were convinced that by saying “cut” it would stop the action dead in its tracks. Yes, we found it that good! Take a look:

Full features include:

• First-person immersive videos
• Control vantage point by physically moving or tilting iPad 2
• Touch the video to change your perspective on iPad 1
• Meet the filmmakers
• Immersive videos available for in-app download
• Save and store the videos you download
• New content will appear automatically for download

On day one, the Condition ONE library is small. In fact, the only movies available at this time are those created by photographer Patrick Chauvel. His work here includes short trailers and 15-20 minute videos covering New Orleans, Libya, and Thailand. Luckily, each video is free, so you’ll be able to experience the Condition ONE concept without having to first pay for it. Other videos (by other filmmakers) will be added automatically and without an app update. If Condition ONE has one drawback (besides its small library) it’s that the videos it includes must be downloaded and are not available by streaming. This means, for example, a 10-minute video takes up 1.6 GB, which might be problematic for many would-be viewers who don't have a lot of iPad space to utilize. Overall, however, Condition ONE is worth checking out. Not only is the technology it uses impressive, but it is fascinatingly cool as well.

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