Exclusive Interview With TiltShift Generator – Fake Miniature – App Developer – Takayuki Fukatsu
TiltShift Generator – Fake Miniature has been downloaded more than 170,000 times now and it is getting better all the time.
TiltShift Generator lets you apply radical depth-of-field effects to your photos. By throwing out of focus things that ought to be in focus, scenes appear as if in miniature.
We are currently reviewing this app and will be publishing that soon but first we wanted to find out more ‘behind the scenes’, to discover how this app came to fruition. Read and enjoy our exclusive interview here…
The Beginning
Please explain how your app was originally thought of and what were your thoughts behind the marketplace, specifically?
Initially I am huge fun of fake miniature pictures that you can see on flickr, youtube or vim. However, to take those images you need to use a kind of special lens, TiltShift Lens is needed and its so expensive ( approx $2500 to $3000).
What I did first is making flash web application for personal use, after I released it on the web site, many people wanted iPhone version of it.
Design
Explain the design, how you came up with the colors and themes.
My main concern is simplicity and make photo manipulation handy. This is a mobile application, I don’t want to spend too much time editing photographs with a small screen. If an app forces people to spend too much time, the user will use just photoshop.
So I eliminated functionality, placed layout buttons carefully and made it as simple as possible. The result is simple tab based navigation with popup controllers. All the user needs to do is just move tab menu from left to right and you
can get nice result.
It is a good thing that many photo app developer follow that manner(tab and footer popup) since we developed the app. We made a kind of standard interface ( I hope it is not popular before we made the app).
Target Market
Who do you see as the main target market for this app in terms of age, genre and expenditure?
Our original target is people who love photography but don’t have an actual TiltShift Lens for fake miniature pics.
Basically TiltShift Lens is too expensive even for professional photographer. I would like to introduce this Lens to more casual market.
Production Process
How long did it take from the original planning to the production process of this app?
At first I made working prototype in a week with Adobe Flash. Afterwards I spent three months working on user interface improvements and beta testing. Finally, with my friend’s help, it took 6 weeks to translate the flash version to an iPhone version.
Sales
How do you predict sales to be, is there a good solid market for this style of app?
When I made it, I didn’t know if there was a good market for this kind of app. However, just as we released the app another app (called TiltShift) received short term success in the Japanese market. So I thought If I made good app people probably love it.
Obstacles
What has been the hardest obstacle you have had to overcome regarding this app development?
Simply fast and high quality blur processing. Second trial is translating user interface from web app to iPhone app.
Third Parties
Would you consider developing apps for third parties?
Sometimes yes. I don’t do coding so much but designs user interface.
App Store
What have you learnt from the App Store?
Too keep the app fresh, developers need to develop what they really like and what they need themselves, otherwise they can’t keep the passion for updates. Its not just a business.
Apple
Have Apple supported you well with your App development?
Yep. Guideline of user interface is always helpful and brilliant.
The Future
What next, are you developing another app, would you go for the same genre again, if not which?
I have now made several photo apps. For the next project I would like a challenge by making an Album app because I need it personally. I know instagram is one of the coolest solution of photo/album app but I also want to find different solution.
TheAppWhisperer.com
What do you think about TheAppWhisperer.com?
This is first time so not sure yet. But seems you guys loves camera application. It is good to me 🙂
Tiltshift Generator for iPhone retails for $0.99 and you can pick it up here
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
One Comment
audio converter guy Ameer
At first look (before reading anything) I thought these are real life pictures. Amazing workI must agree.