Gifyyy 3.0 Release Notes - little green dot edition
Well, we haven't been great at keeping this blog up-to-date, but I think it's good that we start collecting changes and updates in one place, as the ones in the app-store release notes are quite hard to find.
We're really pleased with this iOS update, and I'm excited to share the three main areas we've focussed on for improvement:
- Networking improvements ⚡️
- New MP4 file-format, for double-resolution ✨
- Edit event details right on the iPad ✏️
And a web account bonus:
- More powerful overlay setup 🖼
As with any new release, we strongly advise that you update in advance of your next event and spend a few minutes getting comfortable with the changes ahead of your next event, and reach out at support@gifyyy.com if you get stuck.
Over the winter we're putting a big effort into updating the user guide, so expect deeper dives on some of these features over coming months.
Networking
Say goodbye to venue wifi mysteries! Gifyyy now includes a network status indicator — a little dot in the top-right corner of the screen. If the dot is green, that means your app is connected to the Gifyyy servers. Grey means uncertain / network slow. Red means no connection at all.
Gifyyy also now synchronises events from your web account to your iPad, so if you have to switch to a backup iPad, you can bring your events with you. “Manage Events” within your iPad, and go to “from the web” to see a list of all the events in your Gifyyy web account.
If you don’t want an event to show up on your iPads, you can archive it from the web “events” screen.
You can “pin” events from the event page in your web account. Pinned events will always show up at the top of the list. We like this for demo events, or if we’re sending the booth out with an attendant and want to make sure they pick the right event.
Any event you’ve used or edited on your iPad will show up under “on this iPad”. If you want to clear this out and keep your iPad tidy, click through to that event, and hit “remove local data”
MP4 high-res “gifs”
Gifyyy now generates MP4 files as well as GIF files. These are much higher resolution than we could achieve with the GIF format, without blowing through way more data. Gifgo galleries, and instagram sharing assets are all generated at this higher resolution, so hopefully no more complaints about grainy or choppy instagram stories.
Be sure to create a couple of test events, and try things out for yourself. Remember, any event with fewer than 10 uploads is free, so go to town.
Edit details
Did your client change their mind about whether they wanted stills or not? Did your assistant spell the Bride’s name wrong? Have you ever wanted to try out Loopy Mode, but been too afraid to create a new event just for that?
You can now edit all the details for an event, right on the iPad. Head to “Manage events”, choose the event you want to edit working with, and click “edit details”.
When you’re done, you can hit “Shoot More” and away you go.
BONUS: Overlays!
We think overlays are really powerful, but we get a lot of questions about how to make them look the way you want. Gifyyy has a new overlay preview (John Travolta powered), so you can see exactly how your overlay will sit with your image before you commit. And we've included a bundle of blank overlay templates you can download right from the "Manage Overlay" section of the event page, in case you forget what size you need.
In fact we love overlays so much, we’ve added them to your studio page as well. If you set an overlay there, it will automatically be added to all of your new events as they are created. Make a branded banner, and make sure your images are instantly recognisable, even if you’re setting an event up in a hurry.
[NB. this feature update is in your web login]
A couple of little extras:
Shutter priority fallback
I’ve seen a couple of people use Shutter priority at evening events where there isn’t really enough light to make a decent exposure on the iPad camera at the shutter speed they’ve selected. Shutter priority mode uses auto-ISO to achieve the target exposure, and depending on which iPad you have, ISO maxes out at around 3000.
We have updated Shutter Priority modes so they now fall back to full auto, rather than under-exposing an image. I know this means a little bit less manual control, but I think it’s worth it to prevent whole galleries of super-dark gifs.
Still image count
Quite a few of you were vocal advocates for us simplifying our still workflow and moving to a single image. But some of you who were disappointed with that change. Well, now it's a choice. And because now you can edit event details now, you can change your mind as many times as you like if you decide you prefer one image after all… or three… or one… no wait three was better… I dunno, maybe i'll just switch to only loopy gifs.
Stay cool Gifyyyers