Instagram has become quite popular recently. So it’s no surprise that apps have started popping up with similar interfaces and functions. Cinemagram seems inspired by Instagram’s interface but the images that it produces are more than the average picture. Cinemagram is one of the first photography apps that has kept my attention.

Cinemagram lets users take short clips and turn them into a “cinemagram.” The app takes a still image of a video and allows the user to choose a portion of the image they want the clip to start playing.

Within the app, users can “like,” email, and repost (to Twitter, Tumblr, or Facebook) other cinemagrams. Cinemagrams from other users can be found in the Popular and Latest lists. Loading the images over 3G took a while at times and the moving parts of the images weren’t always fluid. I think the developers could fix this by loading less images per page and allowing the ability to click an image and see it by itself.

There are some important features that Cinemagram needs to add in order to reach the same audience that uses Instagram. Users absolutely need to be able to follow other users. I saw no follow button for users in the Popular or Latest lists. I can follow my friends on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr and view their cinemagrams from their posts on those networks, but I’d much rather view them all within the app.

Another necessary feature for Cinemagram is the ability to import video from the camera roll. Users will want to bring in clips that they’ve shot before downloading Cinemagram or use parts of longer videos they’ve created. Also, the app doesn’t save the original clip after a cinemagram is created. With access to the camera roll, users can make multiple cinemagrams from the same video.

I had a blast with Cinemagram. In fact, everyone with an iPhone that I've shown it to has since downloaded the app. Even missing the essential features, I would suggest that any iPhone photography enthusiast grab this app.

An example of a cinemagram that I made is below (I got an embed code from the Cinemagr.am website). I swirled around a glass of wine and made the wine the portion of the picture that moved.

Wine

Created with cinemagr.am

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