Step Review

Step is an app for making stop motion and time lapse videos, then editing and exporting them in a GIF or Quicktime format. It definitely requires some learning and is not the most straightforward app to use. Also, it is duplicating much of the functionality of the built in camera and video app, so it will only be appealing to people looking for an easy way to make stop motion videos and editing them within the app.

The main screen of Step is very simplistic, with only 5 buttons on the bottom. The main action users will be preforming is tapping the screen to capture a picture, which is one frame in their video. Swiping on the main screen accesses all additional settings, options, and help. Having the additional features not displayed is a really good idea, since it keeps the main screen mostly empty.

In the edit mode, there is a time line of all the video frames at the bottom that can be scrolled through and the time line look similar to other video editing apps. Users can delete individual frames in edit mode, or swipe to bring up the option to delete all frames and start over. Tapping the play button will endlessly loop the video.

Some of the options accessible from the main screen are a timer, which will automatically take a picture every interval for which it is set, like 2 or 4 seconds. Users can also vary the play back speed from a slow 1 frame per second (fps) to 30 frames per second.

It is possible to make a solid and entertaining video with this app, but it will take some work. However, any iPhone can take HD video in the camera app, so this app is more a novelty than anything else. Also, the camera app already installed by default is free, whereas this app is $1.99. However, it is some what novel and very convenient that the app allows users to export directly to the GIF and Quicktime formats.