Smoovie Kickstarter – The birth of a useful “Selfie Stick”?
When I received an email about Smoovie I nearly hit the Bin button before even giving it a first look, I hate selfie sticks and all that they stand for. Thankfully before I hit Bin, I noticed the makers were London based so I gave it a chance.
Though I’m still not sure if I actually like the name “Smoovie” (I imagine it will grow on me) I do like the concept. Smartphone’s have closed the gap between professional photography and hobbyist capturing the moment, but video has largely been safe due to the cost of image stabilization props. Many high-end smartphones now come with optical stabilization, but there is only so much a smartphone can do to reduce the shake on a video.
“I hate selfie sticks and all that they stand for, but I really like this! “
What the Smoovie team do particularly well is show off London and practical uses for the Smoovie, it shows that they haven’t just thought “Hey this is a good idea” and run with it. Seeing places in London that I know and love in smooth HD video is pretty damn cool, though the guy holding his phone over a Westminster bridge to get a “cool” shot of Big Ben is much braver than I am. Even if you not interested, I’d still recommend heading over to Kickstarter campaign and watching the video.
The pitch is all about video, and whilst I’m not expert in photography, I’m quite keen to try this taking long exposure shots, though I would need a Bluetooth clicker thingy to minimize shake. Also, I imagine Time-lapse and slow-mo videos would benefit greatly from this especially in darker situations.
Final thoughts: With so much live video now available via Periscope, Facebook and such. This could easily be an essential bit of kit for Vloggers and anyone else wants their video diaries to look that much better and more professional.
Kickstarter does of course come with its own risks but with the Super Early Bird price starting at £10.99, or Plus version with GoPro attachment for £11.99, the risk appears to be minimal. So if you like it, support a London business and make a pledge. Might even make a good present for a budding filmmaker in your life.
If you’re still not convinced, here’s a bit more info from the Smoovie peeps:
The other great thing about the Smoovie is that people of all abilities can use it. Smoovie’s telescopic counterweight is simply pulled out in one action unlike other video stabilizers with complicated counterweights. Smoovie takes seconds instead of minutes making it quick to setup and easy for all abilities to understand. The adjustable handle makes Smoovie really easy to hold naturally and gives more versatility when recording video. And because Smoovie is so light it can be used for long periods without wrist ache. “We’re excited because now professional looking video is accessible to everyone. Much like the selfie stick last year, we think this is the new video stick for those that want to share on the go.” Alex Kalogroulis, Product Designer
Alex is from London and has invented many different products from Sea Scooters to Smart Touch kitchen gadgets. He also teaches future designers on the Innovation Design Engineering master’s course at London’s Royal College of Art.
