Instagram is introducing a new standalone app that lets you share one second video and loops it forward and backward for four seconds.The Boomerang app lets you take a burst video and plays them over and over in a loop, in a self-rewinding clip.
According to Wired, Boomerang may look like a gif, but it is actually something totally different. Whereas a gif is still images stitched together, a boomerang is made from video footage. The app (for iOS and Android) grabs one second of video then plays it forwards and backwards on a loop for four seconds. This palindromic effect can help create the optical illusion of defying gravity or water being poured backwards, for instance.
As Instagram posted on its blog, "Press a button and the app does the rest. Boomerang takes a burst of photos and stitches them together into a high-quality mini video that plays forward and backward. Shoot in portrait or landscape. Share it on Instagram. Boomerang automatically saves it to your camera roll. We're inspired by the visual stories you tell on Instagram. With looping videos and Hyperlapse, you experiment with motion in new and exciting ways. Now, with Boomerang, we can't wait to see what you'll create next."
The app was conceived during the summer when the team of John Barnett, a product lead at Instagram, was working on Hyperlapse and Layout. They noticed how people on Instagram are using the looping feature on their videos.
"We wondered, what can we do that's even more fun with loops?" he says.
With the emergence of looping profile videos on Facebook and Apple's live photos, a static picture is not anymore enough to convey our experiences. Boomerang has taken the more unique approach to GIFs with the self-rewinding endless-looping feature.
Will you download the app? By the way, it is kind of cool!
