Viddy Mobile Video Sharing App

Viddy is a video sharing app for the iPhone. Viddy is like the Instagram of mobile video - it lets you create short video status updates, add effects and audio, and provides a variety of sharing options. Thanks to Viddy's production pack add-ons, there are always opportunities to change up your video options, keeping you entertained while you update. Given its wide variety of shooting controls and video filters, Viddy appeals to photo and video enthusiasts, and social media mavens alike.

After you download viddy from the App Store, you can either log in with your Facebook or Twitter information, or use an email address make a new account. Click on the settings icon to personalize your profile by adding a picture, or to invite friends via your address book, Twitter or Facebook. In this menu, you'll also be able to control your privacy settings. If you choose to make your profile private, new 'followers' will have to be approved by you, and your videos will only be shared to select users, although they'll still appear in public feeds.

To record a video, simply navigate to the lens icon at the bottom of the screen. With Viddy, you can choose to upload a camera from your media library, or to record a new video. Viddy has many features that encourage a cinematic quality, such as the built-in reminder to tilt your camera to shoot horizontally. You'll find other advanced shooting options in a menu along the bottom of the frame - it's good to set these up before you shoot, since Viddy videos last only 15 seconds! Check out features such as locking your focus, white balance, and aperature to prevent warping artifacts that result from sudden movement. Also, try shooting using a 4:3 aspect ratio to complement the 16mm and 8mm video filters.

Viddy displays a fifteen-second countdown, and once recording time has elapsed, Viddy will automatically play your video back to you. You can decide to keep or discard the video, and then start adding effects! Viddy provides you with a few complementary filters like "Vintage" which makes your video look like it was shot with old film stock, "BW" which turns your video to black and white, and "Crystal" which creates a shaded ring around your video to give the appearance of vignetting. As far as sound goes, you'll have the option to keep the ambient sound from your recording, or overlay a musical preset provided by Viddy.

Although Viddy provides you with several default options for manipulating your video, the true power of the app lies in its production packs. Ranging from free to $1.99, the different production packs give you more options for customizing your video. The Viddy Marketplace also features production bundles created by famous pop acts, such as Linkin Park, that come complete with audio and video features chosen by the band.

Once you're done polishing your video, you can optimize your video for searching and browsing by adding a title and description, tags, and geotags. One nice sharing feature on Viddy is that every time you record an update, you'll be prompted to choose whether the video is available to hand-chosen recipients, your Viddy followers, or publicly in the Viddy community. Viddy also offers integration with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tumblr to let you quickly share your updates to other social media feeds.

Viddy provides you with a very open browsing platform. Check out the "What's Hot" section to get hip to the newest and most popular updates, and also watch videos according to the latest trending topics. If you prefer to stick with what's familiar, click on your activity tabs to see your friends' latest updates, and to check out what they're watching. Last, but not least, refer to the general Viddy browser, which both keys you in to your friends latest activity, and shows the featured videos of the day.

Of all the microvideo mobile apps, Viddy gives you the most options for beefing up your video with customizable effects and production packs. Whether your a professional videographer looking to keep in touch with friends, or just an excited smartphone user, Viddy is worth checking out.