Silent Film Director

What exactly does Silent Film Director app do?

Silent Film Director lets you post process your video and create Silent and Vintage films with customizable sound, video speed, title cards, transitions, etc. Practically, it is the one app of its kind and is available for iPhone and iPod touch. Silent Film Director has two modes: Standard and Pro. The difference is in the amount of features you get to post process the video. Under post processing we mean a possibility to apply various effects on your videos, add sound, customize speed and quality of the video, add special transitions and title cards, etc. Silent Film Director allows you to create silent and vintage films in High and HD quality; you won’t get the same option in most of other video apps available on the App Store. Silent Film Director uses enhanced rendering technology, which shortens the time of video processing and guarantees outstanding results. After creating a video, you can share it via Facebook, Email or YouTube, as well as to save the resulting video to camera roll.

What is the difference between Standard and PRO version of Silent Film Director?

Standard version lets you create silent and vintage films and includes basic film editing options, like choosing video filter (6 styles), customize video quality (low, normal, high and HD), pick soundtrack (3 default soundtracks plus possibility to add music from your Mac or PC (via iTunes) or from iPod), and customizable video speed (you can slow down or speed up your video). Standard version also lets you record video from inside the app or pick already saved video file. This mode of the app is for those who prefer simplicity and want to create a Silent or Vintage film with a tap or two and don't need many other extra features. All you need to do is customize settings and pick video file and the app will do the rest. PRO mode is for those, who want to go further with film directing. PRO mode adds title cards with a variety of fonts, special film transitions, possibility to add pictures to videos and mix separate video fragments. You can check our YouTube Gallery to see what people create in Standard and PRO modes of Silent Film Director.

So should I choose Standard or PRO mode of Silent Film Director?

From our research about 78% of people, who use iPhone or iPod touch, want the app first of all to be simple, and not overhelmed with features. This is why we created Standard mode, which lets you create an awesome looking vintage video in just few taps. We suggest: get the standard mode first and check the app. If you feel you want more, get PRO version. Both Standard and PRO versions will cost a total of $2, which is the same or lower then you will pay for other video apps, most of which offer less, then Silent Film Director.

What is the difference between Vintage Video Maker and Silent Film Director?

You may call Silent Film Director a much enhanced version of Vintage Video Maker (MacPhun’s award winning video app). Silent Film Director offers new features and improved functionality; it also has a different design and enhanced UI. At the same time the basic idea of these two apps is similar; this is why people, who already own Vintage Video Maker get the new app Silent Film Director free of charge, as a FREE update.

How many video effects and soundtracks Silent Film Director has?

The app features 6 video effects, including 20s movie, 60s movie, 70s movie, black and white, sepia and vintage sepia. You can also render video with no effect applied. Current version features 3 default soundtracks and also possibility to add music from iPod and you computer. The nearest update will add 5 more default soundtracks.

I had Vintage Video Maker with in-app purchases. When I download Silent Film Director, the in-app purchases are gone. How do I restore those?

You tap the button Upgrade inside the app and then tap purchase button. You will get a notice that you already purchased in-app earlier and this time you don’t have to pay extra. Just make sure that you are logged in to the App Store under the same account details, you purchased the in-app earlier.

How does a shared folder work?

With shared folder you can upload videos from your PC or Mac right to the app. Here is how it works. Connect your iDevice to computer and launch iTunes. Then go to your iDevice and click apps (top menu). Scroll down to the list of apps, which support sharing via iTunes and choose Silent Film Director. The app icon should be highlighted in blue. Then click "Add Files" button and pick whatever you like to add to your projects: video, pictures, music. You will be able to access these files from inside the app by tapping “Shared Folder” button. If you want to delete files from Shared Folder you can do this either from the app (swipe over the file) or from the iTunes (click on file and then press delete). Why this sharing folder is useful? You can upload files directly to the app and keep them inside the app, so they don’t get lost among other files in your video, photo or music library.

When I record video from inside the app does it autmatically save the original to camera roll?

When you record video from inside the app and then post process it with Silent Film Director, the original video is not saved to the camera roll and is transferred to the processing session instantly. If you believe that you may want this video with no effects for future use, then take it with a default iPhone camera first and then upload to the Silent Film Director from the camera roll.

I have created a project and started the rendering process, but the app crashed after some time. What is the issue?

The key reason for such issue may be the lack of RAM (random access memory). Make sure you don’t have many apps running at the same time on your iPhone or iPod touch. To check the list of apps open and running on your iDevice, go to the multitasking menu. This menu can be accessed by tapping twice the home button (under your screen). You will see a pop-up menu with a list of apps, which currently run and thus consume RAM. You need to clear this list from time to time to let apps work properly. To delete the app, tap and hold on the app icon. Then tap on the red circle to delete the app. This will not delete the app completely, but will shut it down to free RAM. If you did that and the issue with crash still occurs, contact us at support@macphun.com, so we can find a solution.

How to trim and slice video inside the project and add title card inside the video fragment?

The current version of Silent Film Director and Silent Film Directro PRO lets you split and trim the video. Here is a short guide how to do this:
Load your video to the project
Tap scissors button and open the editing section
You will see a trim and split control on the top. When you tap the left or right control on the toolbar the frame will become lighter. You can move the controllers, trimming the video. In this case, after saving the file, you will save only the video, which was inside the gray frame.
To insert the title card in the middle of the video do the following. Tap the right trim controller and move the controller to the part of the video after which you want to insert the title card. Tap save – now you have the first part of the video. Put title card after it. Now load the same video file again. Put it after the title card and trim the first half of the video, making a part, which should go after title card.

How do I delete a project in Silent Film Director PRO?

To delete a project simply swipe over it with a finger and tap the red delete button, which appears

When I try to upload music from my iPod I get the error message “Sound can’t be loaded”. What’s wrong with it?

Some of the music files on your iPod can be copy-protected, meaning that you are not allowed to copy or share these files, unless you own copyrights. So one of the reasons to get this kind of message is that you are trying to upload a copy-protected music file. Also check if you have many apps open and running, which consume RAM (random access memory). Music uploading also requires RAM and sometimes may fail, when there is not enough RAM. Make sure you shut down all apps, which you are not using. Check the question above for information how to delete apps from the multitasking menu. If you think that a different problem causes this kind of issue, feel free to contact us at support@macphun.com, so we can find a solution.

When uploading to Facebook (YouTube) I get a message “Facebook (YouTube) upload failed”? How to fix this issue?

The problem maybe in connection with internet, especially when you are on 3G, not Wi-Fi. Give it several tries and the video should upload. Also note that it usually takes few minutes for the video to be uploaded on YouTube or Facebook.

Can I mix pictures with videos?

You can do this in Silent Film Director PRO. This version lets you add pictures along with video, plus add title cards and transitions. And also customize speed of every separate video fragment. This lets you slow down or speed up particular parts of the movie.

When I am trying to upload video, I get message “Can’t add Clip. Resolution of your video is lower than the quality of the project you create…” What does it mean?

This means that the quality of the video you are uploading is lower than the quality you have set for the project. For example your project quality is set to High (640X480) and the quality of your video is Low (192X144). The app simply can’t improve the quality of your video. Not to get this kind of message in the future, try to check the video quality first and then upload it to the project. If there is no way to check the quality and you are getting this kind of message, simply try to set a different quality for the overall project.

I am trying to add new video file in PRO mode, but get error, saying “Can’t add clip. Wrong video orientation…”

You will get this message, if you try to put video fragments of both landscape and portrait orientation in one project. Your resulting video can’t have both orientations. In this case, the system will have to cut either Top/Bottom or Left/Right parts of the video.To make a good looking Silent or Vintage film, try to keep orientation the same both for your videos and pictures. You may be able to add portrait oriented pictures to landscape oriented videos, but then the app will automatically trim the pictures to fit the landscape orientation, which doesn’t always look great.

What video formats can be uploaded to Silent Film Director and which cannot?

Silent Film Director supports all major video formats. If you can play the video on your iPhone or iPod touch, then you can render it in Silent Film Director as well.

Is there a limit for the length of the movie, I can create with Silent Film Director?

There is no limit for the length of the movie; however longer movies will require more rendering time, more RAM (random access memory) and more battery power. Therefore make sure that you don’t have any other apps, which are open on your iDevice and consume RAM, as well as you iDevice is charged and you have time to wait for the project to render.

How long does it take to render the project?

It all depends on the length of your video and some other factors, like the number of title cards, transitions, soundtrack, etc. Silent Film Director works on an enhanced rendering technology, which allows quite fast video processing. For example a single 3 minute video with a speed 2X, video effect 20's movie and a soundtrack will render for about 3 and a half minutes.

Is there a live preview of effects in Silent Film Director?

No, there is not. Silent Film Director is an app for post processing of video files. Live preivew of effects usually doesn't give that high quality. You will need to upload your video first, and then choose video effect, customize speed, sound, quality and then render video. Another benefit of such features is that you can apply different effects on the same video to see which look best. With live preview of the effects you can take video only once and keep it with the same filters, without the possibilty to change anything. Not to mention that with Silent Film Director you can turn to Silent and Vintage Films footage, which was taken with some other devices, like digital cameras for example.

Do you plan to make Silent Film Director for iPad?

You can follow our Twitter account or join the Facebook community and we will keep you updated. Plus you’ll be among first to know about our contests and special promotions.

I have created a movie and want to submit it to your contest. What is that?

By sending your video for the contest, you basically send it to us. We will soon announce an international Silent and Vintage Film contest with awesome prizes and global exposure to the movies, which you directed. At this time we get around 300 videos per day, so don’t be surprised if your video doesn’t appear right away. It usually takes a day or two and if it gets featured you and other users will be able to check it in our gallery (access by taping “Show Time” button on the welcome screen of Silent Film Director). Please note we are quite picky and don’t feature every video submitted – if you do want to see your video online with 100% guarantee, upload it to your personal YouTube channel (or similar site). We usually feature videos, which are either very funny, or have some idea in it. Also we like videos with plot or those which differ from others. Just to give you an idea, out of every 100 videos, we get about 50 videos with dogs, cats, hamsters and other pets; around 30 videos with babies (dancing, crying, eating, sleeping, etc), 15 videos of people filming themselves with a front camera and only 5 videos, which are interesting enough to get featured. We are not saying that your video is not interesting or doesn’t deserve public attention. It surely does. But ask yourself would you still be interested in checking our Show Time Gallery if 95% of videos in it were similar to each other.

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If you have more questions, feel free to contact us at support@macphun.com

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