What Filmmakers Need to Know About the New iPad



The quad core graphics and higher resolution screen of the iPad unveiled on March 7th, 2012 should have microbudget filmmakers reconsidering their relationship with portable devices.

The quality of the image - and the speed with which it can be rendered - coupled with the "touch and swipe" interactivity - suggest a New World where films play on tablets in unique ways. The new iPad has set the bar, but others will soon follow with portable devices that connect with the internet and play video wirelessly with great aplomb. Add in interactivity - and filmmakers have a lot to think about.

With it's latest upgrade, the iPad has evolved into a platform worthy of artists seeking to create new types of motion picture experiences.

Filmmakers aren't the only ones who are reconsidering how their work will be received, now that the new iPad (and it's potential for rendering gorgeous and interactive video) are about to hit the street: Gamers are also wondering if the new iPad will now be in direct competition with the consoles that currently dominate the market for graphics-heavy games.

Before the New iPad, the PlayStation 3 (62 million units sold) and the Xbox 360 (65 million units sold) were the main platforms for the processor-heavy and visually-dense hardcore games like "Gears of War," "Battlefield 3" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic."

Now, as reported in a March 9th, 2012 Reuters article that ran in the NY Times, game designers like Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, are planning on a new world where the iPad is recognized as a new gaming platform: "It is quite easy to imagine a world where an iPad is more powerful than a home console, where it wirelessly talks to your TV and wirelessly talks to your controller and becomes your new console."

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Randy Finch's Film Blog:

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