As easy to use as iMovie but it’s woefully short on editing options, making it too difficult to pull off a truly decent effect.
Want to reenact Independence Day or The Terminator using a 20 second video of Auntie Mabel’s 70th birthday? If you’re so inclined, then Cinefy is the special effects pocket studio that the iPhone’s been waiting for – well, almost.
You do get a fair selection of effects for your money, from alien invasions and helicopter attacks to lightning strikes and sea monsters. Each effect has a few variations too, in camera angle, length and style, to help you find something that’ll work with your footage. Sadly, the effects are simply not realistic enough and should only be regarded as a bit of low-rent fun.
There’s no way to tailor the positioning of the effect either, making you conform to the app, rather than getting the app to work for you. It’s very much a case of trial and error to see if your movies have the raw ingredients to work with Cinefy’s effects.
We found the interface to be well designed being based on a simple tracks system. Tap the Video track to import your raw footage, and then tap Effects to choose a sequence from Cinefy’s library. You can also pick some music from your iPhone to add to your video. Like iMovie, all it takes is a few swipes and an edited movie is complete, but the lack of any real editing options is just as frustrating as iMovie’s dire selection of templates.
Cinefy feels like the gateway to a huge depository of fun effects, but if you’re never really in control, it’s just a bit of gloss that you’ll quickly get bored of. Another big negative is the hefty file size of the app, coming in at just under 1GB. Sure, there’s plenty of effects for your 69p, but they’re hardly sophisticated enough to warrant such a chunk of your iPhone’s precious capacity.
Download this app: Cinefy – Special FX Studio for iPhone
Apple iPhone 5 review | Best iPhone apps
Review courtesy of Tap!
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