Can a video messaging app from Tokyo take on the likes of Vine and Instagram in the increasingly saturated social video space? The seven-person team behind video messaging app Unda thinks it can, thanks to a secret weapon that rivals have yet to integrate: real-time editing.
Unda launched in June 2013 – the same month that Instagram began supporting video.
“We knew at the time that existing apps, all the big messaging apps, would move into this space and kill everyone,” says Unda co-founder and CEO Oscar Noriega. “But we wanted to build the core foundation of a messaging app, then build something unique on top of that.”
Unda, with US$300,000 in pre-seed funding from 500 Startups and angel investors, managed to attract 220,000 registered users. Noriega and his team got to work examining who those users were and how the app could better serve their needs.
“Once we dug into the data, it became clear that most of our users were female, specifically teenage girls,” Noriega says. “When we look at [services] that appeal to them, there’s a split: camera apps that focus on filters and effects but don’t have a strong community within the app, and core messaging apps that don’t offer much on the editing side. We’re combining those into a great messenger with powerful, real-time editing tools.”
To realize this change, Unda will be renamed to VideoSelfie. The startup also revealed today that it’s attracted an additional US$900,000 in seed funding to get the ball re-rolling. In addition to 500 Startups, new investors include CyberAgent, East Ventures (Disclosure: East Ventures also invests in Tech in Asia. Read our ethics statement here), Klab Ventures, and two domestic angels: Takeo Matsuda (the ex-CFO of Groupon Japan) and Masi Oka (the Japanese actor who played Hiro Nakamura in the hit American TV series Heroes).
An App Store update expected to be approved soon (perhaps as early as the end of the week) will upgrade existing Unda users on iOS to the new app, while the team has decided to do away with the Android version. Noriega says he’s hoping to be featured by Apple.
“We actually trademarked VideoSelfie back in the beginning, because we always thought video messaging was tied to the selfie itself,” Noriega adds. “The original vision [of Unda] was, essentially, a personal way of communicating with friends with your face in the middle of the screen. The new name makes it clear what demographic we’re targeting.”
Face tracking and beyond
VideoSelfie allows users to capture 20-second videos, in multiple takes, while applying filters and animated GIFs in real time. Filters range from “kawaii” (which softens skin tone and emphasizes eyes, a la Japan’s purikura photo booths) to the self-explanatory “comic book.” GIFs come from aggregation service Giphy. Users can pinch to resize and tap to position images (PNGs and JPEGs are also supported), and there’s even an option to adjust GIF speed. Images can also be positioned offscreen in order to “pan” into them white shooting.
In addition to GIFs that are curated from the web, VideoSelfie offers multiple categories of in-house options. Many of those GIFs are optimized for another feature that sets VideoSelfie apart: face tracking. Select the animated cat ears and whiskers, for example, and they will automatically attach themselves to your head and cheeks, even if you move your head around the screen.
Noriega sees advanced 3D tracking as the next killer feature for social video, and his team is already developing an algorithm. He showed Tech in Asia an early version of a 3D mask – inspired by the hit anime series Attack on Titan – that follows a user’s facial expressions and position. Less grotesque applications than the titan mask (and much more in line with VideoSelfie’s target users) would include face slimming, eye enlargement, and the application of virtual makeup. Advanced tracking would also open up revenue streams in the form of in-app purchases.
At launch, VideoSelfie will be available in English, Japanese, and Spanish. The startup expects to include more languages in the future, as 25 percent of current Unda users hail from Southeast Asia.
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This post This tiny Tokyo startup wants to challenge Instagram and Vine with real-time video editing appeared first on Tech in Asia.
This tiny Tokyo startup wants to challenge Instagram and Vine with real-time video editing
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