Vancouver-based Moving Tales has released what it calls the first 3D animated storybook for the iPad, taking advantage of the portable digital media device's features and functions to 'take interactive stories for a walk.'
The app's dynamic typographic layouts can be animated using the iPad's accelerometer, and randomly selected alternative perspectives are incorporated to ensure that no two viewings are alike. Other features include Cover Flow-like navigation, the choice to hear and display the story in Spanish as well as English and compelling, poetic voice-over narratives.
The Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross is now available on the Internet as an iPad app, combining modern story-telling with the best of today's technology.
Inspired by the age-old tale of a man who becomes rich through a dream, The Pedlar Lady of Gushing Cross describes the journey of a poor pedlar woman who, guided by the shifting line between the real and the unreal, discovers a surprising and wonderful treasure.
By presenting tales of transformation, truth, drama and humor using a state-of-the-art digital 'mash-up' of methods from the worlds of ebook publishing, graphic novels, film and interactive media, Classic World Tales establishes a truly original and engaging new world of storytelling.
Interestingly, the company reports that three per cent (3%) of profits from Moving Tales will be donated to charity.
"We started Moving Tales to expand and explore storytelling on the iPad platform. Not just any stories, but tales with rich legacies, many of which have been told for millennia," explained Matthew Talbot-Kelly, Editor, Director and Producer of Moving Tales. "We are taking these stories for a walk - rephrasing and reframing them in a way that is compelling and appropriate to this new platform. Although they have aspects of books, animated films, storytelling and interactive media, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. Our very bold intention is to develop the first great iPad storybook app."
Born in Dublin, Ireland and raised in Toronto, ON, Talbot-Kelly followed up on his 1990 architecture degree with film animation, looking with interest at spatial and temporal movement. Since 1996, he has worked internationally as a director, animator, digital artist, and designer. His animated short Blind Man's Eye had its world premiere in the 2007 Venice Film Festival and screened all over the world. His new animated short The Trembling Veil of Bones premiered at the 2010 Palm Springs International Shortfest and began its festival circuit in June 2010.