Google’s experimental photo apps are impressive from the start

![selfphoto-k0oB--621x414@LiveMint.png]( apps are quite popular with smartphone users, according to the recently released list of top apps by Google and Apple for the Play Store and App Store, respectively. These apps are created to take advantage of the improved camera hardware in ways the default camera app cannot. Some of these apps focus entirely on one element of photography, such as editing, or adding filters. For instance, Microsoft’s Hyperlapse lets users capture time lapse videos, while Google Motion stills used electronic image stabilization tool to minimise shakes in videos.

Now, Google for Research has released three free and experimental apps called Storyboard, Selfissimo and Scrubbies, on similar lines.

Storyboard

Released only on Android, Storyboard can convert videos into a series of photos laid out like a comic book. It works by automatically selecting interesting video frames from the videos uploaded by users and applies one of the six styles available on it. Users can save a particular photo/frame on the device in case they want to share it later on social media. What makes the app more fun is the ability to change the frames quickly with another set of photos, through simple swipe down gesture from the top of the screen.

Google claims there are 1.6 trillion different ways in which the app can show the same set of frames. However, to see more options, the video needs to be longer and have multiple unique frames.