Augmented Reality (AR) for Everybody

If you haven’t tried Augmented Reality (AR) yet, Timebox provides an amazing, fun way to see your 3D scenes and animated models in the real world.

It’s simple to place your Timebox scenes on your desk, in your yard, on the floor or anywhere. Tap the AR button and your scenes instantly become “hyper photorealistic" using real lighting, reflections, floors, grounds and backgrounds.

Play with your 3D scenes in AR using all the normal iOS gestures. Share your hyper photorealistic AR scenes, even as videos, via all the usual methods.

Simply tap the AR button on the bottom toolbar to:

• Explore a virtual campsite scene with a campfire, flying eagles and glowing lanterns placed on your real desk.

• Walk around a virtual birthday scene with floating balloons placed on the floor of your real room.

• Place a virtual backyard scene with animated dogs, swimming pool, smoking grill and toys in your own real yard.

• Place a virtual concert stage scene playing your favorite band videos including picnic tables and seats on the real grass in your local park.

• Add a virtual castle scene with flying dragons and flags to your favorite real woodland.

Tap the AR button to get started:

• The first time you tap the AR button, iOS will ask you to give your permission for Timebox to use your camera, which is required, since the camera is how iOS shows you the “reality” that is “augmented” by your 3D scene.

• You will then see on-screen directions and graphics that tell you to point your iPhone or iPad camera at a flat surface, like a tabletop, floor or ground.

(1) Tap the AR button

(2) Point your device at a surface like a desk

(3) Your 3D scene will appear on the surface

• Once iOS has found a flat surface, Timebox will add your 3D scene to the surface. You can then:

  • Move around, pointing your camera at different parts of the scene.

  • Reposition the scene on the surface by using your finger on the screen to drag it around on the surface.

  • Resize or rotate the scene by using two fingers to pinch zoom or rotate the scene.

  • Tap on models to start animations.

  • Tap on doors to enter or leave rooms.

  • Tap on models with Story Players to start, pause or zoom the stories.

  • Customize scenes and models in AR!

• Return to normal 3D from AR, by tapping the AR button again on bottom toolbar.

Give it a try! We’d love to hear what you think - Thanks!

Visual Storytelling in 2020

This is a great story about a photographer, a landlady and visual storytelling in these pandemic times: Behind the Lens with Sarah Blesener on CatchLight.

The article is an interview with Sarah Blesner, a documentary photographer living in the Bushwick neighborhood of New York City, who like many of us has created new routines and projects to help deal with impacts of COVID-19. She started taking photos of her landlady and this collaboration has turned into something positive for both of them.

"The project quickly became something we both held onto as a lifeforce during these weeks – my pessimism being countered by her optimism. It was collaborative from the beginning. We both ended up needing each other."

The photos are wonderful as standalone photos, but because Sarah’s passion and expertise also centers on complex storytelling the words she adds make the photos ten times more meaningful.

We love this and created Timebox to help people collect their photos and stories. We think they go together.

Len & Mary Ellen

Photo credit: Sarah Blesener / CatchLight.io

Timebox Story Studio 3D now Available for Mac

We’re excited to announce the availability of Timebox Story Studio 3D Version 7.1 for iPhone, iPad and now for Mac!

3D Scene Making for Everybody!

Design and share interactive photorealistic 3D scenes to showcase your photos and stories. Start with one of the dozens of pre-designed scene templates. Add any of hundreds of high-quality 3D models to your scene. Customize colors, materials, animations, lighting and more. Add your photos, videos, Live Photos and text to story player models. Then share your scene as a video or a still image plus a link to the fully interactive 3D scene!

Preview of the Timebox Story Studio 3D scene template to showcase your safari photos, videos and stories.

Thank you for your feedback, suggestions and bug reports. In 7.1 we added new requested features, lots of models and 2 new templates. Here's a short list of what’s new:

Preview of the Timebox Story Studio 3D scene template for a safari in Augmented Reality (AR) on a desktop.

• 33 new 3D models including: Elephant, Zebra, Swimming Pool, BBQ Grill, Beach Ball and Personal Computer.

• 2 new scene templates: Safari and Swimming Pool.

• New color chooser so you can choose many more colors.

• New Duplicate command to let you easily duplicate any model in a scene.

• New Cutout model which lets you take advantage of iOS 13 portrait-mode photos.

• Lots of improvements to AR, including:

  • Place a scene on a real-world surface like a table or floor with graphical guidance.

  • Improved lighting and shadows.

  • Pinch and rotate gestures now resize and rotate the whole scene in AR.

Here is the full list of What’s new in Timebox 7.1.

Timebox is a free app that now works seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web. The app includes both free and premium 3D models and scene templates. Premium items require either an in-app purchase or a Timebox Unlimited subscription.

We hope you enjoy Timebox 7.1!

Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Mary Ellen and Len