The application can be downloaded for a around the cost of a coffee from the iTunes App Store onto any iPhone worldwide. It contains 'pages' like a children's book, with text, audio and animated adventures activated by touch.
The 'Little Bella' character invites us into 12 imaginary scenarios, each having an animated short featuring Bella; she imagines herself flying through clouds, jumping like a frog and being a slimy slug.
“The idea was to do something a little different for parents of young kids,” says Creator, Jonathan Dower. “There are heaps of media based education programs out there for young kids, but it can be hard to find good quality products. The iPhone platform is a great opportunity for us to explore new technology and a new concept.”
Dower's past experience as a Senior Animator at DisneyToon Studios and in the highly competitive Japanese animation industry, have given him a good grounding to develop a fine-looking animated product. Late 2008 he Directed Tui Studios first short film on mobile media in conjunction with Screen Australia and Telstra BigPond®. Titled “The Greatest Moment in the History of the Universe... Ever!”, the short film has recently been accepted to the 2009 Cleveland International and LittleBigShots film festivals.
In the three, short years that Tui Studios have been in business they have gone from strength to strength, creating influential work such as the “Mary the Braveheart” campaign for Sydney Children's Hospital.
Despite already making a name for themselves among international studios they are keen to put more energy into making original content. “It's a risky investment for a company so small and a format that is so new,” says Dower. “But we wanted it to be a totally Tui Studios funded production. Thats the direction we want to head in, building up an audience and making and financing our own products. It's all about making quality, animated stories.”
An avid Mac-fan himself, Dower is optimistic about the future of animated applications. “I think the iPhone is going to become a great avenue for independent artists, animators and storytellers. For me right now it's a pretty inspiring piece of equipment.”
If the 'Little Bella' iPhone App is anything to go by, Tui Studios certainly seems to be headed in the right direction – and with the iTunes App Store opening up new ways to using education tools, it looks using mum and dad's phone may just become child's play.
Little Bella's I Close My Eyes is out now. Available from:
http://www.ilovelittlebella.com
Or if you search the iTunes Appstore, you'll find it in the “entertainment”
