About
tappr.tv is community created music visuals.
The genesis for tappr.tv started over 15 years ago, while I was working at Apple in the Human Interface Team. I wanted to make an easy-to-use application for creating 3D animations, specifically for music visualization. But as I dug more into it, I realized that the input and interaction layers just weren't viable for 3D and animation, so I pivoted to create digital actor software for use in screenplay visualization.
Fast forward to 2009, I knew that the (at the time, much rumored) iPad would make a great input device for music visuals, and so I began building a prototype of tappr.tv. But all I had to work with was the iPhone, and it was challenging to create a content-creation UX suitable for that small screen. Once the iPad was officially released, I began working on tappr.tv as you see it today, specifically designed to take advantage of the large surface area. I set aside the prototype I had built and started from scratch, using the knowledge I had gleaned to build an architectural framework to support my long term goals.
I've been steadily releasing new versions of tappr.tv since Dec 2010. The first version implemented the basic wands, where you could touch and tilt the screen to make pretty visuals. Version 2 focused on recording and playback of multiple tracks of wand motions to create a dance. The third version allowed you to pick a song from your iPod library and dance to it. And now version 4 allows you to publish your dances so that others (with the same song in their iPod library) can watch and rate them.
In many ways this latest version is the 1.0 release I originally envisioned, and it took me all year to build the foundations to support it. I hope you enjoy it, either by watching other people dance, or by creating and sharing dances of your own. I love music, and tappr.tv is my way of expressing that love.