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David Stewart promises that his startup, JumpCam, can be more than just another video app. Sure, YouTube is still the most popular place to watch video online, Vine has taken off, Instagram offers video sharing too, and the one-time mobile video king Viddy is still around. But JumpCam is indeed different than the rest in this crowded field because it allows users to collaborate on ever-evolving videos with friends. "We've always viewed video as this thing that, once it's shot and shared, it's done," Stewart tells The Verge. "Well, it doesn't have to be that way. I think we're going to see a future where we view our media as something dynamic, that we can go back and change, and improve — something that is alive almost, rather than just an untouchable, finished product."
JumpCam, which is only available on iOS but arriving on Android in about a month, lets users create collaborative videos with in-app friends. The idea here is that a user starts off a video with a clip, then invites others to add as many as 29 other snippets. Each clip can run a maximum of 10 seconds long. Everything is then stitched together into a single movie. Easy drag-and-drop editing, a handful of Instagram-like filters, and the ability to add music stored on your phone as a soundtrack add a bit of polish to videos if users so choose. All the clips are stored in the cloud, so any parts of the video — the clips included and their order, the filters, the music — can all be changed at any time by the person who started the video.
The nine-person company also offers the ability to embed videos around the web, or share them to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr from within the app. Stewart, an ex-Google employee, notes that since JumpCam videos can be changed at any point, what's shared or embedded will always automatically update to the latest edit. The app is dead simple to use — if you've ever used Instagram or Vine you'll know exactly what you're doing here. However, the fun factor certainly hinges on whether or not you can get buddies to collaborate with you (stitching together your own clips is a far less exciting option). However, the potential when users work together is pretty clear. So far, testers of the app have used it to make a crowdsourced music video, reminisce on bad dates, and as a vehicle for some sight-gag comedy.