A new product is coming out of travel startup Humanity.tv, a namesake iPad app to expand the emerging content platform's reach.
The startup (TLabs here) brings a steady stream of well-produced, documentary-style travel content to its community of travelers and travel lovers. The idea is to create a platform that exists for more in-depth, story-based travel films, offering more context and dimension then tourism-oriented travel content.
The team behind the startup, director Kerrin Sheldon and producer Gaston Blanchet, have wrapped the web-based platform up into an engaging iPad app with a country-by-country interface. This country-specific layout allows users to surface interesting videos and explore what's available via a national lens.
Or, as Humanity spins it, this is an "iPad app for explorers."
In sharing the news, director and co-founder of Humanity Kerrin Sheldon said:
We believe the best way to experience a country is to understand the locals. What are their passions? What drives them? How are they connected and tied to the culture and landscape they come from? That is what we hope to show through the content we gather in each Humanity issue
Travel content is something you should recline with. It’s something you should spend time viewing and, hopefully, then become inspired to explore the world around you. We don’t want to create consumable content. We want to create content that creates an emotion – that incites action.
The team started in Iceland, with Israel, Albania and Scotland up next in the country lineup. The app interface facilitates exploration by showcasing the lives of Icelanders via content types of Featured Stories, Travel Experiences and Photo Essays.
Each release will feature a new country, creating an audio-visual travel magazine specifically tailored for the tablet experience.
Each release features a dozen short documentaries on locals in each country alongside photo essays that include interviews and soundscapes to contextualize the experience across mediums. In addition, some more tourism-focused videos will showcase exceptional travel experiences in the subject destination.
The iPad app is available for download here, and offers each issue at $1.99 via in-app purchase. Iceland is being promoted at 99 cents per download, and the promotional video below offers a glimpse into the style of travel content being produced by the team behind Humanity.tv.
NB: The image is from Humanity's iPad edition featuring stories of Icelanders.