Letter to Jane Magazine

First Sample Code Project is Now Up
I’ve sent out emails to all the backers at the $200+ levels, but I want to make sure everyone knows who ordered the project sample code. The code blog is now up with the first project at code.lettertojane.com I’ve emailed the password to backers to access the site. If you paid for the code and didn’t get the email let me know thanks.

Previews Coming Soon and Wim Wenders Joins the Issue!
I’ve been working like a dog for months now to bring you the next issue, and soon it’s going to be time to start sharing some of that work with you. I want to be clear upfront, the issue isn’t done. There have been setbacks at every step of the way, and being only one person, it takes a little while longer to get back on track. While some of the delays have been out of my control, such as working with people’s schedules and having help not follow through, a lot of the problems I’ll admit probably stem from my preconceptions going into this project. I knew exactly how I wanted every detail of this issue, but as I got into it I realized that what was happening was dictating a different kind of work and it would be foolish to keep going with what I had planned. A big part of the delays was that I was trying to get some big names involved with this issue. I am happy to say I was able to get all but one, which is a pretty good average. I just finished one of the interviews on Thursday and the last one is scheduled in mid March and then the issue will be a wrap. In the meantime I’ve been changing my initial designs for the look of the issue. They looked pretty but they weren’t really optimal for tablets. It’s just a part of the design process when it comes to tablets is that you’ve got to give yourself time to live with the product and really get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. Based on testing a lot of interaction I’ve come up with a much slicker look. It’s something that is inline with Moral Tales but is more refined and dynamic.
So while there is still some time until the release, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to start sharing content with you! The first thing I will be posting is my interview with legendary film director Wim Wenders on monday. This man is one of my all-time heros and it was just an amazing experience to meet him. It is also extra special because all my work for this issue has been based on his work. I’ve watched his films every night, read all his writings, and listened to all his commentary tracks. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the person I was dedicated the issue to would actually be a part of it. I’m also going to start posting more interviews soon. Also I’m going to start posting short video clips leading up to the final video that will be in the app.
For those who bought the source code I am going to set up a private blog and start sharing some sample projects with you. I had planned all along to break up the code into steps because I know how daunting the simplest code can look to a beginner when everything is in it’s final state. So I’m going to post a couple projects that just show the basics and build up to what the final project will be. This will also provide a way to get some feedback from you so I can build a better product for all of us.
One update that has already happened is that the site has gotten a bit of a refresh to more closely resemble the new issue. It’s not exactly what the issue looks like, (honestly I don’t like to lock anything down until the very last minute), but it definitely fits in with the new look.
That’s all I have to report now, and I hope to be able to report more soon.
-Tim

Some Questions Concerning Text
So I’ve been building test apps, finalizing grids and so forth getting ready to push this issue out and in my testing I’ve come across a snag when it comes to displaying text in this issue. I’ve gone back and forth about what to do and so I thought the best thing to do would be to make a sample app today so you can better see what I’m talking about, maybe I can get some opinions or find a better solution.
All along I had decided to make this app have all native text and I figured I would do that by having the text by html and displaying it in webviews. I had done this before (the last app had this for the text only views), but the performance was pretty bad so I knew I couldn’t have it be the main option. I was sure this time around, if I searched hard enough or maybe Apple fixed the performance and it would be a viable option now. Well I’ve been going over this for weeks now and I don’t think it is.
The sample app is just a webview and a label using custom fonts, (I included free fonts so as to not get myself in trouble). It’s as simple as can be and if you run tests on it, you can see that it allocates almost double of what a view would be if the text was images instead. What’s worse is that if you put the app in the background (close the app) you will see that it doesn’t release barely anything. Now I could be doing something wrong, but I don’t think I am. If somebody sees something that knows better, please let me know.
I’ve looked into other options. CoreText is a mess and not a viable option for this issue, since the main point of it is to make code that can be straightforward and simple to use. Nothing about CoreText is direct or simple. Displaying a PDF or doc allocates even more, and UITextView doesn’t come with many options. As of this moment I’m going to be using images for the text again. It’s not ideal, but I’m not going to sacrifice the app just to stay with an ideal. Another advantage to using images that you can’t with a webview is that I can lazily load them so that the performance is better. This is what I did in the recent issue of Port Magazine. Only the first couple paragraphs load right away so that the app doesn’t have to load much when you first turn to that page. Then in a second or two, the rest of the text loads in the background. Webviews aren’t thread safe so everything has to wait until the html is done loading.
When I release the source code I will provide other options, and you can look at this sample code as a good starter if this is the way you want to go. So please download and check it out. If you have any opinions or solutions to try, I’d love to hear it.
Download Sample Code

This is me at the video shoot last Friday. I had already been up for the past 4 days getting everything ready. I didn’t take anymore photos of me because I just got worse as I stayed up the rest of the weekend getting everything shot. And while my appearance keeps going downhill, the work is getting better and better. Today was the first day I was able to look at the video and film and I’m ecstatic with what I came out with. It was rough and hectic, but a lot of fun. All the planning, the scripts, the blocking, all of it went out the window. I had the camera, a crew, and friends, and we just went with the moment. What came out of it is what I think is some of my best work. I don’t say that with any pride but relief. The terror that can overcome one leading up to a project like this can be pretty nerve wrecking.
I will update with some images later from the shoot after things get going, but I really just wanted to report that things went great, I got the video and the cover down. This issue just took a really big step forward.

Issue 04 Update

Hello and happy new year!

This section of the site is going to be dedicated to the making of issue 04 of Letter to Jane. I felt that this is a better and more direct way to keep all the supporters and those interested on the progress of the app. So speaking of the app, I know you’d all like to know how it’s going. I’m really in the middle of all of it right now and everything is firing on all cylinders.

I know how stupid this sounds, but I’m such a work focused person I completely forgot to factor in the holidays and the fact that people will be busy with that so that was a bit of a delay, but that hasn’t stopped things. There are 9 interviews in the works right now and I’m still getting more set up. Features are being finished and this weekend I’m shooting the biggest part of the app: the video and the photos. I’ve got a great team assembled to work this weekend and I can’t wait to get to it.

The video and corresponding soundtrack have been a big struggle the past month because no matter if you’re going to be a fan of it or not, it sets a big part of the tone of the issue. I knew from the get go I didn’t want to fall in the trap that so many fashion/culture publications do with their videos. All these hip cool videos these days are fueled by having to show off merchandise and clothing lines and that really limits what you can do, and that’s why that recent video for Jalouse was so brilliant. They were able to point a finger at everyone who’s just thinking about making something viral instead or just making something good. I want to make something more real and dark, but not in a depressing or emotional way, but more similar to life without giving up any style.

Creating a more mature, personal tone with this issue has always been on my mind since the start of it. I just think it’s funny how we all get tired of watching lighthearted pop films and listening to bubblegum pop songs, we like to enjoy a great variety of moods, but I feel that so many culture magazines just stay in a pop area. Every month we flip through some stylish looking publication that updates us on how rich, beautiful people are passing their time. That’s fine and has it’s place as does everything pop, but real life can be beautiful too, and that’s what this issue is about. If you’ve seen my new project American Friend, then you are already seeing a bit of how Letter to Jane is shaping up. That project came about from working on this issue and it felt good enough on its own so I let it be that and hopefully I’ll be able to make a book out of the project next year.

Now about the meat of the app, the code. The coding is going pretty smoothly, but it’s going to other areas at the moment. I was already committed to work on the next iPad app for Port Magazine, and we’re days away from wrapping it up. A lot of my ideas on how to code Letter to Jane were worked out in this Port app. I can’t really talk too much about the app other than to say it’s gorgeous and I’m really proud to have been a part of it again, and I think everyone will be very happy that I was able to do that project and sharpen my skills some more before finishing up this issue. I’ve settled on how to lay the app out finally. It’s tough to find the balance quite honestly. I don’t want to make the app really complicated because then it just looks a mess to someone who’s new to programming. I don’t want to make everything in code, because a magazine changes grids and styles throughout so you have to do some of it graphically. I also didn’t want to make it too simple because I would be sending out sloppy code and the app wouldn’t be that dynamic.

After testing around a couple models and refining the code down with the Port app I think I found the right balance. I’ve been able to cut out a lot of needless code in this app so things will look cleaner. I’m also more acquainted with iOS 5 and coding with ARC which is pretty slick to say the least. I’m trying to write this app so that functions are self contained and you can easily see how to do things. Wondering how to play a video? It’s all right there and clearly labeled. What to play a song or change the screen a certain way? It’s all right there so you can take that block of code and apply it to your own ideas. I spent a time looking at possibly writing the app using storyboards but declined against it. If you’re using more than a couple viewcontrollers it just gets really messy.

Well I will be posting all my thoughts, updates, behind the scenes, and asking any questions here so I encourage all the donors to bookmark http://four.lettertojane.com

This seemed like a better way to keep everyone up to date rather than constantly emailing you all. For big updates I will send out an email and for specific donor levels I will be getting in touch with you soon individually. As usual thank you for your support.

-Tim