GRAND RAPIDS – The public release Friday of the movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” also marks the debut of an App developed by Grand Rapids-based Mutually Human that allows movie fans and tourists to create a self-guided tour of the Detroit locations featured in the movie.
Mutually Human President Mark Van Holstyn said the gig, commission by the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office, will give his company a lot of visibility, the reason his company agreed to take less than what they typically charge for mobile app development.
“The budget for creating the application was $25,000,” Van Holstyn said. “It’s at the lower end of the stuff we typically do. But the publicity this will generate and because this was a different type of process, well that was good for the development team.”
The movie App maintains an interactive map where each scene from the movie shot in Detroit provides different information to the user, said Software Designer Lori Mackson. Behind the scenes info also is provided on why each location was selected. Plus history of the building itself.
The movie section of the App links to trailers. It also provides character information, Mackson said.
Plus there is an awards section, she said. If a user visits three locations, the App unlocks another section of the App, a camera tool to overlay some logos on top of the photography you take with your SmartPhone camera that you can share on your social media.
Van Holstyn credits his membership in the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan for getting him this high profile gig.
“We heard about it through Linda (Daischendt, MTAM President),” he said. “She sent out an email for the project last November to the entire membership. She said she had been contacted by the Film Office and it was trying to find a partner on its own for the App, but was having a hard time doing so. We told her we’d love to do this project. A handful of others also submitted proposals.”
Van Holstyn said Mutually Human started the App project in early December, but didn’t really roll up its sleeves and get into the programming until mid January. It took about 10-weeks to complete, he said.
“The city of Detroit in particular has benefitted greatly in recent times from welcoming film productions to our streets, yet there is still an untapped opportunity to connect film production and tourism in our state that this app provides: cost-effective promotion while engaging users to explore Michigan,” said Jenell Leonard, commissioner of Michigan Film & Digital Media Office.
To download the “Batman v Superman Tour” mobile app, please visit: www.batmanvsupermantour.com
