Flixel Gets Millions of Views Overnight

Moncton, New Brunswick entrepreneur Philippe LeBlanc’s smartphone application Flixel Cinemagraph™ received a huge boost after appearing on and becoming a permanent fixture on the 2013 season of the hit U.S. reality television series America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). Flixel debuted on the show’s August 8th, 2013 episode.

Flixel makes an iOS application for iPhone and iPad that allows people to make high quality Cinemagraphs™ quickly and easily. A Cinemagraph™ is a still photograph that shows one or more isolated moving components that is becoming increasingly popular in the fashion industry.

« It was just under a year ago when Tyra Banks and the producers of America’s next Top Model sought out our company and requested a demo » says CEO Philippe LeBlanc, “they were comparing apps for quality and speed, and Flixel stood out, hands down.” Flixel’s patented process for capturing and revealing the area of the photograph the user wants to be in motion can be done in seconds instead of hours.

“When I first saw the Cinemagraph, it blew my mind and took my breath away,” supermodel host and executive producer Tyra Banks said in an interview, “it had a ghostlike quality. It was a photo but it was alive — it gave me chills.” Viewers will be able to participate online by making their own Cinemagraphs™.

Flixel came to life with seed capital investments of $250,000 from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), Mantella Venture Partners and BDC Venture Capital other investors in 2012. Tyra Banks also invested in the company.

Since then Flixel has secured collaborations with other brands, including Macy’s new and exclusive Marilyn Monroe fashion collection.

You can find Flixel on the Apple iStore.