Project overview
First Impress is a mobile application designed to empower students entering the competitive internship market. Developed using Flutter for both iOS and Android, alongside a dedicated admin panel, the app provides students with tools to significantly improve their “first impression.” It features learning modules, a pitch scripting tool, and a unique video recorder with an integrated autocue (teleprompter), allowing students to practice and create polished video pitches or introductory recordings confidently.
The Challenge
Making a strong first impression is crucial for securing internships, yet many students lack confidence or practice in self-presentation, especially on video. First Impress needed a mobile platform to address this by:
- Providing accessible learning resources on pitching and interview skills.
- Offering a practical tool for students to write and refine their pitches.
- Implementing a user-friendly video recording feature with a synchronized autocue to aid memorization and delivery.
- Allowing easy saving and sharing of the final polished video.
- Managing users and content via a backend system and admin interface. The key technical challenge was building the reliable, synchronized autocue and video recording functionality within the Flutter framework while ensuring a smooth user experience and efficient video handling.
My Role
As the lead developer for the First Impress platform, I was responsible for the end-to-end development of both the cross-platform mobile application using Flutter and the associated admin panel. My responsibilities covered:
- Architecting the Flutter application structure with state management Riverpod and the backend system Firebase.
- Implementing all core user-facing features within the Flutter app: learning modules, pitch scripting interface, the complex autocue video recording system, and video management/sharing capabilities.
- Building the administrative interface for content (lessons, etc.) and user management.
- Ensuring the application was performant, secure, and adhered to mobile development best practices, delivering a high-quality user experience.
The Solution
I developed a comprehensive platform designed to build student confidence and improve their video presentation skills:
- Cross-Platform Flutter App: Provided a consistent and native-like experience for students on both iOS and Android devices from a single codebase.
- Integrated Learning Modules: Offered access to curated video training content and related exercises directly within the app to enhance interview and pitching skills.
- Pitch Scripting Tool: Included an interface for students to easily write, edit, and save their pitch scripts.
- Unique Autocue Recording Feature: Implemented a key differentiator – an in-app video recorder that smoothly scrolls the student’s saved script over the camera view (teleprompter style), enabling confident, natural delivery without memorization struggles.
- Video Management & Export: Allowed students to review their recordings and save the final, clean video (without the script overlay) locally or potentially to the cloud, ready for sharing.
- Scalable Backend: Developed a supporting backend for user authentication, storing scripts, managing learning content, handling video uploads/storage, and potentially managing internship listings/applications.
- Admin Control Panel: Created an easy-to-use interface enabling the First Impress team to manage learning materials, users, and other platform data efficiently.
Results / Outcome
The First Impress platform provides a unique and highly valuable tool for students navigating the internship application process.
Key outcomes:
- Successfully delivered a specialized mobile app addressing a specific student need – improving video first impressions.
- Implemented the core technical challenge: a functional and user-friendly autocue/teleprompter video recorder within Flutter.
- Provided an integrated solution combining learning, practice, and creation tools.
- Delivered a complete ecosystem including the student-facing mobile app and an administrative backend/panel.
- Empowered students with a practical tool to build confidence and present themselves more professionally on video.
