Google Data » Mia

Showtime’s “SHORT stories” recruits YouTube finest to make short films

Mia — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:00:00 +0000

For “SHORT stories,” Showtime contacted cutting-edge creators from across the Web and asked them to tell a tale in an innovative way. The series sports the work of some of YouTube’s top creators, so naturally we’re interested in learning a whole lot more about how “SHORT stories” came to be. Showtime's Trevor Noren tells us more.

1) What gave you the idea to use YouTube stars in this way?
YouTube has become a venue for animators and filmmakers to explore new ways to communicate a narrative. Whether it’s an established artist like Don Hertzfeldt or a talent the community has discovered, like Cyriak or Levni Yilmaz, YouTube has offered an opportunity for artists to experiment and find out what people respond to. That spirit of innovation seemed like a natural fit for our brand. Unique storytelling is the hallmark of what we do as a network: our shows challenge viewers with characters they haven’t seen before. “SHORT stories” is a way for us to bring our brand to a new audience while at the same time showing the work of these amazing artists to our subscribers.

2) What was the process of working with them?
Our mission statement to the artists was pretty simple: “Tell a story in a way people haven’t seen before.” We figured a directive that open-ended would create a huge range of results. They didn’t disappoint. Don Hertzfeldt made up a language. Michael Langan employed thousands of still images to show a run around his block. Cyriak used his hands to tell the story of evolution. Whether acquiring a film already in the works or commissioning something entirely new, we did not interfere with the artists’ creative process. The filmmaker explained what they planned to do and we let them run with it. As a result, we ended up with an incredibly diverse collection of films.

3) What have you learned about the YouTube community over the course of this project?
How much they embrace the bizarre. It doesn’t matter if they know exactly what the filmmaker is trying to say with their video. They recognize the dedication that goes into creating the piece and they recognize the personality and vision behind it. It’s really amazing and inspiring how open-minded the community is to new ideas.

4) Will you pursue more of these and if so, how are you finding the filmmakers?
“SHORT stories” will be ongoing. We’ve identified a few potential candidates. We’d like to keep who they are a surprise. That said, the YouTube community is already helping us identify potential filmmakers. Names pop up all the time in comments on the videos. Everyone from Czech great Jan Svankmajer to Mystery Guitar Man. The best way for us to find new talent is to watch and listen to the YouTube community.

5) What’s something no one would know about these videos by looking at them?
The sheer amount of time that went into the creation of some of the films. Inspired by a vintage nutcracker that looked like a fish, it took PES five years to find all of the objects that went into “The Deep.” For Michael Langan, stitching together all of the still images for “Dahlia” took one month for every minute of the film. “Pretty, Dead” by Jeff Scher consists of more than 3,000 individual drawings. The final products themselves are incredible, but when you really start to understand what went into creating them, it’s remarkable.

Trevor Noren, Creative Director, Digital Content, Showtime, recently watched “Shameless Trailer and Behind the Scenes.”

JoshSundquist is January’s “On the Rise” star

Mia — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Congrats to Josh Sundquist, who edged past Luke Conard in the final hours to win this month’s edition of On the Rise, the program where you decide who goes on the homepage based on a shortlist of channels that’ve experienced fast growth in the last month. Josh is on the homepage today, thanks to your support.

Josh’s list of talents seemingly has no end. He’s an author, a skier, a rapper, a motivational speaker and, naturally, a skilled videographer:

Here’s more from the man himself:

“The growth of my channel is due entirely to the awesomeness of the YouTube community. I especially want to thank iJustine. Even if I wanted to, I could not possibly exaggerate how much she has helped my channel. Also thanks to KsicsFaces for his vids about me, to the VlogBrothers for the stage time at VidCon 2010, to ShaneDawsonTV and Smosh for tweeting my vids, to WillOfDC for promoting my tour, to sxephil, LinzLoves and WHATTHEBUCK for tweeting my book, to Catrific and ItsMeJennaE for putting me in their box, to MissGlamorazzi for her shout-out, to Lisa Harbin for all her behind-the-scenes assistance, and most importantly, to you, my viewers. Without you all watching, talking into a camera would be a very weird hobby. Which is to say, more strange than it already is.”

And that’s not all. Due to the fun we’ve had since starting this program, we’ve created a channel to house regular playlists of even more rising YouTube stars -- because so many more channels deserve a wider audience. These playlists will be featured on the browse page and Tweeted, and will be updated several times a week. Make sure to check back often as your own channel might be featured!

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “Amputee Rap.”

The Onion’s A.V. Club “Inventory” lists become YouTube videos

Mia — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:00:00 +0000

The folks at the A.V. Club (the pop culture wing of The Onion) have a new series debuting on YouTube this week called “Inventory,” based on the popular lists by the same name at avclub.com. If you chug pop culture, but like it served up with a twist, “Inventory” will delight every nerve in your nerdy body.

1) What was the genesis of the Inventory program?
Inventory started as a weekly feature on avclub.com in 2005 -- we've done something like 300 of them now! We wanted to challenge ourselves to do a list-type feature in our own way, without being trite or boring like so many lists are. We never wanted to do anything like "10 sexiest movie scenes" or anything; we'd rather do "14 movies featuring tragic masturbation scenes." (Like the one in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. You know what I mean.) It quickly grew into our most popular feature; our readers love to comment on what we missed, and what they agree/disagree with.

2) How does YouTube help in your process, if at all?
We use YouTube all the time to embellish the text Inventory pieces. We'll very frequently reference movie scenes or particular songs, and it's great to be able to show and tell. Sometimes the Inventories are really long -- I've had people tell me that they spent hours just reading one and watching all of the accompanying YouTube clips. Probably while they're supposed to be working.

3) How can the YouTube community get involved in the show, making recommendations or other?
We're often inspired by commenters with new Inventory ideas, and we've always positioned Inventory as an incomplete list of whatever we're talking about. If we have 24 great films too painful to watch twice, for example, we'll learn of a dozen more that could've been on the list from our commenters. We like to think of the feature as the beginning of a conversation, not the end of it.

4) What's a little known fact about Inventory that you'd never know by watching it?
Maybe that we argue amongst ourselves about what should be included. Sometimes people read Inventory as a definitive list of things, not realizing that there are half a dozen people in a room, often vehemently disagreeing on whether something should be included.

5) What question would you ask yourselves if you were doing this interview?
Are you hungry? Can I get you a snack?

Josh Modell, General Manager, The A.V. Club, graciously answered these questions but points out that “pretty much everybody in The A.V. Club had a creative hand in these video segments.”

This Tuesday! Broken Social Scene go live on YouTube

Mia — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:00:00 +0000

On Tuesday, January 18 at 9 p.m. ET, Canada’s sprawling indie rock collective Broken Social Scene kicks off their Winter 2011 tour with a live performance at NYC’s Terminal 5 -- and you’ll be able to watch the show as it happens on http://www.youtube.com/bowerypresents (brought to you by Lexus).

The group will also be curating the YouTube homepage on Tuesday, with a mix of videos that are as surprising and eclectic as the band itself.

Who are Broken Social Scene? Maybe a better question would be, who aren’t they? Formed as a loose collaborative of Toronto musicians/friends back in 1999, the shifting lineup has looked like a who’s who of indie rock -- with Leslie Feist as perhaps the brightest star in the constellation. (Check out this playlist featuring the band’s other projects.) If you don’t know Broken Social Scene’s music, think Arcade Fire and The Postal Service, with a dash of Sonic Youth.

Multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning started the group in 1999, but it wasn’t until 2003 that the group really started to take off with the release of You Forgot It In People. On that album, the group had swollen to 11 members, and the collective crafted a gregarious -- some might say bombastic -- album whose woozy grace seemed perpetually on the verge of falling apart. Fans found it utterly engrossing. The album won a Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year, and suddenly Broken Social Scene were the buzz band, garnering accolades from Pitchfork on down.

Broken Social Scene has always been based on a notion of fragility; it’s built into its very name. Some have compared the group to 1970s-era Fleetwood Mac for its, um, complicated interpersonal dynamics -- all of which seems inevitable in a group that (by some counts) includes 31 friends/musicians among its ranks. The band took a hiatus after wrapping up a massive tour in 2005, filling the relative void with a couple of Broken Social Scene Presents albums.

But a creative force this potent couldn’t stay dormant. Broken Social Scene came back together for 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record, another ambitious collaborative effort that saw early members like Feist, Amy Millan and Emily Haines returning to the fold. It’s a gorgeous piece of work, as evinced by the opening track “World Sick.”

Meanwhile, the obsession with Broken Social Scene and its mythic qualities has grown. Writer and friend of the band Stuart Berman authored an oral history of BSS called This Book Is Broken (see an interview with Berman here ) and there is also a feature film, This Movie Is Broken, which juxtaposes live footage of the group with a fictional love story.

As Broken Social Scene continues to evolve, we say if it ain’t Broken, fix it.

Sarah Bardeen is a longtime music obsessive, critic and journalist who joined YouTube recently as Music Community Manager. She recently watched “ASA - <> [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO HD].”

Partners, please join us for the first virtual meetup

Mia — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:50:00 +0000

January is a generally a cold month, so rather than getting out your winter coat and travelling to a partner meetup, we thought we’d kick off 2011 with live event on the YouTube channel. This meetup will be product-focused and near and dear to many of your wallets: we’ll cover how to make money on YouTube, advertising options, and some new innovations coming your way soon.

YouTube Product Manager Phil Farhi will be leading the discussion, so make sure to round up all your money- and ad-related questions on the YouTube channel now. You’ve got until Monday, January 17, to submit your question, and then we encourage you to watch what Phil’s got to say during the live event.

Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Time: 2 p.m. PST
Web address: Live streaming at www.youtube.com/YouTube

During the stream, you’ll be able to ask follow-up questions via Twitter using the hashtag #YTPartner. We’ll monitor these tweets and address as many questions as we can during the live stream.

Looking forward to meeting up online!

Margaret Healy, Strategic Partner Manager, recently watched “Kauai - The Lost World - Canon 5D Mark II.”

On the Rise: Help these users get on the homepage!

Mia — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Check it out, people! This month’s “On the Rise” nominees are in -- and we need your help to choose a winner.

Just to remind you how this works: we identify a handful of channels who’ve rapidly increased their subscriber base in the last 30 days but haven’t yet hit the 100,000 mark. You watch their videos, and then vote for your favorite in the top right-hand corner of this blog. You have until noon PT on January 14, 2011, to make your choice. Once we have a winner, we’ll give them a big leg up with a feature on the YouTube homepage and videos page, as well as love on Facebook and Twitter. Past winners emilynoel83 and justjesse197 more than doubled the number of subscribers gained during the month of their spotlight versus the previous month, and Emily is close to hitting the 100,000 subscriber milestone herself.

And now, in alphabetical order, here are the nominees for the homepage spotlight on January 22:

Michael Aranda
You never quite know what you’re going to get with a Michael Aranda video: one minute he’s dropping knowledge, the next he’s freak-dancing -- or turning his car into an art project.

Luke Conard
Catchy pop songs. A sense of humor. Adorably goofy videos....What’s not to like about Luke Conard?

Tori Kelly
Tori Kelly’s just 18 years old, but she plays piano and guitar and sings like nobody’s business. Check out one of her original songs.

Josh Sundquist
Josh Sundquist has quite a personal story: overcoming childhood cancer and a leg amputation to become an athlete, inspirational speaker and author. Check out his sweet and affecting animations.

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “Taylor Momsen escapes paparazzi.”

Dashing through the snow…with NORAD, YouTube and Google

Mia — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Every Christmas Eve, children all over the world ask themselves—and their parents—questions about Santa’s magical journey. How does Santa visit so many children in one night? Will he eat the cookies I left out? How does he fit all those presents into his sleigh? These childhood mysteries are part of what makes the Santa tradition so special.

There’s one timeless question that we’re proud to say we can help answer: Where in the world is Santa at this very moment? Thanks in part to recent advances in warp-speed GPS technology and some very clever elves (elveneering?) NORAD Tracks Santa is once again prepped and ready to go.

Starting tomorrow, December 24 at 2:00 a.m. EST, visit www.noradsanta.org to follow Santa as he journeys around the world delivering presents to children in more than 200 countries and territories. There are a few different ways to find the jolly man in his unmistakable red suit over the course of the day, so feel free to track him using any of the following methods:

Subscribe to his YouTube channel: Santa’s home on YouTube is at http://www.youtube.com/noradtrackssanta. That’s where you can find videos from his journey throughout the night. This “Commander's Holiday Message” offers a peek of what to expect:

See Santa on a Google Map: On your home computer or laptop, visit www.noradsanta.org and choose your preferred language. You’ll see a large Google Map on the page displaying Santa’s current location and his next stop. Click the video icons to watch “Santa Cam” videos, and click the gift icons to learn more about each city.

Watch Santa fly with the Google Earth Plug-in: From www.noradsanta.org, click on the link Track Santa in Google Earth. You'll see Santa steering his sleigh right on the webpage. If you don't have the Google Earth plug-in, you can get ready by downloading it ahead of time.

Follow Santa on your phone: Track Santa from your mobile phone by opening Google Maps for mobile and searching for [santa]. Or, visit m.noradsanta.org on your phone’s browser.

Get real-time information about Santa’s location: Use Google’s Realtime Search to get updates from social networks, news and micro-blogs like Twitter at @noradsanta, and keep up with news about his journey on this Facebook page.

For any techie questions you might have, we’ve also put together some helpful tips and tricks about all the cool ways you can experience Santa’s journey. And now that you know how to follow Saint Nick on Christmas Eve, it’s our tradition to tell the story of how this all started...

NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) first began to track Santa in 1955 when a misprinted advertisement in a Sears & Roebuck catalogue mistakenly led callers expecting a Santa-hotline to the NORAD commander-in-chief's telephone. Embracing the spirit of the season, NORAD used its satellite and radar capabilities to offer callers sleigh-location updates, and has tracked Santa's whereabouts on Christmas Eve ever since. Then in 2004, Google started tracking Santa on Google Earth as a 20% project, which in 2007 grew into a partnership with NORAD, adding the mapping technology of Google Maps and Google Earth to the NORAD experience. Over the years, other Google teams have also joined in the holiday fun (YouTube, Google Voice’s www.SendACallFromSanta.com and Google SketchUp).

As we approach this year’s Christmas Eve adventure, Santa was able to take a break from the preparations to visit the New York Stock Exchange this past Monday. His helpful elves kept everything at the North Pole on schedule while folks from Google and NORAD attended the Closing Bell ceremony, and stood alongside Santa from Macy’s going over last minute details about tomorrow’s big ride:

Santa with NORAD, Google and members of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

that’s me, the tall guy in the back row clapping)

So don’t forget to visit www.noradsanta.org tomorrow morning starting at 2:00 a.m. EST when Santa embarks on his flight. From all of us here at Google and YouTube, happy holidays and here’s to a very happy New Year!

Brian McClendon, Original Google Engineering Elf, recently watched “Picasa 3.8 Face Movie.”

Celebrating our partners’ success

Mia — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:00:00 +0000

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on another incredible year in online video. During the last 12 months you all watched more than 700 billion YouTube videos, and uploaded more than 13 million hours of content to the site. We met a bunch of new faces (and fruits) and celebrated as new YouTube partners hit the big time with millions of views. Indeed, our partner program grew to around 15,000 participants worldwide.

We’re privileged to work with the most passionate and talented partners in the world, who produce and upload videos that inspire us, make us laugh and move us -- and, most importantly, change the way we look at the world. In bedrooms, garages and studios across the globe, these talented and entrepreneurial YouTube partners are building the next generation of media companies, and in July this year we announced a new way we’d be supporting this via Partner Grants.

It’s clear that we want to see YouTube partners continue to create great video and further push the boundaries of what’s possible online. To that end, today we’re giving a $1,000 credit at B&H Photo to 500 partners around the world, who primarily create and distribute their content online, to purchase new video production equipment. This group includes well-known YouTube stars like ShayCarl, MysteryGuitarMan and FreddieW (and this past weekend we learned the latter two make quite a guitar-bass duo), and also successful musicians like Kina Grannis and promising new talents like EmilyNoel83, who was the inaugural winner of our “On The Rise” program last month. Collectively, these 500 partners generated billions of video views in 2010, and we chose them to receive a $1,000 credit based on their popularity during 2010, as well as their online focus.

We hope this will provide our most popular partners with the tools they need -- whether it be a new camera, sound & lighting equipment or editing software -- to produce even higher quality videos and ultimately drive bigger audiences to their work. Hundreds of creative people all around the world have launched professional careers after using YouTube as a global platform to demonstrate their talent - we want to see this number continue to grow.

On behalf of the entire YouTube community, we thank these partners for sharing their creativity and talent with us, and we look forward to what’s to come in 2011 and beyond.

Tom Pickett, Director of Content Operations & Online Creators, recently watched “P4A: The Annoying Orange Interviewed by Tay Zonday.”

“World’s smartest dog” JustJesse197 is “On the Rise” winner

Mia — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Voting is in, and a channel showcasing the irresistible cuteness of a Jack Russell terrier named Jesse is the winner of this month’s “On the Rise” competition.

See why Jesse’s so lovable in this video and via these words from his trainer, Heather:

Jesse and I have a wonderful relationship, and we have got where we are now through love, respect, patience, mutual understanding, and trust. Tricks are a wonderful bonding experience. It is so much fun seeing Jesse thinking while learning, and he has so much fun performing his tricks. We keep training sessions short, fun, and upbeat. You can tell when Jesse is having fun because he has a huge smile across his face :) He is such a joy to live with, and I cherish every moment we have together.

Some of Jesse’s top videos are on the homepage today, and we’ll be back soon with a new crop of “On the Rise” channels for you to vote on. Feel free to also leave suggestions in the comments below, though please note that comments are moderated due to spam.

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “Jesse goes to New York City!”

Choose the next community member to go on the homepage

Mia — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

On the Rise is a program where you determine which YouTube upstart appears on the homepage. emilynoel83, a morning news anchor who creates makeup tutorials, won the inaugural edition and was featured in November, promoted socially, and covered in the blogosphere. Emily doubled the number of subscribers she acquired in the month (compared to the month before), and her catalog also saw a boost in views.

It was so much fun that we want to do it again, taking four more channels that’ve recently seen good subscriber growth but still have less than 100,000 subscribers and putting them up to your discerning tastes. Please vote for your favorite channel in the poll in the top right corner of this blog by Tuesday, December 7, and we’ll put the lucky winner on the homepage on Saturday, December 11. Here are the nominees, in alphabetical order:

corycotton is home to a group of trick-shot basketball entertainers whose swooshes and dunks will leave you floored:

JustJesse197 is a showcase for the amazing tricks and utter cuteness of a five-year-old shortie Jack Russell Terrier named Jesse:

ShowMeTheCurry is Hetal Jannu and Anuja Balasubramanian, who offer easy-to-follow lessons in Indian cooking:

tjw1963 features Teresa teaching the world to crochet one stitch at a time:

Now go vote!

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “Candlelight - The Maccabeats.”

Community-run music label DFTBA thrives

Mia — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:21:00 +0000

In this post, we're turning the floor over to the proprietors of DFTBA, a community-owned and run record label whose moniker stands for "Don't Forget to be Awesome" (not too hard for these guys). On their label's second anniversary, they announce a significant milestone and predict a promising future.

Somehow in the last hundred years "musician" became a nearly impossible profession. The best of the best could get by, pouring their lives into touring or into other people's careers, watching most of their profits go to the record companies, agents, managers, bookers, distributors and others. Now, if you happen upon a song that catches on the radio, you get to sell that one song for sixty cents of profit, instead of a whole album for six dollars of profit. Good luck turning that into a check that could even pay for the production of your next album.

It's a testament to how much we humans love to create music that this didn't decrease the number of excellent musicians and songwriters. Few people write songs to make money; they do it because it's a wonderful experience.

Two years ago, when we here at DFTBA Records were watching wide-eyed as YouTube grew from WTF to OMG, we realized that there was a chance that this could change. We saw people making great music and posting it on YouTube, but still assuming that "musician" was an unattainable job for them. However, they were using online video to grow their audiences in new ways. And they were building audiences that, while not humongous, were extremely loyal.

We did some calculations and figured out that, if we could dramatically increase the amount of money artists make per CD they sell, and let our artists’ authenticity increase the listener-to-purchaser ratio, "musician" could suddenly be a real job for a lot of people.

Now, on our two-year anniversary, we’re happy to say that we've succeeded. DFTBA Records provides the services that this new crop of musicians needs. They're already geniuses at growing their audience, and they certainly don't need help writing fantastic songs. So while we handle the details, our artists are free to cultivate audiences in the thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands, while we make sure that as much of that payoff as possible goes to them. We're not trying to create Lady Gaga; we're trying to create professional musicians.

DFTBA Records is proud to announce that we have now sold a total of $1,000,000 in music and merchandise. We've sent orders to tens of thousands of satisfied customers. We've grown "DFTBA" into a brand that people want to be associated with and want to help spread, from DFTBA initialisms on T-shirts, to our dft.ba URL shortener. We're both extremely proud to have helped people get a hold of this great music, and helped these musicians take their work to the next level. And we're looking forward to continuing to grow this new model.

Alan Lastufka and Hank Green, YouTube Community, recently watched "Ted Hu - Funèbre (Official Music Video)."

Wong Fu film premieres on YouTube

Mia — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 06:36:00 +0000

In May 2010, Wong Fu Productions (Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, Philip Wang) and Ryan Higa started talking about doing a special project: a high-quality, long-form film that would be released just on YouTube for fans. Well, the moment is here: the film is now on YouTube, and Philip tells us more about it.

Written in a couple days, the 35-minute movie was shot in one intense week this past summer. Drawing from the talents of a few dedicated friends, the crew was no bigger than 10 and was usually just the three of us from Wong Fu Productions (WFP), plus the actors. There was no big budget, no big company, no big crews or equipment behind the shoot – just us, a DSLR camera, and the desire to do something major and to support each other.

In a time when "YouTubers" are still foreign to industry studios and decision makers, we didn't want to wait around for someone to give us the green light. We just went ahead and did it ourselves. Being Asian-American is not something most mainstream outlets believe is marketable. We struggle with this constantly. But with Ryan and Wong Fu's combined audiences, and a fresh approach to producing high-quality stories, we can show the world what we're capable of – not just as individuals in a new industry, but as a community, as well.

Philip Wang, Wong Fu Productions, recently watched "Agents of Secret Stuff."

YouTube Holiday Solutions Center to the rescue

Mia — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:41:00 +0000

With Thanksgiving around the corner, another holiday season moves into full swing. Every year at this time, we see searches for cooking videos and turkey recipes surge on the site, and it’s one reason we’ve aggregated many great culinary videos on a single channel, the YouTube Holiday Solutions Center, which is back for its third year.

For 2010, we’ve spiced up this holiday destination with even more recipes and how-to tips, including:

This tasty and easy-to-follow stuffing recipe from Howcast...

Ideas to decorate your home for the holidays from Real Simple Network...

A guide to building a gingerbread house with the family from Epicurious.com...

We’ll be updating the channel daily, so make sure to check back regularly. We might just have that solution you’re looking for.

The YouTube Holiday Solutions program is brought to you by Target.

Lee Hadlow, Marketing Programs Manager, recently watched “How to Carve a Turkey.”

How producing for the web can fit into a filmmaking career

Mia — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. You can catch up on previous posts here.

After a little break last week, we’re back today to share a post I’ve been really excited about. When we first began planning this blog series I knew I wanted to interview an established filmmaker who could share their experience producing videos for the web versus other more traditional venues like television. Someone who has worked professionally across platforms definitely has some insight into what makes producing for the web unique and how it fits into a filmmaking career. This week, I’m happy to introduce Clayton Long, producer for the Bajillionaires Club, which has worked on television and web projects for companies like Cisco, Kodak, Travel Channel and made over 30 shorts for Howcast. Clayton grew up in Dallas and currently lives in Los Angeles.

1) Tell us what you do and you how you got started.
The Bajillionaires Club approaches each project differently. Some days I'm wearing the development hat; other days it's post-production, and others it's coordinating resources and communicating with clients. The guys I work with (Tom Campbell, John Erdman and Bryan Madole) are all brilliant creatives, so that makes my job easy. I surround myself with brilliant people and hope some of it rubs off.

We've been collaborating since grade school, making short videos for fun. In high school, we started making videos for our English classes. We modernized Hamlet and set it in a bowling alley. We made a redneck version of The Canterbury Tales. They were big hits and gave us the confidence to keep going. Everyone scattered for college -- I attended UCLA's Film, TV, and Digital Media Program -- then came back together.

A trailer for a film the Bajillionaires Club will be shooting in 2011.

2) When did you start making videos for the web and why?
Our first video was made when we were all living in an apartment together in Hollywood. One weekend we had a 35 MM camera package sitting around our apartment (which is, by the way, not a prerequisite for making a successful web video), so we decided to make a few commercials for Folgers coffee in the style of those old ads from the ’70s. They were very unique, and when we uploaded them on websites like YouTube, they attracted some attention. We built relationships with companies like Howcast, which led to other web-content related jobs. The rest is history. So yeah. Just for fun. But we definitely had an angle we were going for.

3) Are there things that work on the web that simply do not work in other venues?
Randomness works incredibly well on the web. Audiences are young, and they're interested in something new, different and weird. Spoof works really well on the web, though it can survive elsewhere. But why shell out the money to see Vampires Suck when you can laugh at that same one-note joke on the web done in two minutes?

4) Are there things that work for TV or film that don’t work for the web?
Sure. TV and film projects take more time to develop. They're much more polished, and a lot fewer of them get made. In short, there are a lot more rules. You must develop your characters with a certain timing, revealing bits and pieces as you go.

5) Describe your crew and equipment list for web video. How is it different from your crew and equipment selection for other projects?
Depending on the budget, we might use a 5D, 7D, T2i, or an HVX. Sometimes we just use a Flip or another low-cost HD consumer camera.

The budgets for web projects are smaller, so the equipment list is smaller and the crew is leaner. Crews can be anywhere from three people to 10, depending on the project. But we always light, and we often use dollies, cranes and other traditional means of making shots stand out, even if the camera we're using is the size of a cell phone.

6) What's your favorite web video?
Too hard to pick a favorite. “Muto,” “Cows & Cows & Cows” and “Independence Day” are great animated pieces. “Who Needs a Movie?” is still one of the best. I also recently saw a really weird video about horses by this band called L.A.Zerz. Can't find anything about these guys, but I dig their style.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “Abandoned Six Flags New Orleans Tour.”

Next New Networks shares the spotlight with YouTube comedians

Mia — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 08:21:00 +0000

Next New Networks has developed, produced or promoted some of the most popular web series on YouTube, including “The Key of Awesome,” “Obama Girl” and “Auto-Tune the News.” They recently launched a new series, “Comedy Thunder,” to help introduce you to some of the great comedy channels available on YouTube. We asked them some questions about the new show...

1. Tell us about "Comedy Thunder." Where did the idea come from and what can the YouTube community expect?
It’s our version of a comedy festival. Each week the eight channels will tackle a topic that we select, like cute animals or blockbuster movies, and give their comedic take on it. We will also have surprise YouTube guests taking part in the series.

From GoPotatoTV to Cyr1216, we want to showcase the best, up and coming comedy talent that YouTube has to offer. We're re-creating the experience of going to Montreal for Just for Laughs or HBO's now-defunct Aspen Comedy Festival and bringing it to YouTube. Like popping into a showcase at a big comedy festival, viewers will see a range of comedic styles.

2. You've had previous success with series like "Key of Awesome" and "Obama Girl." What words of advice would you give to other YouTube content creators looking to build their audiences?
YouTube is a social platform. Your audience wants to talk to you. Ask them questions. Get opinions and then feature them in your videos. You are leading a conversation.

3. Are you hoping to help the comedy groups you're working with get discovered? Is this kind of collaboration the future of online video?
Collaboration and cross promotion between channels is not the future of online video – it is the present. It is what makes YouTube a unique and social experience. Fans get excited seeing their favorite YouTube users show up on other channels they love. I am hoping that the series helps these channels grow their audience so they can get closer to making online video their full-time jobs.

Sara Pollack, Entertainment Marketing Manager, recently watched "Vader VS Hollywood." You can follow all the videos and channels participating at youtube.com/comedythunder.

Tonight! Watch Bon Jovi perform their greatest hits, live from NYC

Mia — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:49:00 +0000

Bon Jovi lived on a prayer: that you would determine the set list for their concert tonight. And you heeded that call: 1,494 of you submitted 1,733 questions and cast nearly 25,000 votes to determine what those songs would be. So tune in to www.youtube.com/bonjovi at 8 p.m. (ET) tonight to watch this legendary band perform for the world from the Best Buy Theater in Times Square, New York City.

If you can’t make the show, it will replay twice every six hours over a 24-hour period so you’ll have another chance to watch. Rock on!

Ali Sandler, Music Partnerships, recently watched "Baby Bob Marley."

Howcast vlogger wanted!

Mia — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Howcast is changing it up this week, and Heather Menicucci’s weekly series on filmmaking in the digital age will resume next Friday.

Help Howcast find our first video blogger!

We're looking for someone to produce, edit and host our new video blog taking a look inside Howcast and the world of how-to. This is a real, paid part-time gig in our NYC office in SoHo.

Want to show us what you can do? Tell us why you should be the face of our new series by submitting a video response on YouTube. Be as creative as you want as long as you highlight Howcast's how-to content.

Be sure to check out the full requirements below, which include a dynamic onscreen presence, availability to work in our New York office, and serious video shooting and editing skills. Entries will be judged on originality, charisma, technical prowess and YouTube user comments.

Sound like you? Maybe your best friend? Your cat? OK, maybe not your cat, but you get the point. Anyone could be harboring dreams of online video stardom, so spread the word!

And if you think you've got what it takes, submit your audition now:

Here's how to enter:

Visit YouTube.com/Howcast to watch the casting call video.
Review the job requirements* and make sure you qualify.
Create a vlog entry highlighting both Howcast’s how-to content (sample videos) and your own individuality. Don't forget to wow us with your shooting and editing skills!
Upload the vlog entry as a video response on YouTube to this video here by Nov. 30.
Send us the link to your video response and full contact information (name, phone number, e-mail, mailing address) to vlog+casting@howcast.com.

If you’ve got questions, e-mail vlog+casting@howcast.com.

Katy Zack, Communications Manager, Howcast, recently watched “Trash Machine.”

* Requirements:

Fun, dynamic personality
Great on-camera presence
Availability to work in Howcast's NYC office at least 2 days each week
Minimum one year commitment
Video shooting and editing expertise, experience with Final Cut Pro or comparable editing software
Bonus: After Effects experience

Do you love K-POP?

Mia — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Well, we know Will.i.am does after he called out the Korean girl group 2NE1 on YouTube earlier this year. If you are not familiar with K-POP, check out some of the top Korean music labels like YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, then come back between November 10 and 28 for your very own chance to be the next K-POP star.

MBC, the No. 2 TV network in Korea, is partnering with YouTube to search the world for the next big talent. Top Korean music labels have found audiences all over the globe watching their music videos and now it’s your turn to do your own performance. Don’t worry if you don’t speak Korean; you can audition in any language.

Based on the video views and votes for your submission, you’ll have the opportunity to be sent to Korea for a second audition on national TV. The final winner will be awarded KRW 300 million as well as a sponsorship from MBC to be debuted as the next K-POP star. For more details, visit www.youtube.com/MBCAudition.

Lois Kim, Head of Marketing & Communications, YouTube Korea, recently watched “Wonder Girls NOBODY US Debut Single HD MV.”

Emilynoel83 wins the first “On the Rise” spotlight

Mia — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Meet Emilynoel83, a morning news anchor who's also a “makeup addict” who loves to make videos about beauty products. Today she's on our homepage. And you put her there.

Last week, we announced a new initiative to give rising channels greater visibility and hopefully also more subscribers. We selected four channels whose subscriber base flourished in the last month, and we asked you to choose which one should go on the homepage. As you can see, Emily won by a significant margin.

Here’s a few words from Emily herself:

The growth of "Beauty Broadcast" has been slow and steady since late 2007, gaining subscribers that are more loyal than I could've imagined. My YouTube channel is my passion, and I'm thrilled to think that more people can become part of it as a result of this poll! As many have found, Beauty Broadcast isn't just about makeup... but also positivity, fun, and inner beauty. Thanks to this opportunity, I hope many people will go "On the Rise" right along with me! :)

We’ll be back soon with four new channels for you to vote on in the next edition of “On the Rise.”

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Katy Perry & Russell Brand Makeup Tutorial."

Great videos on a budget: how to fake a zombie attack

Mia — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:32:00 +0000

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. You can catch up on previous posts here.

Last week, we made some arguments for why quality matters in web video, and we heard from Howcast filmmaker Luke Neumann, who said that it matters “because you never know who’s watching.” Duh! Watching Luke’s videos, you can tell he’s motivated by much more than that, but as we said last week, it’s a good starting point.

Luke’s been making Howcast videos for about a year now and he’s got more than 50 under his belt. From the beginning, he impressed us with videos like “How To Yodel,” where he showed he could build a story around a simple script, work in some cool camera angles, and make us laugh. Last week we featured one of his newest spots, “How To Survive a Zombie Attack.” If we thought Yodel was pretty darn good when it came in a year ago, you can imagine "Zombie Attack" knocked our socks clean off.

Luke clearly strives for the best every time he uploads. The web offers free access to audiences like no medium ever has. As filmmakers, we’re tasked with not squandering this access. Every upload should be better than the last to keep this audience coming back for more and to refine our skills for the day when perhaps we are handed that huge check to make something.

We asked Luke to let us in on how he does it. How did he make this gorgeous zombie video on a budget that would barely cover the average wedding video? How did he create that apocalyptic feeling, complete with fiery explosion? And, how did he make his zombies look like they’re decomposing before our very eyes?

Here’s Luke’s first “Behind the Scenes” video for Howcast. This is the first part of a new series where we’ll be letting you come behind the scenes to see how our filmmakers make the most creative how-to videos on a DIY budget. Step 1: Cover yourself in plain old dirt to look like you’ve been to hell and back. The Walking Dead producers could learn something from Luke!

Want to learn more about how Luke created Zombie Attack? Visit his blog where he posted in-depth tutorials, photos and a cool trailer.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “Howcast: Vlogger Wanted!”

YouTube to give love a bad name (aka Bon Jovi live!)

Mia — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Next Wednesday, November 10, at 8 p.m. ET, Bon Jovi will give an exclusive performance at New York’s Best Buy Theater, streamed live to the world on the band’s YouTube channel: www.YouTube.com/BonJovi. With the help of YouTube’s Moderator tool, fans will also have the chance to submit comments and videos expressing what they love about their favorite Bon Jovi songs. Watch Jon Bon Jovi’s personal request for submissions below.

The set list for the November 10 concert will be determined by you. Submissions end Monday, November 8, so upload a video and start voting now. Here’s your chance to help shape a concert from one of the biggest bands of all time.

Ali Sandler, Music Partnerships, recently watched “"I wanna rage, right now" - Brian Wilson.”

Freddiew’s "Roadtrip" teaches amateur filmmakers tricks of the trade

Mia — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 03:46:00 +0000

Freddie Wong and his production partner, Brandon Laatsch, describe themselves as “just some cool dudes making sweet vids with rad FX!” And if you’ve ever seen their action-packed, colorfully explosive videos, you know this to be true. Wong is starting a new series called "YouTube Roadtrip 2010," where he’s driving across the U.S. in an RV, meeting with fans and teaching them filmmaking skills. The series just premiered on his primary channel, where he'll be uploading new episodes for the next couple of months, and he'll be putting supplementary videos on his secondary channel.

1) How did you come up with this idea?
Brandon and I were walking around our street one day (we had just bought ice cream), talking about locations, and how we felt like our industrial looking area was getting a little boring as a location. Over the last six months, we've gotten boatloads of emails from our viewers asking us to visit their hometowns, or showing off cool locations near them, and we thought, "Well, why can't we go and make videos where our viewers are?" So that's basically how it started: we wanted to get out of L.A., we wanted to meet our viewers in person, and we wanted to collaborate and make videos with them.

2) What’s your favorite place visited so far?
The House on the Rock in Wisconsin, which is apparently one of four possible things to do in Wisconsin (the other three being, in no particular order, cow tipping, football, and cheese curds). Basically, this guy named Alex Jordan totally idolized Frank Lloyd Wright, and one day got the opportunity to show Wright some of his architectural drawings. Wright basically told Alex that all his drawings were horrible and he wasn't fit to design a chicken coop, so, jilted, he decided to build a Japanese-style house on a rock in the middle of Wisconsin.

Thing is, Alex was clearly NUTS because he kept building and made the whole thing into this giant sprawling complex featuring giant music machines, the world's largest indoor carousel, suits of armor, dolls, dollhouses, ridiculous guns, dioramas of circuses, and more. I struggle to define in words the sheer amount of spectacle within those walls, and by the end, you leave the museum dazed from everything you've just seen.

It's a place that has to be experienced. I highly recommend it to anybody.

3) If someone wants you guys to stop in their town, how do they make that happen?
The best way is to have a location that they either own or have permission to use. We have a submission form at our website http://facerocker.com/submit

Otherwise, they can send me a message on Twitter. Best bet is to send along a photo or something, as well, so we know what we're getting into.

4) What is the most common mistake or misconception among the budding filmmakers you meet?
The idea that equipment and software are the two most important things you need to become a filmmaker. We started out with cameras that shot on VHS tapes, and we used to edit with VCRs, but that never stopped us. It blows my mind to see how awesome cameras are nowadays – even on cell phones. The fact is, the cheapest camera today is a trillion times better than anything we had access to when we were younger.

We hear a lot of people talking about how they'll start making movies once they get that camera they've been saving up for, or that piece of software they know the pros use. That's not the way to do it – use ANY camera you can get, use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to edit, if you have to – the key is to get out there and start doing it. You become a filmmaker by making films, not staring at equipment catalogs dreaming of how awesome that camera will make your films look.

You don't become a great guitarist without practicing scales, you don't become a great painter without sketching a lot of fruit, and you certainly don't become a good filmmaker without shooting a lot of movies, and you don't need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to start practicing.

5) If your RV could talk, what would it say?
RV: "Freddie, change my oil!"
Freddie: "No, you're a rental."

To follow along with the roadtrip, subscribe to freddiew and freddiew2.

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Portland Hat Chase.”

Video the natural world for National Geographic

Mia — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Footage of natural wonders can be awe-inspiring, but many of our planet's most striking environments are at risk. Our new Planet Inspired program, presented by The North Face, gives you the opportunity to celebrate the natural world and highlight environmental issues via your own short film or by remixing content shot by National Geographic's globe-trotting reporters.

The most original entries will be voted on by the YouTube community, and the winner will receive a National Geographic weekend photography workshop and $1,000 gift card from The North Face. Get started by checking out the Planet Inspired channel to create your remix about the natural world. Here are the details:

Tiffany Shelton, Program Producer, recently watched "The Camera and the Shark."

Release Notes: Community-designed Doodle, global Halloween films, easier bug reporting, virtual keyboard…

Mia — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 21:36:00 +0000

With it being Halloween season and all, we've got an especially spoooooky edition of Release Notes for you.

First-ever user-designed Doodle: You may have noticed that once in a while, we change our homepage logo to match a special occasion -- for example, we've done it for Earth Day, the finale of YouTube Play, and yesterday's one billionth subscription milestone. But this Halloween we're especially jazzed because the Doodle you'll see on the homepage was designed by xperpetualmotion, a YouTube community member and Rhode Island School of Design student. Here's how she came up with the icon you see below: "I tried out a lot of different Halloween imagery before deciding on the classic 'holes cut out of a white sheet' ghost. It makes me smile every time, because what else could this kid possibly have under there that makes him that shape? I wanted the logo to be something fun and clever, and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do!" We certainly do! Thank you, Karen.

YouTube's first user-designed Doodle, by xperpetualmotion

Global Halloween films: If you're in the U.S., U.K., Canada or Australia, we've got some exciting news to add to your seasonal mirth: our friends at Crackle made sure their Halloween offerings could be viewed by horror fans around the world, marking the first time a studio's made several full-length movies simultaneously available in multiple territories on YouTube. Click here for regional viewing dates for Underworld: Evolution, Idle Hands, Mary Reilly, The Blob and The Bride.

Report a bug: No, we don't mean the creepy crawly kind, but the kind that may indicate something's broken. If you come across a problem on the site, scroll down to the new "report a bug" link at the bottom of any YouTube page. Clicking it will allow you to take an easy screenshot of the page and add further details in the pop-up box:

New "Send feedback" form

African language launches: YouTube's now available in Amharic and Swahili. Click on the language link at the bottom of the page to change your language settings.

Type non-English text with the virtual keyboard: We've made it easy for people to find videos in non-Latin script-based languages; the on-screen keyboard is available in 26 languages (Amharic, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Swahili, Swedish, Vietnamese, Slovenian, Romanian, Ukrainian). To use the virtual keyboard, switch the language of the site to one of the supported languages and click on the keyboard icon in the search box.

Here's where you can turn on the virtual keyboard

More efficient 3D player: Our new player for 3D videos is much faster than the previous player, especially for HD resolution. Try enjoying your favorite 3D clips in high resolution and full screen with no lag.

The BooooooTube Team

UPDATE (8pm PT): We just received this video from Karen, to go along with her Doodle:

Slamming the boring, old tech demo

Mia — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:11:00 +0000

Tech demos. They’ve been around as long as... well, technology. They’re helpful. They’re useful. They’re also a little boring. That’s why tech demos often go overlooked by so many people. Unfortunately, it’s generally the people who could benefit most from them that never even see them.

So we figured, what tech demos need is a fresh start. A few creative minds willing to take a shot at making them worth watching and sharing. And maybe, just maybe, make tech demos so cool, that they’ll inspire others to make their own.

That’s why we created Demo Slam. It’s a platform that allows you to put a new twist on sharing tech goodness. Demo Slam rests on the belief that the world’s creativity is all it takes to turn boring, old tech demos into entertaining, exciting awesomeness. For example, watch Zach Miller do a 20-foot search:

The YouTube community has shown the world time and time again, just how incredibly far a little imagination can go. We’d love to see that same YouTube magic become a part of Demo Slam. If you triumph, you’ll be featured in the Demo Slam Hall of Champs. That also means you’ll get exposure elsewhere online, courtesy of Google. Best of all, it’s a way to help a lot of people discover something cool.

There’s just too much great tech out there for everyone to go on not knowing it exists. And now, with the help of people like you, the whole world will have a place where they can find out about it. So be different, be crazy, be unique, and submit a demo. All it takes is one to teach millions something new.

Let the slamming begin!

Robert Wong, Creative Director, Creative Lab, recently watched "Demo Slam: 20ft Search."

Should quality matter in web video?

Mia — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:42:00 +0000

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. You can catch up on previous posts here.

Since I started working in web video, the most common misconception I face is, web video equals low quality video. This week we asked “What do you think the differences are between making videos for the web versus other venues like film festivals or TV?” on YouTube's Facebook fan page. Though there were a lot of positive voices talking about the immediacy, democracy and audience engagement of web video, some of the comments unsurprisingly echoed this idea.

Quality, quality and um.... quality!

Quality, length, content, plot.

The web accepts anything.

Sure, one of the most exciting things about the web is that anyone can upload. Of course, that means that not all the videos we see are going to reflect even our most basic standards for quality video -- a steady camera, clean images, good lighting, clear sound. On the other hand, right alongside the cat videos (which I admit, I do get a kick out of), works of video art can happily coexist.

We've spent the first "section" of our “Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers" providing an overview of web video -- talking to filmmakers about why they make web video, sharing websites every filmmaker should know, and offering tips on taking your first digital steps as a filmmaker. We're about to move into our production section where we'll interview filmmakers on the equipment they use, go behind the scenes to hear how they make their videos, and demystify uploading, codecs and metadata.

Before we enter this nuts and bolts section of the series, I wanted to tackle this last misconception regarding quality. Quality concerns are some of the most common reasons I hear filmmakers saying they aren’t interested in uploading their work, and there are a couple counterpoints I’d like to offer:

Player, length and file sizes are increasing because viewers actually want to watch high resolution, great-looking video on their computers and even TV, as devices like Google TV come on the market.
Filmmakers, like the Neistat Brothers who recently landed an HBO series, but also like our very own filmmakers who use their Howcast spots to woo clients, are getting jobs based on the videos they upload to the web. Make sure every spot you upload is one you’re proud to put your name on because web videos = calling cards.
60% of internet users watch videos online and that number is up 33% in 2.5 years. In other words, the audience is here and growing. And as more and more television viewers migrate to the web or simply plug their televisions into their computers, they will come to expect and want higher and higher quality video from the web.

Click around. Don’t just watch the videos that appear in your Facebook feed. Sure, I got that video with those poor fainting kittens emailed to me yesterday too, but I also spent 15 minutes watching this beautiful, quiet short, “Mei Ling,” which I discovered on the Futureshorts channel.

I asked Luke Neumann, a filmmaker who constantly impresses us with his stellar Howcast videos, why he puts so much effort into his web videos and he said, “Because you never know who could stumble across them." When you watch his videos, I think you can see he’s driven by much more than that -- for this spot alone he rented a crane and “moved” a building in After Effects:

Still, access to potential fans, funders and future employees is at least one simple, solid argument for filmmakers who are skeptical about quality work having a place on the web.

Next Friday, we’ll learn Neumann’s tricks for making great video like this on a budget while he walks us through how he shot “Zombie Attack.”

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “Mei Ling.”

1 billion subscriptions and counting

Mia — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:38:00 +0000

Early on (we're talking '06 here, people!), the yellow subscribe button made its debut so the latest videos from your favorite channels could make a beeline to your YouTube homepage/eager eyes. Today, the button that’s been immortalized as a throw cushion hits an important landmark: it’s been clicked over one billion times. And who was the lucky channel to get that billionth hit? It was MachinimaSports, who are, not coincidentally, on our homepage on Friday.

In fact, there is so much subscription activity that over a billion subscription updates are sent to our users' homepages every week, and 15 YouTube channels have crossed the one million subscriber mark: fred, nigahiga, kassemg, shanedawsonTV, shanedawsonTV2, smosh, universalmusicgroup, machinima, sxephil, mysteryguitarman, davedays, kevjumba, realannoyingorange, raywilliamjohnson, collegehumor and failblog.

So what’s next for subscriptions? Turns out, we’ve got a spankin’ new widget that any video-maker can embed on his/her website or blog. It lets people subscribe to your YouTube channel with a single click, without having to leave your site to log into YouTube or to confirm their subscription. The entire process happens in the widget.

Give it a try! All you need to do is embed the code below into the source code of your website or blog, in the same way you embed a YouTube video:

add YouTube Username here" style="overflow: hidden; height: 105px; width: 300px; border: 0;" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0">

For example, here it is for the YouTube channel:

And if all this is new to you, let us suggest you check out this video, in which dear Cuddles tells you all you need to know about subscriptions:

Georges Haddad, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Annoying Orange: The Exploding Orange.”

On the Rise: Pick which YouTube upstart goes on the homepage

Mia — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:32:00 +0000

More and more of our YouTube partners are hitting subscriber numbers in the 100,000s and even in the 1,000,000s. We want to help more of you to get to those kind of subscriber numbers, which is why we’re starting a new monthly feature called “On the Rise.”

Here’s how it works: every month, we’ll pull together a list of partner channels whose subscriber rate has quickly accelerated in the last 30 days but who still have less than 100,000 subscribers. We’ll winnow that list down to a handful of channels, and then we’ll ask the community to vote on one channel to be featured on the YouTube homepage and get promoted through our social media channels on Twitter and Facebook.

So, here are the four channels vying for the inaugural spotlight, in alphabetical order:

emilynoel83 is Emily Eddington, a 26-year-old morning news anchor whose channel is devoted to all things beauty, particularly fun ideas for TV news makeup.

golf says it all: this channel consists of golf videos, tips and lessons, aggregated from Tour Links Putting Greens, BunkerShot.com, NationalSchoolForms.com and Show Me the Golf.

kalebnation, a 22-year-old vlogger who says he enjoys “wild rumpuses.”

optibotimus is “just a simple guy” that does toy reviews. “I typically stick to what I grew up loving,” he writes on his channel. “Transformers, mostly.”

You’ve got one week, until the end of the day on November 2, to vote for your favorite in the top right corner of this blog. We plan to showcase the winner on our homepage on November 6. You can also nominate yourself or your friends for next month’s feature in the comments section of this blog post (though please note: comments are moderated due to spam).

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “The Giants Win The Pennant!”

Digital bootcamp with Ingrid Kopp

Mia — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. You can catch up on previous posts here.
Today being a filmmaker is more and more about using tools other than cameras and editing software – social media, mobile platforms, websites, and even augmented reality technology – to bolster the work, attract and engage audiences, and make money. Many filmmakers are being dragged into this new world kicking and screaming or simply overwhelmed by the options.

Enter Ingrid Kopp, Director, U.S. Office at Shooting People, and her Digital Bootcamp, which I got a chance to attend at DCTV in New York on Monday night. "The technology should serve you and your creative practices" -- that was one of the first things Ingrid said to the audience of about 20 filmmakers. She went on to explain that all these new technologies are like a painter's palette. If you choose all of them, you'll end up with gray. They are there for you to pick and choose what works for you and your film.

This is excellent advice but questions still remain: Which one should I use? How do I use it? And do I really have to? As filmmakers raised their hands to ask questions it became clear that tailoring a web, mobile or other technology campaign for a film is a very personal decision and should be informed by the project and the filmmaker's goals. Are they happy simply with people seeing their work? Do they need to recoup some investment? Are they trying to invoke social change? Ingrid talked about a new production title, coined by John Reese, Producer of Marketing and Distribution (PMD), which a filmmaker could hire to create and execute a digital campaign, taking all this into consideration. She compared this to hiring a cinematographer. You could opt to shoot yourself, but if you have the money, why not hire someone with experience and skill.

That said, you don't need to hire a PMD. You don't even need to build a website, post your trailer on Facebook, or send even one tweet. But, if you're ready to dive in, Ingrid offered up fantastic insights and tips, some of which I'm going to share right here:

If you do one thing, create a home for your film online -- a website, a blog, a Facebook fan page, or a YouTube channel (of course) -- so that audiences know where to go to get information about you and your project. All your other online presences should link back to this main place.
Collect email addresses and zip codes from your audience. Remember that Facebook and Twitter could shut down your profile any time. In order to retain contact with your audience, ask for their email addresses. And, while you're at it, their zip codes too. Want to plan a screening? You'll know where to start based on where your audiences live.
Put your trailer online and allow people to embed the video. Embed and spread!
Much of the really creative stuff happening on the web is being launched by brands. Filmmakers can learn a lot from their unique uses of new technologies. Here are two excellent examples Ingrid screened: The Last Exorcism Chatroulette campaign and the choose-your-own-adventure campaign on YouTube for Tipp-Ex.
If you’re going to start a fundraising campaign on a site like Kickstarter, create ancillary content around the campaign to promote it and get people excited to pitch in. Be creative with your rewards to really entice donors. Embed a video on the campaign page too -- campaigns with videos earn more.
Think about creating video clips other than your trailer that you can release strategically throughout the entire production process.
Don't do anything halfway. If you start a Twitter account for your film and only send one tweet, your project will look "dusty" as Ingrid put it -- a perfect adjective.
It's never too early to start building an audience with any kind of digital campaign. You can leverage your audience to solve problems with your film (anyone know a shooter in Dallas?), share their own footage, help with fundraising, write about your project, coordinate screenings, buy DVDs, and tell all their friends how great your film was.

In her brief but jam-packed session, Ingrid shared numerous sites, best practices, recommend reading, and noteworthy examples. Rather than link to them all here, here's a link to her Digital Bootcamp wiki where you can view the full presentation and check out tons of other resources. Ingrid called herself a bit of a "technological Utopian" and you can see that in her Creative Commons wiki where readers are also free to edit and share their own ideas.

I’m pretty sure I’m in that camp too, but I had to play devil's advocate and ask: “What do you say to filmmakers whose response to all this is, ‘I don't want to. I care about making films and not all this other superfluous, unrelated media?’ “ Ingrid simply said, “Then you don't have to. If this other stuff is distracting from your film or what’s in the frame then you shouldn’t be doing this. This should never compromise your film. My hope is that filmmakers will see these tools as another creative outlet. If we’re not embracing this technology, we, as filmmakers, could be left out of something amazing.”

I couldn't agree more. Thank you, Ingrid, for a great evening and all the information you share through your wiki, Twitter feed and Shooting People.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “The Rent Is Too Damn High Party's Jimmy McMillan at the NY Governor Debate.” Come back next Friday for another session of our “Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers."

Jury selection for YouTube Play revealed at last

Mia — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Today we announce the jury selection for YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video with the Guggenheim.

It was our goal to reach the widest possible audience, inviting individuals from around the world to submit a video for consideration. While our original goal had been to select 20, the jury was so moved by the quality of work submitted that we decided to honor a final list of 25. We believe the end result is 25 of the most unique and innovative video work to be created and distributed online during the past two years.

Tonight we will be celebrating this announcement with a live streamed event: YouTube Play. Live from the Guggenheim. Head to youtube.com/play for the live stream and for highlights after the event.

1. Auspice
Bryce Kretschmann, b. 1974 in California, USA, lives in Newark, NJ, USA.

2. Bear untitled - D.O. Edit
Christen Bach, b. 1978 in Kolding, Denmark, lives in Berlin, Germany.

3. Bathtub IV
Keith Loutit, b. 1973 in Melbourne, Australia, lives in Coogee, Australia.

4. Birds on the Wires
Jarbas Agnelli, b. 1963 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he still lives.

5. Birdy Nam Nam ‘The Parachute Ending’
Steve Scott (Director), b. 1970 in Plymouth, UK, lives in London, UK. Will Sweeney (Art Director and Illustration) b.1973 in London, UK, where he still lives.

6. deuce
Monica Cook, b. 1974 in Dalton, Georgia, USA, lives in Brooklyn, NY, USA.

7. Die Antwoord – Zef Side
Sean Metelerkamp, b. 1984 in Knysna, South Africa, lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

8. Gardyn
Pogo (Nick Bertke), b. 1988 in Capetown, South Africa, lives in Perth, Australia.

9. I Met the Walrus
Josh Raskin (Director and Animator), b. 1980 in Toronto, Canada, where he still lives. James Braithwaite (Drawings), b. 1978 in Edmonton, Canada, lives in Montreal, Canada. Alex Kurina (Computer illustration), b. 1981 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, lives in Toronto, Canada. Jerry Levitan (story and voice), b. 1954 in Toronto, Canada, where he still lives.

10. Ladybirds' Requiem (digest version)
Akino Kondoh, b. 1980 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, lives in New York, USA.

11. Le Syndrome du Timide
Pierre-Axel Vuillaume-Prézeau, b. 1986 in Nalliers (Vendée), France, lives in Paris, France.

12. Luis
Joaquín Cociña, b. 1980 in Concepción, Chile, lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Cristóbal León, b. 1980 in Santiago, Chile, lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Niles Atallah, b. 1978 in Sacramento, California, USA, lives in Santiago, Chile.

13. Man with a Movie Camera: The Global Remake
Perry Bard, b. 1944 in Quebec City, Canada, lives in New York, USA.

14. Moonwalk
Martin Kohout, b. 1984 in Prague, Czech Republic, lives in Berlin, Germany.

15. Noteboek
Evelien Lohbeck, b. 1983 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, lives in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

16. Post Newtonianism (War Footage/Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare Footage)
Josh Bricker, b. 1980 in Torrance, CA, USA, lives in New York, USA.

17. Scenic Jogging
Jillian Mayer, b. 1984 in Florida, USA, where she still lives.

18. Seaweed
Remi Weekes and Luke White, both b. 1987 in London, UK, where they still live.

19. Strindberg and Helium at the Beach
Eun-Ha Paek (Director, Animator and Artist), b. 1974 in Seoul, South Korea, lives in New York, USA. Erin Perkins (Writer and Voice of Helium), b. 1977 in Duluth, MN, USA, lives in Oakland, CA, USA. James Bewley (Voice of Strindberg), b. 1975 in West Chester, PA, USA, lives in New York, USA.

20. Synesthesia
Terri Timely (Corey Creasey and Ian Kibbey). Corey Creasey: b. 1979 in Long Beach, CA, USA, lives in Oakland, USA. Ian Kibbey: b. 1980 in Berkeley CA, USA, lives in Oakland, USA.

21. Taxi III Stand Up and Cry Like a Man
Lisa Byrne, b. 1973 in Town – Newry, Northern Ireland, lives in London, England.

22. The Huber Experiments
Erik Huber, b. 1984 in Atlanta, USA, where he still lives. Matthew Huber, b. 1973 in Atlanta, USA, lives in New York, USA.

23. This Aborted Earth: The Quest Begins
Michael Banowetz, b. 1955 in Wichita, KS, USA, lives in Denver, CO, USA. Noah Sodano, b. 1981 in Denver, CO, USA, lives in Denver, CO, USA.

24. Wonderland Mafia
Lindsay Scoggins, b. 1985 in Gainesville Florida, USA, lives in Tampa, USA.

25. WORDS
Everynone (Will Hoffman, Daniel Mercadante, and Julius Metoyer III) Will Hoffman: b. 1985 on Staten Island, New York, USA, lives in New York, USA. Daniel Mercadante: b. 1984 in Farmington, Connecticut, USA, lives in New York, USA. Julius Metoyer III: b. 1985 in Los Angeles, USA, where he still lives.

The YouTube Play Team

Live 24-hour webcast from Conan O’Brien HQ: Dancing tacos! 80′s aerobics! Intern Twister!

Mia — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:00:00 +0000

As Conan O'Brien's crew plans for their 24-hour marathon live stream on YouTube, in what promises to be a kooky peek into life at Team Coco HQ, we thought it was best for them to tell you about it themselves. Here's Aaron Bleyaert, the blogger for the new CONAN show on TBS.

People constantly ask me questions like, "Hey, Aaron, what's it like to work at such an awesome show?" Or, "Hey, Aaron, what do you guys do all day in your offices?" Or even, "Aaron, you are incredibly handsome -- how can one man have such stunning good looks?" The answer to that last one is simple: I moisturize.

For the answer to the first two, I invite you to tune in to the massive online comedy event we're calling "The Live Coco Cam." As the word "live" implies, it will be live. And as the word "Coco" implies, it will be TOTALLY AWESOME. Starting today at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, we invite you to take a look inside the wonderfully weird offices of the brand new CONAN show as we prepare for our November 8 debut on TBS. We're shoving a camera in the second floor stairwell of our offices and will be broadcasting all of the behind-the-scenes comedy madness live for 24 hours. Here's a taste of the crazy:

Who's gonna show up? What's gonna happen? As our Live Coco Cam event unfolds, all the weird, funny and tender (yes, tender) moments will be captured and uploaded to Team Coco's official YouTube channel so you don't miss a second of the action. In addition, we'll be tweeting about the events through the day and night from our Team Coco Twitter account and will be recapping all the events after they happen (as well as after the event ends) over on our show blog at TeamCoco.com... That is, if I survive the next 24 hours. ;)

So tune in at youtube.com/teamcoco and enjoy 24 hours of Live Coco Cam antics...whatever they may be!

Aaron Bleyaert, Team Coco, recently watched "Conan O'Brien's Favorite YouTube Videos."

YouTube Leanback officially launches — on Google TV

Mia — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 03:40:00 +0000

Back in July, we announced the launch of YouTube Leanback in beta. If you didn’t get a chance to check it out, Leanback is a new way to experience YouTube on a big screen. We named it “Leanback” so you could do just that: kick back and, with as little effort as possible, enjoy hours upon hours of YouTube videos. When you go to www.youtube.com/leanback, you’ll note that videos start playing immediately, are always presented in full screen and HD (when available), and you can easily browse using just the arrow keys on your keyboard.

Today, YouTube Leanback moves forward into a new role at the center of the YouTube experience on Google TV, which you’ll start seeing in U.S. stores this week. When you view Leanback on Google TV (or online), videos based on your subscriptions and viewing history will begin playing immediately. If those don’t pique your interest, Leanback offers 10 channels, updated daily, featuring popular and interesting videos in genres like Comedy, Entertainment, News, Science & Technology, How To & Style, and more. You can also watch full-length movies and TV shows rented from youtube.com in the highest quality.

Learn more about YouTube Leanback or visit www.youtube.com/leanback to try it out.

Camille Hearst, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched the “Best of YouTube” channel at www.youtube.com/leanback.

Use your video-making skills to make sanitation sexy

Mia — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:18:00 +0000

Eyeglasses, the bicycle, the latex condom...What everyday products or services have changed the world as we know it and solved some of the world’s biggest problems?

For the past month, this question has been posed through a website called Search for the Obvious. From the Internet to the ironing board, users from around the world have flocked to Search for the Obvious to add the products and services that are their ideal of elegant, problem-solving design. A panel of judges from media and design has been evaluating the contributions, and a few of their favorites have been featured on the site. Search for the Obvious is run by Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture fund investing in entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty.

Today, Search for the Obvious launched a challenge that dares videographers, designers and creatives of all kinds to come up with the craftiest campaign to promote one of the judges’ favorite picks: sewers. Succinctly put: “Sanitation is sexy: make it obvious” – through a video, advertisement, catchy tagline or other form of media, participants are being asked to demonstrate why sanitation is the most important issue currently facing the developing world. (For some inspiration on creative video campaigns, view this video for "The Girl Effect"). Submissions are due by Sunday, November 21, at 11:59 p.m. PT.

The winning video(s) will be featured on our homepage in early December. Winners will also be featured through major media sources, such as Design Observer, and will be recognized by Acumen Fund as champion marketers of the world’s problems and most useful solutions.

So, do you have what it takes to search for the obvious? Challenge yourself and find out.

Taylor Ray, Business Development Fellow at Acumen Fund, recently watched “Baby Stucke behind couch!”

A digital filmmaker’s map to the web

Mia — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:59:00 +0000

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. This is her third post.

Every time I talk to a filmmaker, I learn about a new (often, just new-to-me) website for filmmakers I should check out. I email and text myself the links. Intent on eventually spending some time on the sites, I keep multiple tabs open on my browser. Needless to say, it’s hard to keep track of them all. I thought consolidating a list of the sites I’ve come across through recommendations, articles, and conferences would be helpful to me, and hopefully you, too. So, here I go, with one disclaimer: this list is not exhaustive. I tried to stick to key categories but if I wanted to cover everything cool going on on the web for filmmakers, I’d have to quit my day job. Got another recommendation? Share it in the comments below!

Sites to help you....be in the know

Filmmaker magazine Simply put, if you’re an independent film and video creator, and you’re not reading Filmmaker Magazine, or, dare I say a member of the Independent Feature Project, you are seriously missing out. Period.
IndieWire IndieWire is all the indie industry news -- big to small. Want to get some costume ideas based on movies of the year? Interested in the hoopla over NC-17 ratings and when they began? They’ve got a network of bloggers and you’ll soon find your favorites.
WorkBook Project Founded by Lance Weiler, WorkBook Project is not just articles and blog posts. It’s an open collaborative network that covers the most exciting creative work happening on the web. You can explore case studies, hear thought-provoking interviews, attend workshops, and pick up the tools you need to launch your own web or multi-platform project.
Cinematech Of all the things you can read of Scott Kirsner’s, I actually suggest his books, which you can download off his blog, linked here. Scott is out there talking with filmmakers about new technology and sharing all his knowledge along the way at festivals (I heard him at SXSW), conferences (he started The Conversation), and in his books, of which my favorite is Fans, Friends And Followers: Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age.

....distribute

YouTube Rentals Obviously, you know about YouTube or you wouldn’t be here. But, are you familiar with YouTube rentals? I got to sit in on a talk about the feature at SXSW this year and I think it’s a really intriguing option for filmmakers looking to share short films and longer work and make some money on screening. It’s one way the web is putting distribution and monetization in the hands of creators by letting them control who watches and set the prices for their work.
Snagfilms Snagfilms distributes documentaries from longtime masters as well as emerging filmmakers. Viewers can watch free, and documentarians, who have historically had a difficult time getting wide distribution, can tap into a growing viewer network.
OpenIndie Started by Arin Crumley, OpenIndie, which is still in beta, aims to be a way for filmmakers to coordinate and launch their own theatrical screenings by connecting them with audiences and exhibitors directly. The exciting idea is based on the Crumley’s own distribution model for Four Eyed Monsters, which he co-directed.

...connect

ShootingPeople Want to know what projects others filmmakers are up to? Take a workshop? Find someone to animate your open sequence? Get a new gig? ShootingPeople is the place to network with other filmmakers online (and in person -- lots of cities host nights out for “shooters”).
Ning Hopefully you use Facebook and Twitter for things other than planning poker night. Both are excellent platforms for connecting with audiences and potential collaborators. You may not know about Ning though. With Ning you can create your own social network around your film, the topic of your film, or filmmaking in general. It’s a very turnkey solution for engaging with an audience and I think it offers a more dynamic experience for your fans and audiences than a blog alone.

....learn new tricks

CreativeCow When a filmmaker writes in with an editing question our Post team can’t solve we head to the CreativeCow forums. There is an unbelievable amount of expertise you can easily tap into.
Videomaker When a filmmaker writes in with a question about a camera or software, we head to Videomaker. They’ve also got a really nice stable of nuts and bolts tutorials on things like lighting and green screen.
NYVS I just learned about New York Video School and I think it’s going to be a really easy way to pick up new or polish up old skills. They’re building a comprehensive suite of “courses” that include videos on things like choosing a hard drive and uploading to YouTube.

...make some money

Kickstarter If you haven’t heard about Kickstarter yet, you may be spending too much time in the edit room. It seems like every week I see a new project being funded on Kickstarter in my Facebook feed...and I contribute. Kickstarter makes fundraising painless (compared to calling Mom and Dad or going to door-to-door) for the filmmaker and fun for the fans to take part in a project.
IndieGoGo IndieGoGo offers filmmakers another digital fundraising option and, now, through, access to some distribution platforms like iTunes and Netflex.
Howcast Emerging Filmmakers Program Hey, if I didn’t think we offer filmmakers an excellent way to get experience and pick up some extra cash, I wouldn’t be here. Many of our filmmakers call Howcast videos their “fun work.” If you’re familiar with our videos, you know we give filmmakers a ton of creative freedom -- it’s great for their reels and their pocketbooks. Also worth checking out:, TurnHere, Demand, and StudioNow who offer programs for freelancers with different projects, requirements, and rates.

....compete

OnlineVideoContests Though I’ve entered plenty and never won, I’ve always been a sucker for video contests. OVC is the place to find out who’s giving away $500 for a :30-spot and who’s doling out $10,000 for a 3-minute music video.
Withoutabox Long gone are the days of mailing VHS tapes in manila envelopes. Withoutabox has brought film festival application into the digital age. Apply, apply, apply way!
Filmaka Filmaka hosts monthly competitions that boast jury members like Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog -- a pretty unique chance for exposure among industry leaders.
Poptent Poptent works with some major brands to bring commercial work to filmmakers all over the world. Download the requirements and upload your video. If your work is selected by that brand you could be looking at a new client and a paycheck.

Overwhelmed by all the new information? Subscribe to these sites’ newsletters and YouTube channels, follow them on Twitter, and become a fan on Facebook -- let their news comes to you.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “Flower Warfare: Behind the Scenes." Come back next Friday for another session of our “Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers."

Tune into YouTube Play: Live at the Guggenheim on October 21

Mia — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Next week the YouTube Play jury will announce the top 25 videos that it selected from the 23,000 submissions received. We’re busy working with the Guggenheim to make sure that this announcement is like no other. Right now we can’t tell you who those 25 are, but we can tell you a little about the gala we’re going to throw to celebrate it.

YouTube Play: Live from the Guggenheim will be a live streamed event featuring music, collaborations, eye-popping projections and, of course, the most creative video. If you’re in New York, you can catch some of the projections on the façade of the Guggenheim on the night of October 21. If you’re not, then head to youtube.com/play on October 21 to catch the event live, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

So, who’s going to be there? Here’s a sneak peek of the lineup:

OK Go: The Chicago-based four-piece have torn up the rulebook with their music videos, picking up a Grammy and tens of millions of views in the process. "This Too Shall Pass" is in the YouTube Play shortlist.

Kutiman: "ThruYOU" was named one of Time Magazine’s top 50 best inventions for 2009, and is also in the shortlist. Kutiman shot to fame by compiling musical elements from across YouTube; at the Guggenheim, he’ll be choreographing a unique live collaboration.

Michael Showalter: The MC for the evening is also the star of Comedy Central’s Michael and Michael Have Issues, has a hit online with CollegeHumor.com’s "The Michael Showalter Showalter," and used to be on The Daily Show.

That’s it for now. You’re going to have to head to youtube.com/play on the night to find out who made the top 25 and what things really look like when YouTube meets the Guggenheim.

Tom Pursey, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "TOM WAITS THEME FOR IRON MAN 2 (REJECTED)."

“Fred: The Movie” comes to YouTube

Mia — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:00:00 +0000

You may have heard of a lil’ someone called Fred, the squealing, hyperactive force behind the first YouTube channel to hit 1 million subscribers. Since he hit that milestone in April 2009, he’s amassed more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube and his videos have been viewed more than 616 million (!) times. Oh yeah -- he made a movie, too.

In honor of “Fred: The Movie” joining the YouTube corpus for rent, we asked the Nebraskan teenager who plays Fred, Lucas Cruikshank, to take us behind the scenes of his movie, tell us what was in his trailer (was he a diva?!), and to spill the beans on the YouTube videos he can’t live without.

1) Some people say the movie’s Fred character is different than Fred in YouTube videos. Do you agree?
He’s a little different than the high-pitched voice on YouTube videos and that’s because I think the audience would get annoyed listening to that voice for the duration of the film. Fred is still obnoxious, but I toned it down for the movie, so he’s not as crazy as in his YouTube videos. He is more energetic and hyper in those videos. The movie consists of a theme rather than random videos, creating a need for calmer, storyline sequences with Fred.

2) Describe your on-set trailer. What was in it?
I am used to being all by myself when shooting my YouTube videos and this was completely different because there was a whole crew and service men placed around the set. It was my first trailer, which had a shower, kitchen, and that was a big change from just me with my camera. There were team members with ideas and creative input versus me making all decisions with editing. It was a good change. I was thinking of expanding “Fred” to another medium and need to be open to change and enjoyed the filming/production process.

3) Tell us a fact about the movie that no one else knows.
Nobody realizes how fast the movie was put together; there were meetings in July with Hollywood producers, and I started shooting in early November. Shooting ended two months later, around Christmas.

4) What was your inspiration behind creating Fred in the first place?
I became addicted to making videos after receiving a video camera for my 13th birthday. My friend recommended checking out YouTube. My show became poking fun at video bloggers who are telling a story, but I am blogging at the age of six, when kids are naïve and throw tantrums. I exaggerate all these naïve and child-like qualities in a high-pitch voice.

5) What advice would you give others in your place?
I would say have fun making videos. There is a notion of getting famous overnight, but you need to be patient and love what you do. I was making videos since 2006 and two years later, it took off, and the videos got popular. You should focus on creativity, not just views or subscribers, and be passionate about it.

Charu Magon, Partnerships, recently rented “Fred: The Movie.”

Fill bowl with cereal, add milk, turn on camera

Mia — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 05:39:00 +0000

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. This is her second post. Her first was “Embracing exploration: being a filmmaker today.”

Partly motivated by wanting to hear why our filmmakers produce Howcast spots or upload to YouTube, and partly curious about what they eat for breakfast, we decided to interview them about web video last Friday morning. Since our filmmakers are all over the world, we had to conduct the interviews remotely and ask them to send in their footage.

It turns out they like to eat cereal, drink juice, and sip coffee. Puzzling creatures. It also turns out they have a lot to say about why they started uploading to the web, what’s great about web video, and what’s not so great. We received over 100 minutes of footage and in the end, produced a five minute video.

From Craig Staggs explaining that he started putting videos on the web, well, because there was nowhere else to put them, to Oriana Syed talking about the pressures of having to produce more quickly (and possibly skimp on her work) to William Reed’s idea that his web projects offer a taste of what he could do with a real budget, all 11 of our filmmakers shared honest valuable insights.

Open a box of your favorite sugary treat, add milk, and watch. Get to know them a little better by checking out some of my favorite Howcast spots they created in the links below. Then, please, send them (and us) your questions by posting them in as comments below or as comments to the video. (But please note: comments are moderated due to spam.) These guys have a lot to say and I’m sure they’d be happy to share more of their experiences producing for the web.

So, without further adieu, we present some of our awesomest filmmakers: Craig Staggs, Dimitri LaBarge, Michael Sanchez, Luke Neumann, Morgan Crossley, Andrew Quinn, Oriana Syed, Barry Michael, William Reed, Mark and Lisa Morrison.

Come back next week for another session of our "Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers." Next Friday: our list of websites every filmmaker should know.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “ChatRoulette.”

Your questions about ads and advertising answered

Mia — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:00:00 +0000

For the next edition of “YouTube Answers,” a series in which you’re invited to ask us questions on a broad topic, we’re tackling your queries about ads and advertising. You submitted nearly 50 questions about our ad business, and here we have Rick Silvestrini, Product Marketing Manager, addressing the seven most popular:

Next up: head over to the YouTube channel where we’re using Moderator to collect questions on the topic of “Building an audience on YouTube.” This is a good opportunity to ask about how to build a robust subscriber base and how to engage those viewers, and to get answers from partners who’ve already done this well, earning hundreds of thousands of subscribers in the process. We’ll be taking questions until Wednesday, October 13, and then we’ll be back as soon as possible afterward with a new illuminating video.

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Star Wars Tai Chi.”

Embracing exploration: being a filmmaker today

Mia — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Digital filmmaking has evolved quite a bit since the first affordable “prosumer” mini DV cameras were introduced in the early ’90s. Not only have options, opportunities, practices, and standards for filmmakers changed, they continue to expand almost every day. Welcome to a Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers: a semester’s worth of tips and tricks for today’s video creators navigating these changes.

Starting today and wrapping up on December 17, we -- the producers and filmmakers from Howcast’s Emerging Filmmakers Program -- will be sharing our experiences, advice, and ideas right here with YouTube's creative community. We’ve got some unique insights that come from a blend of traditional filmmaking backgrounds with lots of experience producing, distributing, and promoting web video. And after three years working with filmmakers from all over the world, we’ve learned a lot about their concerns and questions.

It seems that just when you have a handle on what works, something new pops up. What format of HD should you shoot on? What’s the best way to export for the web? What’s a codec? What are other filmmakers doing to build a community of viewers and collaborators online? And where are trusted sources for information? Is it possible to find success as a filmmaker in this changing landscape? How do you know if you’ve hit your target, when that target seems to be always be moving?

In April 2005, the first video was uploaded to YouTube and in July 2010, the first short film was shot and edited entirely on an iPhone. When I went to film school in 1993 we shot on 16mm and edited on Steenbecks. Today I get to work with lots of film students and recent grads and I occasionally catch myself envying them. Every short I made back then cost at least $1,500. I could never set up a Steenbeck in my dorm the way filmmakers are running iMovie or Final Cut on their laptops. And, if I wanted anyone to see my film, my options were pretty much limited by the festivals I was accepted by. Sure, many filmmakers bemoan the poor picture quality of popular pocket cameras or the lack of certainty around earning money from online video, but, at the same time, it’s never been cheaper to create your own work or easier to find an audience.

You can make a new video almost every day and get feedback on your work practically instantaneously by hitting “Upload.” Filmmaking is no longer for the privileged few and access to audiences is not guarded by select gatekeepers. It’s really become more of a practice, in the way that playing an instrument can be. What does that really mean for us?

We have easier access to the tools we need to refine our skills.
We get to know more about what’s working because we can see audiences responding to our work immediately.
We can find collaborators with common interests because we have instant access to other filmmakers.
We have more chances to learn from each other because we can watch filmmakers’ videos or even tutorials from all over the world.

Your definition of success should depend on the stage of your career, your project, and what you’re looking to get out of it. For me, just out of school, success was getting my shorts into festivals. Today, success might be garnering 100,000 views on YouTube or raising $15,000 on Kickstarter. One of our filmmakers recently blogged about how she tweeted and posted her way to over 1,500 views in just 4 days and coverage in a local paper for her Howcast video. I’d call that -- and the fact that she discovered how to use the web to launch her first marketing campaign -- a new kind of success.

Of course, most filmmakers know launching a successful filmmaking career, no matter how it’s defined, is and always will be risky. On top of that, today’s seemingly endless possibilities, although exciting and empowering, are naturally, a little bewildering. So, stay tuned for some of our insight, tips and tricks for your journey. We want to hear from you -- send us your biggest fears and burning questions about being a filmmaker in the digital age. Articles, videos, and live events will be posted every Friday and every couple weeks, we’ll schedule a session to answer your questions.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched "Dot. The world's smallest stop-motion animation character shot on a Nokia N8."

Peek inside our Friday afternoon mini “film fests”

Mia — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:00:00 +0000

When you work here, one of the most frequently asked questions from friends and acquaintances is, “So, do you get to watch YouTube videos all day at work?”

Unfortunately, the answer’s no, but we do gobble up latest memes and must-see videos just as much as anyone else in the YouTube community. And every couple weeks, we do this gobbling (nom nom nom!) together, during our mini “YouTube Film Fest.”

We start with a fresh Google Moderator to collect and rank staff submissions. Employees add and vote on all their favorite videos until the date of the next film fest. As with YouTube itself, our fests draw from a diverse array of tastes and experiences. At any given showing, you might expect to see weird science, feats of endurance, shocking optical illusions and, of course, adorable pets.

If it’s a busy couple weeks and the Moderator’s looking slim, no problem. I just search company Buzz to find out what people are watching, liking and sharing. I curate these YouTube videos to create the Film Fest playlist. Then, come Friday afternoon, I cook up some popcorn, fill a cooler with drinks, draw the shades and hit “Play All.” The new playlist bar streamlines the viewing experience, so videos play continuously and/or we can quickly and easily jump ahead to the next clip.

What about you? Do you ever host YouTube viewing parties? How do they work? What tools do you use, and where do you archive your playlists? Tell us in the comments below (though please note comments are moderated due to spam).

John McCallen, User Experience, recently watched “Curious Stroboscopic Effect.”

Release Notes: Seven new languages, four new countries get partner program, and lots more…

Mia — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:53:00 +0000

Bits and bobs that’ve gone live since our last Release Notes...

YouTube is now available in...: Arabic, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Slovenian, Ukrainian and Vietnamese!

Four new countries get YouTube Partner Program: The Partner Program continued its expansion this quarter, with launches in Argentina, Sweden, New Zealand and the Czech Republic. That makes 21 countries in which people can make money from their videos. For more information about partnerships, click here.

Crossfades, wipes and slides: The video editor lets you combine and trim your videos right on YouTube.com, without installing any software. Now you can add transitions, like crossfades and wipes, between video clips. Just select the transitions tab in the media picker, drag the transition and drop it between any two videos in the storyboard.

MySpace Autoshare: Automatically share your YouTube activities on your MySpace account (you can already do this on your Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, Reader and Orkut accounts). To hook this up, go to Account > ActivitySharing and click “Connect accounts” next to the MySpace logo.

More filtering for charts: YouTube Charts can now be filtered by categories such as Comedy, Gaming and Pets & Animals, in addition to time and popularity "slices." We also show more results (20) per page.

Improved screen reader accessibility for YouTube player: One of our engineering interns spent part of his summer improving video accessibility for visually impaired people. If you use a screen reader that supports Flash, we hope you'll find it easier to enjoy videos on YouTube now. We've also added some more captioning features to the YouTube Data API. You can list tracks, request auto-timing, and download the speech recognition captions for videos that you own.

Shows in France: If you’re a YouTube viewer in France, now you can watch full-length TV shows, like BFMTV: Bourdin Direct and Britain’s Got Talent. Check out the page here.

HD and CC badges on search results page: When you search for a video on YouTube, the search results now show HD and CC (Closed Caption) badges, in addition to the NEW, CHANNEL and PLAYLIST badges that already exist. If you click on the badge, it will filter out results that don’t fall under that category.

“Add-to playlist” widget: The [+] button on video thumbnails in search results now includes a menu that allows you to add the video to any one of your playlists or start a new playlist. Additionally, the "save to" button below the video is being renamed "add to" and will have the same functionality.

Visited video styling on search results and video pages: Browsers help people remember links they have previously clicked on by giving them a different color, the standard generally being that links are in blue and visited links are in purple. Many sites, including YouTube, opt to make all links blue regardless of visited state to give a more consistent look to the site and better reflect its dynamic nature. However, having a visited state is specifically useful when exhaustively exploring search results or related videos, and so we are launching a new style for thumbnails and links to videos in related and search results: the thumbnail for visited videos is slightly grayed, and the link color has changed. This should help you explore the site deeper without going in circles.

The YouTube Team

Conrad Ventur refracts YouTube videos at MoMA

Mia — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 04:31:00 +0000

Brooklyn-based Conrad Ventur makes installations from YouTube videos and currently has a show at MoMA PS1, running through October 18, 2010. Learn more about this video artiste...

1) How do you use video in your art?
I use video in my art in two different ways. First, I find older recordings that I incorporate into installation. I really love archive performances by singers and work with these as material in my art. Secondly, I also direct and shoot videos myself. In these works, I'm essentially re-filming or re-staging underground films from the ’60s using the same actors that appeared in them the first time around. Some of these are Jack Smith and Andy Warhol films. My upcoming projects use some of these actors in stories that are non-quotational.

2) How do you use YouTube in your art?
For the last few years, I've enjoyed browsing YouTube. A video will attract my attention if it's an old recording that may have originally been meant for live television broadcast -- I like LIVE recordings mainly. I'm drawn to recordings that might have the potential to appeal to the collective memory of a larger audience. I take those videos and then project them through new-age crystal prisms or onto mirror balls in order to change the way the video content affects the viewer. I like my art to be more of an experience for the audience. It's best to see it in person.

3) What are you trying to convey through the installation currently at MoMA PS1?
In the installation at MoMA PS1, the curators and I decided to show a three channel video piece that we situated in the lower level of the museum. It's in an unexpected, small room. It's a bit of a surprise for museum-goers when they encounter these three recordings of the singer Shirley Bassey. It's the same song, “This Is My Life,” that she performed in three different decades of her life. Each has its own projector, and the three play at the same time on a continuous loop: the young Shirley singing with the old Shirley, singing a song about her life. Rotating prisms are situated in front of each projector lens. The videos are projected directly through these prisms. Thus, the room becomes a kaleidoscope that you walk into. It's a swirling, refracted, multiplied space that came from the collective (and ever-changing) catalogue of YouTube.

4) If you were to create this installation in 100 years, based on the music icons of today, who/which videos would you include and why?
If in 100 years I could look back and see how the careers and lives of contemporary singers unfold, I would choose live recordings of Micheal Jackson to use in an installation. Most importantly, in 100 years, the varnish will rub off and we'll be able to see clearly how the march of time resonates with the myth of MJ. He was a tremendous talent and was extremely generous to his audiences as a performer. His untimely death is an unfortunate bookend to a life lived in the spotlight which we all are familiar with in some way. An installation would be an interesting format to tell his story in a way that appeals to the audience's senses on many levels.

5) What are your top 5 videos of all time on the site?
I'm always looking for new material to capture my imagination. Here are a few that I like:

You can subscribe to Conrad Ventur’s YouTube channel here.

125 video shortlist announced today for Youtube Play

Mia — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:04:00 +0000

The Guggenheim has spoken: the shortlist for YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video will now go in front of the jury, and is available to view at youtube.com/play.

It’s been a busy summer. More than 23,000 videos, from 91 countries, were submitted for YouTube Play, and the Guggenheim has picked 125 to make up the shortlist.

In there, you’ll find submissions from students, video artists, photographers, filmmakers, composers, video game programmers, an American Women’s Chess Champion, a comedy improv group, a Swedish rock band, a South African hip-hop group, an Australian electronic music producer – and a lot more.

It’s now down to the YouTube Play jury to pick up to 20 videos for a special presentation at the Guggenheim Museum on October 21. Here is one of the jurors, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, to explain why he thinks YouTube is important in the art world today:

The videos selected by the jury will be on view to the public from October 22 through 24 in the Tower 2 Gallery of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, at kiosks at the Guggenheim Museums in Bilbao, Berlin and Venice, and available to a worldwide audience on the YouTube Play channel.

Tom Pursey, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Luis.”

Behind the Video: Chris Anderson’s “Meet the Flood Victims of Pakistan”

Mia — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:20:00 +0000

In this new series, YouTube users take you behind the scenes of a video they’ve made and explain, in their own words, how the video came to be and what they hope it achieves. First up, TED Curator Chris Anderson captures the stark faces he encountered on a recent trip to a ravaged area of Pakistan.

When Jacqueline Novogratz and I returned last week from a visit to Pakistan's flood-hit areas, we couldn't get out of our heads the faces of the people we'd seen -- in equal measures beautiful... haunting... hopeless... hopeful... These faces are the best possible answer to the troubling indifference so much of the world has shown in response to this crisis, which by any objective measure is one of the worst this century.

We wanted to spread the word about what we'd seen, so we wrote to one of our heroes, Peter Gabriel, and he generously agreed to let us use an unforgettable song of his as the soundtrack to a video that will show you the people we met.

Every one of these people has lost almost everything they own: their homes, their possessions, their animals...in most cases, all but the clothes they're wearing. Please stop what you're doing for five minutes, take a deep breath, sit down next to someone you care about, click the full-screen button below the video, and then press play.

Chris Anderson, Curator of TED

YouTube launches in Argentina

Mia — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Today, Argentina becomes the 25th country to get its own version of YouTube. This means that Argentines will be able to more easily discover local talent like GuadalajaraMan, UESiglo21, farolatino, casiangeles or yoteloexplico, as well as view the most popular and most viewed videos in their country.

To experience the new site, head to the bottom of the page, click on the ‘Location’ tab, and select Argentina from the menu:

We’re also teaming up with local broadcasters to ensure that YouTube viewers, wherever you may be, can watch some of the best news, sports and public television videos being made in Argentina today. Such partners include Encuentro, America TV, Boca Juniors and TV Pública. Other Argentine video-makers can apply for partnership at www.youtube.com/partners.

We look forward to working with everyone in Argentina to make the YouTube community even bigger and brighter than it is today.

Ricardo Blanco, Communications Manager, Latin America, and Brian Truong, Product Manager, recently watched “Otakus with English Subtitles.”

New travel program offers an eye on the world

Mia — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:04:00 +0000

Autumn may be upon us soon at YouTube HQ, but that doesn’t mean we can’t think about warmer weather, exotic locations and the thrill of getting away from it all. There’s no shortage of videos on YouTube to inspire travel plans, and our new program Vacationer Presented by NCL brings the best of our partners’ travel content into a single destination.

Whether you’re seriously planning the trip of a lifetime, or just need an excuse to do a little online escapism, Vacationer is packed with reports from authorities in the space, channels like Lonely Planet, National Geographic and the Travel Channel. After all, you don’t need to be following in Anthony Bourdain’s footsteps to enjoy his take on authentic eats in some of the world’s most memorable destinations.

If you do make plans for a cruise, a camping trip or even some close-to-home sightseeing, don’t forget to pack your camera, shoot your own video clips and post them on your YouTube channel. Launching The Vacationer reminds us that millions of people all over the planet turn to YouTube every day to experience new places through fresh eyes. We hope you’ll be inspired to share your own travels with the world at large.

Mark Day, Sales Development, recently watched “How to Treat a Sunburn.”

Meet the Rauch Brothers, StoryCorps animators

Mia — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:14:00 +0000

Today on our homepage, we’re featuring a new batch of StoryCorps videos animated by the Rauch Brothers. If you want to be moved by the human experience, watch them now.

StoryCorps is a massive oral history project during which 50,000 everyday people have already interviewed friends and family. A handful of these are transformed by the Rauch Brothers, who look to animate universal stories that capture the joys, struggles and extraordinary lives of regular people. Here, in our ongoing series of Creator’s Corner posts, the animators take you along their creative journey and name the YouTube users who in turn inspire them.

1) What is your process?
We receive an edited voice track from StoryCorps' Peabody Award-winning production team, which we then research. Time, place and personality of the main characters are all important. After digesting what we've learned, we determine which details to leave in, and which to take out in order to tell the story in a clear, engaging, and honest way.

After the initial research, we create character designs, a storyboard, and rough background layouts. When those stages are complete, we move on to animation and final background layouts. The last step is to paint everything and pull it all together in the computer.

2) Sounds like “Danny & Annie” was the first time you met your subjects in person. Was that unusual?
Whenever possible, it's very important to us to meet the storytellers in our animation. It gives us a chance to get input from them, and helps add authenticity to the final piece. "Danny & Annie" wasn't the first time we met one of our storytellers — we met the Littmans while working on "Q&A." Seeing them interact was important for Tim (who draws all the animated characters), because it helped him capture some of their mannerisms in animation.

"Danny & Annie" was the first time we had the opportunity to actually visit the home of one of our subjects. It was particularly important to get good reference photos of their Brooklyn apartment because the majority of the story takes place there. We also referenced some of their wedding photos in the final animation. Through that process, we were able to add authenticity that reflects the documentary nature of the original recording.

3) How close do you try to get to the person's true likeness?
We use photos for reference as we work on character designs, but we find that people are more than just the face one sees on the surface. They have a personality and a spirit that isn't necessarily captured in a photograph. Luckily, StoryCorps' terrific recordings of these voices and stories help tell us a lot about what we can't see in a photo. As StoryCorps founder Dave Isay says, the voice is like a window to the soul. Focusing on that aspect of the people in these stories has been the most effective way for us to capture something that feels honest and real.

4) What do you hope your work conveys?
We would like this work to serve as a reminder and a celebration of our shared humanity.

5) Who on YouTube is making great animation?
Pes - Pes uses everyday objects in unique and unexpected ways to tell short, funny stories that leave you wanting more.
Blu - Animated graffiti takes over the world!
Fran Krause - The quirky characters and stories that Fran develops with his brother, Will, are always fun.
Nina Paley - Nina tells entertaining stories and makes them freely available to watch, download, and remix. She is an animator perfectly suited for the age of YouTube.
Bill Plympton - The King of Indie Animation still reigns supreme.

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “‘Germans in the Woods’ from StoryCorps.”

Conflictivism

Mia — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:49:00 +0000

For our second cross-post from the Guggenheim’s The Take blog, inspired by YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video, Jaime Davidovich pontificates on YouTube as “public access gone ballistic” and how the 21st century artist might deal with the site’s cacophony of image and sound.

Davidovich was one of the first artists to recognize cable television for its potential for contemporary art, producing The Live! Show, a weekly public-access television program that featured avant-garde performances, artwork, political satire and social commentary. He’s currently working on pieces for his YouTube channel, as well as “video paintings,” or video images projected onto a gestural painting surface. You can read his original article here.

In his recent book Feedback: Television Against Democracy (2007), David Joselit challenges artists with a manifesto that echoes a sentiment common among us: "How is your image going to circulate? Use the resources of the 'art world' as a base of operations, but don't remain there. Use images to build publics."

I have been practicing Joselit's principle since 1976, putting art into the public arena through public-access television. One of my first programs was The Live! Show, a satirical variety show about the art world, which ran from 1979 to 1984 on New York cable television.

In the series I appeared as Dr. Videovich, my alter ego, interviewing artists such as Eric Bogosian, Tony Oursler, and Martha Wilson, as well as Marcia Tucker, founder of the New Museum, and the present-day director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, Richard Armstrong. The idea of The Live! Show was to showcase art on a popular medium — TV — allowing people to watch these works in the comfort of their homes.

Continuing the first-come, first-serve spirit of public-access TV, YouTube, with the tagline "Broadcast Yourself," is the current medium for circulating art outside the pristine walls of the art gallery. YouTube is public access gone ballistic — an anarchist brain on steroids. While public-access television was one channel at a time, YouTube features dozens of channels at the same time, and they are not listed anywhere, but found by user searching. And while public-access television was low tech and a 30-minute format, YouTube is all tech and features short clips with a maximum length of 15 minutes. I currently have a work on YouTube that is a close-up video of a delete key with audio accompaniment. The concept of this piece is to provide a break in the cacophonous overload of YouTube images and sound.

I am a conflictivist, an artist who explores the conflict between high and low culture. The artist of the 21st century cannot live solely in the art world or the “real world.” Rather, he or she should commute between the two.

How should artists today deal with new forms and media? Please comment below (note comments are moderated due to spam) or directly on The Take.

Enjoy YouTube in Croatian, Filipino, Serbian and Slovak

Mia — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Starting today, you can experience YouTube in four new languages: Croatian, Filipino, Serbian and Slovak. This brings the grand total of languages we support to 28, a nearly 50% increase since the beginning of 2010. (And remember: by selecting automated captions on a video, you can experience that video in over 50 languages.) Take a look at the languages we've launched since the start of YouTube:

By the end of this year, our goal is to offer the YouTube experience in 40 languages, doubling the number we started with at the top of 2010. With each new rollout, we hope to make YouTube a bit more accessible to more people, regardless of where in the world they might live. For more information, please watch the “YouTube Answers: Worldwide” video, which tackles your most popular questions about our international sites and operations.

Brian Truong, Product Manager, recently watched “Flower Warfare - Behind the Scenes.”

Are you win? Or are you fail? YouTube trivia game show enters second season

Mia — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Win/Fail, a trivia-based game show from the people behind POPTUB and FAILBlog, is all about YouTube: its history and lore, heroes and controversial characters, smash hits and cult favorites. Snarky questions range from noob-friendly to topics that would challenge even the most grizzled YouTube vets. In its first iteration, Win/Fail racked up over 18 million views; for v2, they’ve added Dustin Diamond (aka Screech from Saved by the Bell) as the voice of the show, as well as the opportunity to play for a real prize. So, no Rickrolling this time. Honest.

As part of our ongoing series of Creator’s Corner posts focused on the people who make cool videos on YouTube, here’s a Q&A with the team behind the show.

1) Where did the idea for Win/Fail come from?
Not too long ago, we produced over 450 episodes of POPTUB, a daily best-of-YouTube show. This resulted in a staggering, even embarrassing, amount of YouTube knowledge. We needed to know we weren’t alone in that. The response to the first game made us feel a little better.

2) How can one study to be an"Olympian of YouTube knowledge"?
Much like the SATs, it’s more about everything you’ve absorbed, over your entire YouTube lifetime, leading up to one moment of truth. You can’t really study.

If you insist on cramming, however, this is a pretty good place to start; YouTube’s new Charts page works, too.

To ace the game, you’ll need either a) encyclopedic knowledge of YouTube or b) keen observational skills to pick up on subtle hints dropped liberally throughout the videos.

3) How do you decide what to put in each episode?
First, we planned to make an entire 25-question series about Drinking Out of Cups, but then thought better of it. We try to choose videos most people will be familiar with and then throw in a few personal favorites.

4) One piece of advice you’d give to other video producers?
Find a great partner to work with to help promote your content. We are big fans of our friends at FAILBlog.

5) Little known fact about Win/Fail?
Win/Fail v1 was voiced by our good buddy PJ Morrison. You might recognize his voice from Law & Order.

For more info about Win/Fail, contact Maureen Traynor at Embassy Row.

It’s Fall TV time

Mia — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:16:00 +0000

Summer is coming to a close here in the U.S., but that also means a renewed palette of television is around the corner. The Fall TV Preview is here to help guide you through the slate of new and returning shows from major broadcast and cable networks. Co-presented by our friends at EntertainmentWeekly, the program offers bite-sized previews of scripted shows, reality TV, comedies, dramas and more.

We’ll also be featuring a playlist of Entertainment Weekly’s latest interviews with the hottest TV stars, so you’ll be well-equipped to speculate on this season’s break-out hits and potential misses.

Fall TV Preview is live through September 13.

Mark Day, Comedy Manager, recently watched “Fall TV 2010 - 'Fringe' Part 1.”

The transmission of art by television (and now YouTube)

Mia — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Inspired by YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video, the Guggenheim has launched a terrific blog called The Take, featuring writings by scholars, artists and other experts on topics like online video, digital content, the history of video art, and the effects of the Internet on art and culture. Naturally, some of what’s being covered has strong connections to YouTube, and so the kind folks at the Guggenheim have allowed us to cross-post here.

This post is from writer/curator Michael Connor, founder of the Marian Spore contemporary art museum in Brooklyn and co-curator of the permanent exhibition “Screen Worlds” at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. Connor also teaches at the School of Visual Arts and New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program. You can read his original post here.

"The transmission of art exhibitions by television is the beginning of an era when the public will be taught to appreciate great works of art, seeing them in their homes.”

This was the prediction made in a report written by one E. Robb for the BBC way back in 1933, less than a year after their first experimental television broadcast. For Robb, art on television meant pointing a camera at a painting or sculpture.

More than three decades later, a German filmmaker named Gerry Schum had a similar idea. In those days, West Berlin was cut off from the rest of West Germany by the Iron Curtain. In 1968 Schum wrote that “not only must works of art be flown into the city, also critics and visitors from West Germany experience difficulty in reaching Berlin.” Television, he realized, could allow artworks and visitors to be connected across such long distances and closed borders.

West Berlin’s plight is partly what inspired Schum to start an art gallery on television. Fernseh-Galerie (Television Gallery), as it was called, was a pioneering series of video art commissioned by Schum, including two broadcast exhibitions in 1969 and 1970. The first exhibition, Land Art, was broadcast on the public station Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) on April 15, 1969. Many notable artists contributed films that were then transferred to videotape, including Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, Walter de Maria, Dennis Oppenheim, and Robert Smithson.

My favorite piece produced by the gallery is Jan Dibbets’s TV as Fireplace. Between December 25 and 31, 1969, public television station WDR III in Cologne rebroadcast Dibbets’s video of a burning fire every night for three minutes. The logs were lit on the first night, and the fire grew in intensity before slowly dying on the last one. Perfectly site specific, Dibbets’s piece turned the home’s cathode-ray tube into a flickering fire for just a few moments at a historical moment when the TV set had gone a long way toward replacing the hearth as the focal point of domestic space.

Watching TV as Fireplace on YouTube would of course be completely different. Online video shatters the direct link that Dibbets made between physical viewing environment and moving image. Given that audiences may now watch videos on an iPhone at the beach or a computer at the office, is it still possible for artists to create this kind of dialogue between the physical space of viewing and the space on-screen?

What do you think? Please comment below (note comments are moderated due to spam) or directly on The Take.

Off the Charts

Mia — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:14:00 +0000

What’s the latest in the all-time most viewed video smackdown between Bieber and Gaga? Is David After Dentist pwning Charlie Bit My Finger? Who grabbed more subscribers this month, ShayCarl or Annoying Orange?

These are the big questions on the lips of the YouTube community. To help answer them, we're launching “YouTube Charts” to give you a clear view of how your favorite videos and creators stack up against each other. You can sort charts by “today,” “this week” and “all time.”

We’d love to hear your suggestions on which charts you’d like to see. Best newcomer? Most shared video? Fastest to a million views? Let us know right here, in the forum discussion on this topic.

Matt Darby, Product Manager, recently watched “Hot Chip - I Feel Better.”

EDU Summer School, Session 6: Economics

Mia — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:59:00 +0000

This week marks the last session of our summer series, but do not fret, all of the fascinating lectures and material we’ve surfaced for you over the weeks will still be available on YouTube EDU. In only six weeks, we’ve learned some interesting things about topics ranging from classical mechanics and differential equations to exploring drawing techniques and French history. While we’ve had fun pulling these videos together into topic playlists, we hope you take some time on your own to explore the vast array of educational videos on YouTube. Who knows, maybe you’re really an entomologist at heart!

Our parting gift is a handful of lectures about economics. But before we go, the answers to your final YouTube EDU quiz for summer 2010:

1) Worker bees and queen bees start life with the exact same genome, so what external factor distinguishes the queen bee from all others? the queen eats royal jelly
2) Dartmouth guest lecturer Terry Chapin has published nine books and over 300 papers that have been cited more than 27,000 times. What musical instrument does he play? fiddle
3) Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station tracks white sharks off the coast of California near what islands? Farallon Islands

Alright, get out there and enjoy the rest of your summer before it’s too late!

Mandy Albanese, Communications Associate, recently watched “The Economics of Happiness.”

Meet kamapazzo, the escalator-powered animator

Mia — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:23:00 +0000

We recently announced that we’d be adding some new kinds of posts to this blog, and today we’re happy to run the first from the Creator’s Corner, which is devoted to the process of videomaking and all of the people who wow us with their creativity, ingenuity and passion. You can now find posts that used to be in the Creator's Corner in this blog, and we encourage you to leave a comment below with the username of anyone you'd like to learn a little more about.

First up, we caught up with kamapazzo, a 26-year-old motion-graphic designer who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and has spent time in Beirut teaching workshops about visual and stop-motion animation. His “escalator animations” surprise and delight; read more about how they came to be below.

1) What gave you this idea?
I was at the Istanbul airport, standing with my luggage next to a very long escalator. I had nothing to do; I was just intensely watching the handrail, when suddenly I thought, “Hey, I can use it for an animation!” Then I realized how easy it could have been sticking on the handrail. Also, in that period I was studying the great work of Norman McLaren; at the beginning of his career he was painting directly on film. I thought that my escalator animation could have been a kind of tribute to his wonderful work of abstraction. McLaren is my first inspiration. He was always experimenting with new techniques, including inventing a way to make sound painting directly on film.

So, when I came home from the airport, I made a test with the stickers, as I was not so sure about the result. But actually it was working; I liked the images and I decided to develop a full abstract movie. I started to prepare all the shapes and stickers without having a script or even thinking about a story. I just wanted to use this public space and play with it as a kid, letting my imagination flow. Having fun in the creative process is very important for me; that’s the only way I know to do something fresh, something that could catch the audience unprepared.

The escalator animation could be considered as the following chapter of a video I did last year in Berlin, using a photocopier. I'm enchanted by creating animations starting from things and objects people use in everyday life. With a little bit of imagination, you can see motion and animation everywhere around you.

2) How did you do it?
I started preparing all the paper's shapes: for each one of them I did nine different sizes so that when they moved on the steps you can also see the dimension changing. Then I went shooting for a full day with four friends of mine. A friend and I were on the bottom of the escalator and we were just leaning the shapes on the steps that were going up, and another friend stayed on top sending the shapes back on the steps that were going down. On the opposite side the camera man, Jacopo, was shooting just the side where the escalator was going up.

It was a very funny day, actually. The escalator was located close to a university, and it was full of students that got really surprised. Some students even asked me if they could take some hearts or clouds. Then I drew all the animations on the stickers and I went to the escalator a few times during the night while it was stopped. We pasted the stickers on the handrail, and then in the morning we went back there to shoot them. Actually, I had lots of troubles due to the winter cold: the stickers didn’t stick to the handrail.

3) How long did it take you?
Building all the materials and shooting took me about two months, and editing, the longest part, about three months. I've also spent one week preparing the soundtrack. So in the end the whole work took me about six months.

4) Why did you pick this escalator?
First off, I was fascinated by the hypnotic movement of the escalator; it runs all day long in the same way. I wanted to break this repetition with a kind of game and let people imagine public spaces in a different way -- more funny and more creative. I like to imagine this world as a place with no rules, where you can act more freely and take life less seriously. Another reason is that I wanted to mix my passion for animation with my passion for urban installation.

5) Tell us something about this video you'd never know by looking at it.
During one of the shooting days a police officer came to us asking what were we doing and if we had a permission. We said we were just shooting a commercial for a very famous Italian pop band. At this point he said he loved them and left without even asking [to see] the permission.

6) What's next in your world of escalator animation?
I will go on working in public spaces. The final result always surprises me. When you make experimental videos, a lot of problems come up that you never thought about before; until it's done you don't really know where you're going. Maybe you start with an idea and then it's not going fine, so you have to change everything. I already started drawing a new animation with a script, and it will be done on a common object that people use everyday. Can't say more until it's done. It will be a surprise!

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “America's Got Talent Jackie Evancho YouTube Audition.”

Instantly zap YouTube videos to your Android phone with Chrome to Phone

Mia — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:25:00 +0000

Ever wanted a way to quickly and easily send YouTube videos and other information from your desktop or laptop to your phone to view on the go? The new Chrome to Phone extension adds a button to your Google Chrome browser that instantly sends the current YouTube video, web page, map, or selected phone number or text to your Android device running Froyo (or Android 2.2).

Suppose you're mid-way through a scintillating 15-minute video and you have to run to an appointment. Simply click the extension icon in your browser to send the video’s link to your phone and the device's browser will automatically open the link, ready for you to view on the go.

The Chrome to Phone extension is available in English for now, but we hope to expand to other languages soon. Check out the help center if you have further questions.

To get Chrome to Phone, install the Chrome to Phone extension in your Google Chrome browser and the Android application on your phone, and you’re ready to go.

Dave Burke, Engineering Manager, recently watched “Asturias-John Williams.”

Schedule (or join) a YouTube Meetup!

Mia — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:30:00 +0000

From events like VidCon and 789 to the sheer number of get-togethers reported by folks like YTGathering, we know how much YouTube users love to meet up in the real world. We’ve even crashed some of these shindigs and always come back to the office totally rejuvenated by your energy.

All of this got us thinking: how can we help spur on more of these gatherings? Turns out our friends at Meetup have just the thing for that: our new Meetup Everywhere page offers a global view of where YouTube users are meeting and an easy way for anyone to suggest a new locale. So if you don’t see your town listed, you can schedule a gathering near you, and you don’t even need to take on the responsibility of organizing it. Some other social maven may step into that role by clicking “learn more” under “This event needs an organizer,” or you can be the one to determine the where, when and why of your local YouTube meetup. Try it, and let's see this map populate with hundreds of happy hoedowns...

Wherever you end up congregating, do shoot lots of video (as if we need to say that!) and send the links to our YouTubeGatherings channel, where we like to create playlists from each event.

So, see you...soon?

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “YouTube news: YouTube EVENTS!”

YouTube Summer School, Session 5: Biology

Mia — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what makes a queen bee the queen? Or perhaps pondered the process of photosynthesis? We have too (nerd alert...again) and we’re glad that we’re not the only ones! In fact, a few of our university partners have helped us find the answers to our biology questions and a variety of other topics on YouTube EDU. Take some time to scan this week’s playlist to learn more about your immune system, the Alaskan ecosystem and biofuels.

While we've got our thinking caps on, see if you can answer the questions below. If you know the answers, please leave them in the comments below (note: comments are moderated due to spam):

1) Worker bees and queen bees start life with the exact same genome, so what external factor distinguishes the queen bee from all others?
2) Dartmouth guest lecturer Terry Chapin has published nine books and over 300 papers that have been cited more than 27,000 times. What musical instrument does he play?
3) Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station tracks white sharks off the coast of California near what islands?

Finally, answers to last week’s quiz, on math:

1. Where did Terrence Tao learn the numbers and letters that enabled him to start teaching his peers at age two? Sesame Street
2. Based on probalistic aggregation studies, Gettysburg College would be able to withstand an attack of how many robots? 252
3. Cornell math professor Allen Knutson holds a world record in what? Juggling

Mandy Albanese, Communications Associate, recently watched “Stanford Tracks White Sharks.”

It’s here! America’s Got Talent: The YouTube Edition

Mia — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year, America's Got Talent turned to YouTube in its ongoing quest to find America's hottest performers. Thousands of people submitted audition videos to perform live on the show and tonight, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, you can finally see which 12 YouTube contestants made it.

There are some big dreams riding on this edition of America's Got Talent, along with a lot of support for the singers, musicians, dancers and other aspiring stars who submitted their videos with the hope of being discovered.

Good luck to all of our talented contestants and to everyone who entered the competition. And don't forget to watch the top entries on the America's Got Talent YouTube channel before tonight's broadcast!

Lee Hadlow, Marketing Program Manager, recently watched “America's Got Talent Winning Moment Season 4.”

More blog goodness! Make room for BizBlog and Creator’s Corner posts

Mia — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:22:00 +0000

With pageviews up 115% compared to the same time last year and millions of people reading this blog each month, it’s time for a fresh injection of blog content. So starting today, we’re transitioning posts from the BizBlog, our partner and advertiser blog, and the Creator’s Corner blog, our blog devoted to all the cool things you make on YouTube, to this blog. You’ll see more guest posts; you’ll get to know some of YouTube’s most accomplished videomakers a little better; and you’ll discover how all kinds of people -- partners, advertisers, you! -- use YouTube and what can be learned from each other.

But before we dig in, we wanted to ask you to take this short survey, so we can be sure that our blog delivers the kind of experience and information you’re looking for. The survey should take less than five minutes to fill out and will help us tremendously as we plan future posts. Thank you so much!

<p>&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;</p>