Official Blog
What's happening on YouTube
What goes into making a great party? Howcast finds out
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Howcast’s new series, Party Builders, seeks to highlight the hottest events happening around the world -- not just their glossy outsides and chaotic backstage areas, but the entire planning process leading up to the parties. Series producers Darlene Liebman and Paul Leo and Howcast Editorial Director Bene Cipolla tell us more.
1) How do you choose which parties to cover?
We look for large-scale productions with a "wow factor." We search for intriguing components, exciting performances, exhilarating settings, and compelling backstories.
2) What should YouTube users know about throwing awesome parties?
Planning is key! Pick a killer prep team and get organized. But no matter how much you plan, you have to be prepared for the unexpected. Something unplanned will pop up, and you'll need to just roll with it. Deep breaths!
3) What are some tips to making great videos at parties?
Think about what you want to capture -- and how you want to set up your shots -- ahead of time. If the event is at night, be sure to use a camera that's good in low light. Study the schedule so you know where to be and when, and consider using more than one camera and multiple crew members to capture as much as you can. Remember that this is a live event -- there are no redos!
4) What's something about the series that no one would know by looking at it?
Each four-minute episode was created from more than 40 hours of footage!
5) What is your favorite episode shot so far and why?
Our favorite is probably episode 3 for two reasons: First, because Doha's setting is incredibly dramatic and the scale of the event was just massive, and second, because we found the overall message of bringing communities together through film really impactful.
Showtime’s “SHORT stories” recruits YouTube finest to make short films
Friday, February 4, 2011
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.
”
The Onion’s A.V. Club “Inventory” lists become YouTube videos
Friday, January 21, 2011
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.”
How producing for the web can fit into a filmmaking career
Friday, November 19, 2010
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
.”
Great videos on a budget: how to fake a zombie attack
Friday, November 5, 2010
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!
”
Freddiew’s "Roadtrip" teaches amateur filmmakers tricks of the trade
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
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
.”
Should quality matter in web video?
Friday, October 29, 2010
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
.”
Digital bootcamp with Ingrid Kopp
Friday, October 22, 2010
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."
A digital filmmaker’s map to the web
Friday, October 15, 2010
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."
Fill bowl with cereal, add milk, turn on camera
Thursday, October 7, 2010
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
.”
Embracing exploration: being a filmmaker today
Friday, October 1, 2010
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
."
Conrad Ventur refracts YouTube videos at MoMA
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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
.
Meet the Rauch Brothers, StoryCorps animators
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
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.”
Meet kamapazzo, the escalator-powered animator
Friday, August 13, 2010
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
.”
More blog goodness! Make room for BizBlog and Creator’s Corner posts
Monday, August 9, 2010
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!
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