Check out how top notch Shirtmaker Thomas Pink is using Web video on their site. A quite fantastic blend of editorial and brand value compared to the dull product videos that many etailers seem to create. You also get a great snapshot of old school London, that’s disappearing daily.
Christoph Rehage went for a walk, a very long walk in fact, 4646 km from Germany to China and then around the country. The Longest Way is an unusual record of the trip starring his beard, 646,000 views on Vimeo later (that’s just Vimeo) I caught up with him to get some info.
JTV: How did you get the idea to make a travel video focussing on your beard, most people would be shooting pretty shots of the landscape ?
CR: I originally didn’t intend to shoot a video of my beard. But after walking for a week I thought, what the heck, might as well grow it out. Run Forrest, run.
JTV: What does your beard or lack of beard symbolise ?
CR: The beard doesn’t symbolize anything in the beginning. Getting rid of the beard means something though. I think it is about getting rid of one’s obsessions in a way.
JTV: Did people respond to you differently the longer your beard got ?
CR: They thought I was an old man. Ladies on the street once asked me whether I was 50 years old. Young people don’t grow beards in those areas.
JTV: Is wearing a long beard difficult ?
CR: It’s not difficult, stroking it in a very pretentious way can be a lot of fun actually.
JTV: There’s a real change in mood at the end, can you explain why it changes ?
CR: If you watch the movie carefully, you will get a clue. 
JTV: Which camera did you use and how did you match up the shots, did you draw on the LCD screen ?
CR: I used a 5d with a 16-35mm lens. I just stretched my arms for the shots and did the aligning of the eyes later in Photoshop. I had to align every single frame in Photoshop prior to making them into the time lapse in Premiere.
JTV:How long did the video take to edit and what was the trickiest thing abut editing it ?
CR: Editing took 4 months, and the trickiest part besides the aligning of the eye-level, and besides the rhythm of the soundtrack was really the point where I chose to do it all over again because I noticed that YouTube featured HD, and I wanted that for my video too.
JTV: What kind of response have you got from the video, any interesting comments ?
CR: I am happy when people like it. Very happy. I don’t think a lot of people share the same view on it with me though. I am not surprised by this, but every once in a while I get a comment or an email where I can feel that someone out there got a hint of my understanding of the whole thing. Feels good for me.
JTV: What’s next for Christoph Rehage ?
CR: Be a man. (I know it sounds tacky, but it is what it is, and there is no way around it at some point in life.)
Just released is the Livepack by video streaming service aptly named Livestream. It’s an all-in-one, backpack-sized device available for lease that enables live, mobile, HD quality broadcasts.
Livepack is carried in a backpack has no requirement for a laptop, features a touch screen and six integrated 3G/EVDO modems from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint that combine to offer up the highest possible available bit-rate. In good hotspots it can achieve a 700 kbps connection (it can go up to 1Mbps), in poor areas with patchy reception, the six modems together can provide 300 – 400 kbps.
Here’s the summary:
I noticed that video creation system Faculte has just received US$2.8 million first round investment. Faculte’s web-based ‘Broadcast Studio’ platform is aimed at Companies who want to create their own video presentations. Subscribers can add video, voice and other visuals to an online presentation, which they can then distribute across the Net. They can also charge viewers who want to subscribe.
I can see how it could work for Communications Departments who want to create quick and economic content for internal and B2B use but, and it’s a big BUT, will they have the staff with enough time and ability to do this effectively? Also if they want the presentation to include high quality video they’ll still need to commission it. I am not sure slick Independent Corporate Video Producers, Crew and Editors need worry just yet.
What’s cool about Faculte is that it’s biz model is based on fees. Companies pay them for the service as opposed to it being a free service supported by ads. This is the way to go these days if you are trying to give confidence to potential investors in your Online Video start up. A soley Ad supported model is just not sustainable right now.
Faculte’s pitch video is above and is also on their homepage. The quality is ropey to say the least at the top (especially the audio) but I hope they are just trying to show realistically the kind of videos their clients will create with their Flip Cameras. (Miaaaaoow!)
Think I’m off the mark? Please add a comment.
BTW Apologies for lack of posts, have been lounging on a beach in the South West of France where the Internet Cafe’s are ridiculously expensive!
This interview has a few nuggets if you are thinking of starting a Video Blog. Sukhjit is a former TV Producer turned Videoblogger and I clocked her recently on YouTube. Her enthusiasm for Producing her own content is infectious. Also check out Sukhjit’s Vlog, where she has more info about some of the social video tools she uses including Tokbox and 12 seconds.tv.
‘Know Your Meme‘ is an excellent Web series from the people who bring you ‘Rocketboom’. Some of the epsiodes get 350,000 views on YouTube alone. So call me a killjoy but I couldn’t help noticing the mixed lighting.
Now I have ‘mixed’ feelings about this, you could say it’s a creative tool or I’m being picky and it isn’t a big deal, but I reckon it would be better if the whole shot was consistent in colour balance.
As you can see from the thumbnail above the Presenter is lit with unfiltered tungsten (warm light) and the camera is white balanced to that light, but the windows, walls (and Computer screen) have all gone blue due to the high level of ambient daylight (or cooler light).
Solution? Put blue gels on the Tungsten light to balance them to the daylight (easiest way), or add orange gels to the windows (carefully so it doesn’t show up in shot) to balance the daylight to the tungsten light which can then be used as is, without gels.
A great light that doesn’t require any gels is the Kino Flo Diva Lite. You can just swap the tungsten balanced strip lights for daylight ones in a couple of minutes, and you have a soft light ideal for lighting people that also doesn’t give off masses of heat and can be easily dimmed. (See video below)
Looking for a Tungsten softlight? I also use the Rifa Lite (economic, soft light that’s great for interviews and presenters). Check out the Lowel Rifa LC-66eX eXchange-Lite, 120-230VAC, 25″ x 25″ Collapsible Soft Light System
I can’t quite remember how I spotted this App review show called Apps & Hats, Twitter maybe. All I know is there are so few Brit made Web shows out there, I take my hat off to these ladies for giving it a go. I pinged co-Producer Christine to find out more about the production:
JTV: What is Apps & Hats, and how many of you make it?
Christine: Apps & Hats is a quirky iPhone application review show. Every other week the girls (Christine and Hattie) review iPhone applications within a wide range of categories.
The 6 minute sessions are aired every 2 weeks. Each episode will have a particular item of fashion from Victorian Corsets to Uniforms. Hattie will try to find a free App and Christine is checking out if one is worth your cash. There will also be prizes, promo codes and other goodies along the way.
Currently we are me Hattie, Kate who does all our wardrobe, from either making or sourcing the outfits, and styling during the filming, Nick who does the filming, sound & photography and Kovshenin who does the dev and maintenance of our site.
JTV: Why did you decide to start a show?
Nicholi White AKA nicholifavs on YouTube AKA the Apple Store Kid doesn’t own a Mac. Instead he records his Music video demos in his local Apple store and releases them on YouTube. I decided to find out more:
JTV: Who are you?
nicholifavs: I am Nicholi White I’m from Harlem, New York I go to the Apple store to make Videos you already knew that haha! I like pop, rock, and hip hop.
JTV: How did you first get the idea to use the Store as a place to create videos?
nicholifavs: There was a thought in my head before I made the Videos. When I realised the Apple Store computers had Webcams I said to myself “I should make videos and put them on YouTube!”
JTV: How much time do you spend in the Apple Store?
nicholifavs: Only 1-2 hours if I’m with friends but when I’m making a Video maybe like 3 hours because I’ve got to find a song to do the lip sync to.
JTV: Do you get any trouble from the staff?
nicholifavs: I do get funny looks from the staff but they don’t kick me out unless I do something wrong. There was one staff member who asked me what my YouTube username was
and that just made my day.
JTV: What are you planning to do with your peforming skills?
nicholifavs: Nothing really. I had an idea to bring a backup dancer with me, for now I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing- live on life.
Check out nicholifavs’ YouTube channel.
More posts like this: Marina on the making of Hot for Words. Subscribe to newsletter or follow on Twitter - see the right hand column.
‘Hot For Words’ is a smash hit Web series. If you haven’t seen it yet where’ve you been? According to Tubemogul as of today ‘Hot For Words’ is registering a massive 225,901,955 all time video views and in the past 30 days alone, 13,065,929 views, ranking it as the Number 4 show globally.
With the tagline ‘Intelligence is Sexy’ the show is presented by the fabulous Russian host Marina Orlova and each show focusses on Marina explaining the origin and meaning of a Word.
I spoke to Marina about the making of her Web show and here is the Jules TV exclusive interview which has some Hot Tips for videomakers.
JTV: Right back at the beginning how did the idea come about for ‘Hot for Words’?
Marina: I have two degrees in philology which is the study of the origins of language. I’ve always been fascinated with the origins of words and I wanted to share that fascination with as many people as I could, and when a friend showed me YouTube in December of 2006, I thought.. WOW, I can tell perhaps thousands of people about etymology. I never thought that my videos would end up being seen over 220 MILLION times!!
I chose the name ‘Hot For Words’ for the channel as a kind of homage to the Van Halen song “Hot For Teacher”. I always found that I paid more attention in classes where the teacher was hot .. so why not bring that to YouTube?
JTV: What camera do you use to shoot the show, what software do you cut with plus tell me about the green screen set up?
Marina: I currently shoot with a Sony HVR-V1U Camera that shoots in HD on DV tapes. I shot the first couple hundred of my videos on my MacBook camera, but when YouTube started offering HD, I switched to the Sony. I prefer the cameras that shoot on DV tape over the hard disk units as the DV tapes make for great backups in case you ever have a hard drive fail.
As you can see in this shot I put the external mic right in front of me to get the best sound. I have a one of those folding Blue/Green screens behind me and I use DayFlo fluorescent lights that are matched to Day Light so that I don’t have to cover my windows. The fluorescents are great because they don’t consume much electricity and they don’t get hot! I have a total of 5 lights .. two in front and 3 lighting the green screen.
I edit my videos in Final Cut Studio, which is great because it comes with all kinds of templates that can get you up and running very quickly and that make your videos look great even if you are just starting out.
JTV: Do you need to follow a strict schedule, for example do you have writing and researching days and shooting days and editing days or does it just happen when you feel like it?
Marina: I try to shoot most of my videos on Monday and then spend the rest of the week editing them. I also do my research during the week as well. I prefer to stick to a schedule as it forces me to make the videos on time. I have one of the most prolific channels on YouTube putting out more videos than most.. and my strict schedule is what allows me to accomplish that.
JTV: The show looks quite different now than even a year ago, you’ve added more effects and graphics, why did you decide to go for a more polished look and is it important keep the show moving forward?
Marina: I just changed as I got better at editing on Final Cut Pro. When you sit at a computer for 5 hours at a time editing videos, 7 days a week, you are bound to get better at what you are doing! The style of my videos simply changed with my abilities as an editor! People also seem to appreciate it when they see you getting better and better at something. You definitely DO NOT need to start out all polished as people on YouTube like stuff that looks home-made anyway. If you start out looking too sophisticated, people might ignore you thinking you are some big Hollywood production. This fact is actually great as it means you can start out really cheaply.. editing the videos yourself .. even if you are horrible at it!
JTV: What’s the most rewarding thing about making your own show and distributing it on the Web?
Marina: The most rewarding thing about making your own show on the net is that it is 100% YOUR OWN SHOW! You’re not at the mercy of a TV Network .. you are your own boss! What’s also nice about having your show on the net is that you get INSTANT feedback from your audience. You’ll get a lot of idiotic comments from kids, but you’ll also get a lot of helpful feedback that will help you make your show better and better! You can’t get that kind of instant feedback from other mediums!
JTV: Do you have any tips for people who want to start their own Web video show?
Marina: Make videos on a topic that you find interesting. Since you will need to make lots and lots of videos to attract your audience, it had better be something you find interesting, otherwise you will burn out before you gain traction.
Also.. get into a schedule of making videos on a regular basis … you want to build your subscriber base and there is no reason for people to subscribe to you if you are not making any videos!
Picking a topic you love will allow you to always be thinking about the next video and having that schedule down will force you to make each video in a timely manner.
I’ve posted below one of the early shows so you can see the quality difference we talked about plus I found a really great behind the scenes film made by Snob Magazine (Russia) that is worth a look too.
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If you’re making a Webisodic series, rather than going out filming on location all the time, look for people and organisations with interesting stories that have already shot the footage, repackage with a new interview and it will add new value for both parties.
Right now the economics of making a success out of factual Web Video depends on effective use of your time versus outputting regular and prolific content. Making original video is a very time consuming business compared to sticking up a two paragraph blog post and someone else’s photos.
What’s great is nowadays loads of people are filming what they do/organise/create to stick up on their own site. But they may not have the traffic, distribution reach or google rank that your show has or if they do have loads of views they may still want to reach your specific audience. If you can repackage their material, give them new exposure via your show and follow through traffic they will give you their archive to use. Their goal is not a hit series but to gain exposure for an enterprise so little chance of conflict.
Case in point check out this Rocketboom Episode (above) on the Break Out In Sound project in New York. Ella Morton the new Rocketboom Field Correspondent links it together with a couple of simple master interviews with Producer Ryan Mackey and Choreographer Andrew Turteltaub, but what makes the piece come to life is from the Break Out In Sound archive. BOS has done well with their own YouTube view count (c. 100,000 for a clip I just looked at) but add the reported 350,000 (or so) weekly views Rocketboom has and you can see the advantage for them to release archive.
When asking what your next story is, why not look if someone has already filmed it for you?
A Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) beatbox mash up has gained a lot of traction on YouTube and has been picked up across the Web. Jules.tv caught up with Videomaker Swede Mason who reveals how the hit was created:
JTV: Do you make these films for a reason, is there some meaning attached to them?
Swede Mason: I’m not sure where the motivation comes from. I’m the most unmotivated person when it comes to most other things in life. I just have fun making these and I get a buzz out of it.
I think concepts and ideas are more important than high end production. A lot of the equipment and software that was unattainable a few years back is now at the disposal of the average cash strapped musician like myself.
JTV: How do you source all the footage and how long did it take to get the Clarkson video made?
Swede Mason: I record everything I watch on TV onto VHS. I wish I had sky+ (UK equivalent to Tivo) but I am skint. I just hear stuff that I think would be good to remix and keep ‘em on my computer. I’ve got shitloads of crap. With the Clarkson vid I recorded the powerslide bit about 2 years ago. Then I recorded the “eeeerr” noise and the bass drum sound about a year later and then decided to collect a load more sounds whilst I was laid up with a broken collar bone. The actual tune and Vid didn’t take too long after I had collected the footage - about 20 hours in total.
JTV: I guess getting the sound right is the tricky part, what kit do you use?
Swede Mason: I use hardware samplers and synths and a sequencing program called Logic for Mac. Logic has software synths that are quite useful for specific sounds, but hardware is good ‘cos you can kind of sketch ideas for the tune manually before sequencing it in Logic. Not many people use it anymore so you can pick stuff up pretty cheap. I recommend the Zoom ST-224 sampler. I’ve hammered mine for 10 years and it’s only just starting to pack up. I record the tune, then export into imovie and edit the video from the original samples over the top, syncing it up to the audio. The hardest thing is getting hold of the good samples.
JTV: What’s next for Swede Mason?
Swede Mason: I have got another load of clips I collected about a year ago of Richard Madeley (Brit TV presenter) but never used ‘em - similar thing, beatbox. I might try to do something with them. No way near as good as the Clarkson sounds though. There are other random things I wanna do too. Having a bit of a break at the mo and just trying to get my head around all this exposure. It’s been mental.
Long term I just want to carry on making this stuff and see what happens. A bit of editing work would be nice to pay the bills + I’d like to play live but need some better gear. That’s about it.
JTV: And how about the future for Video mash ups?
Swede Mason: I’m expecting to see a lot more of this kind of music/video, now that practically anyone can have a shot at it and get there vids online, potentially reaching a massive audience. It’s just the copyright laws which need amending in my opinion, then I wouldn’t have to work in a pub to pay the rent. Could rant for ages about stuff but gotta get to work. Cheers for the interest and support.
I spotted these photos via Alex Albrecht’s Blog (Diggnation, Project Lore, The Totally Rad Show). It shows the new garage studio in Alex’s house where they are to record the weekly hit Web series The Totally Rad Show.
Note the huge green screen to accomodate 3 presenters and I am sure some more elaborate set ups in future. Black walls to stop the green from bouncing around and spilling onto the subjects and ruining the key. Also the set of soft Kino Flo Diva lights, which have economical flourescent (or daylight) balanced tubes which last ages and emit a soft bank of light.
You can see the strip lights used to illuminate the green screen evenly, essential for an easy key, and the key and fill Kino Flows to give even and flattering light to the faces.
Right now in Web Video the buzz is to keep overheads low. With Ad rates tumbling and sponsors being more cautious you need to make your profits last longer. Hiring an expensive studio, with all mod cons isn’t an option for the majority of Web creators. As well as the cost saving by having an improvised home studio, the time saved getting to a hire studio, setting up each time etc can be invested in producing the next show, distributing and promoting.
Sky Arts have collaborated with Antony Gormley on his One & Other project (LIVE FEED) in London’s Trafalgar Square. The premise is that 29,255 people applied to be one of 2,400 places to appear for one hour each on the plinth in the square between July and October. The project runs 24/7 over the 100 days and so far the live stream is going down a storm.
Since 6th July the site, which includes both the live stream and edited highlights has already reached a total of 2.9m page views and 658,000 visits, with 407,000 unique visitors. The average time spent on the site is 10 minutes and 18 seconds.
The production has had a few problems to solve as no cables are allowed on the plinth. They are using wireless remote control HD cameras to transmit pictures back to a temporary gallery in the Square.
The appeal of Live Web Video like this project gets me thinking that with a free service like Livestream available to Video Producers there might be openings to create Live independent hit shows rather than just going for the conventional edited 7 minute Web show. Of course you wouldn’t have the Media juggernaut that is Sky TV behind you to promote it.
Interesting interview by TechVi with the creators of Epic Fu, Zadi Diaz and Steve Woolf. They talk about the mistakes they made producing their first Web series ‘The Jet Set Show’ and how they turned it around with Epic Fu. Love Steve’s quote: ”The Internet is the only place left where you can fail”.
