Firefox Flick Global Video Contest

The Firefox browser needs you or, more to the point, your video skills to help tell the story. The contest is now open for everybody on the globe who isn't on Internet lock down to make a video.

This is what I can scope out so far:

• You will be creating a public service announcement aka a PSA. 
• The video can be as short as you want but no longer than 120 second/2 minutes.
• You can work on your own, with a team or if you can talk you teacher/professor into it as a class project.

There are four categories to choose from; best 30 second spot, best animation, best use of new technology or best public service announcement.

You got a shot at this, check out the competition. Really, you can do this.

Now you could do this out of the goodness of your heart but there are prizes, check out the Rules for more information.The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on May 1, 2012.

Go forth and make magic

Gone With A Handsomer Man Book Trailer

I like to reverse engineer videos to understand what works and what doesn't. It is one of the ways to create your own style by looking at the works of others in different disciplines. I'm also looking at this for header graphics ideas. Still looking at all kinds of idea sources.

I like books. I like video and movie trailers. Sometimes, well, most of the time it is a bad fit. Either the spirit of the book is lost or the whiz bang features of the video don't quite sell the book.

It is a balance of a proper introduction and a seduction.

This is a book trailer for the book Gone With A Handsomer Man by Michael Lee West



It is short, simple and allows the viewer to get a feel for the story. The visuals help you to become curious about the book. Thirty nine seconds is just right.

The music is contemporary so I'm not sure I'm the demographic market for the book. Then again, I was more focused on the the words and visuals.

Motorola Ad and Short Film Contest

Adobe and Motorola have teamed up to create a video contest to promote the use of Flash video on Droid phones. Those that love their Droid phones need to represent their creativity. Why let the other device (iPhone) get all the action?

There are two separate contests, one for creating an ad and the other for creating a short film. In either case you should read the terms and conditions of the contest before you enter.

From the FAQ & Tech Requirements:

We do not accept tapes or DVDs or anything that needs to be posted in the mail - only digital video uploads.

The Video file size should be kept at or under 100 MB for quicker upload/encoding time (max file size is 300MB).

Video files must be provided in one of the following file formats: .MPG; .MOV; .AVI; .WMV; .MP4; .M4V. Neither height nor width can be odd numerically (eg dimensions of 1023 x 768 should not be used because 1023 is an odd number).

Do not export any black borders and we prefer 16:9 aspect ratio but will accept other ratios. The video frame rate (fps) is not important but bear in mind the intended use – if the brand intends to display on TV then they will prefer 30fps

We recommend shooting in HD because lots of winners get their films shown on big screens and on the web and even on TV - so you want it to look good. Don't use a resolution below 640x480.

The frame rate is unimportant, but, if you can, shoot at 30fps or higher. Old school 24fps is great for the movies but not great for TV or the web (especially with fast action).

If You Win - From the Web Site

• Trips to Barcelona to join Adobe, Motorola and MOFILM at their famous filmmaker awards
• Adobe® Creative Suite® 5 Master Collection software bundles
• Motorola Devices
• US$5,000 in Cash Prizes (total)
  

There isn't a lot of time, the contest ends on January 31, 2011 GMT so if you want in then get busy. H/T to the Videoblogging Group where I learned about the contest from Randy Ksar

Twitter Allows Embedded Photos & Video In Tweets

I've been using New Twitter for a while and it works fine. I've tried some of the new features like the expanded panel to get a sense of a person's recent tweets. Now there is even more of a reason to check out the updated version of Twitter.

You can place photos and videos directly in your tweets.



You can now see the video or photo directly in the Tweet panel. This can be a good or very bad thing but you still have control over who you allow to show you videos or even if you want to access the feature.


You still have the option to open the link in a new window or allow all videos to be displayed.

It can be a good thing because if there is a photo that shows you what is going on you can pop it up in a second. It could be great at conventions when you are interviewing a person and you upload the video ten minutes after talking.

It can be a very bad thing for obvious spamtastical reasons. What marketer or advertiser is gonna let this opportunity go by unused? There will be more ads, commercials, people who want to win a prize and will post links to junk and clog the very pores of the tweet stream.

Not to mention that rooty-tooty stuff.

Here is another reason it can be a stinker. Currently a person follows a link to a blog or web site. They look at the video. The visitor sees other items of interest and hangs around a bit. This is good.

Watching the photo or video in Twitter means that visitors do not have a reason to visit your blog or web site. This is another distraction that can slow that down or stop it entirely.

For text based bloggers this might not be such a good thing. For web video creators it can be great to get your work to a larger public. I'd love getting more poets more exposure and viewers.

But if I have background information or links to their sites the visitor may not see that information if all they do is watch the video.

I have to think about this a bit more.

MTA - L.A. County Video Contest - Transit Flicks

Yes, there is mass transit in Los Angeles. Yes, there are people who voluntarily take the bus, train and other forms of public transportation. I have a lot of say about the MTA but I'm going to try to focus on this specific video contest.

LA County Transit Operators with MTA taking the lead is having a video contest. I know folks have issues with the MTA. Those of you who ride the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, Foothill Transit, Commuters Express, LA Dash riders, those in Gardena, Long Beach, Montebello, Norwalk, Torrance can also give a video shout out about their transit system.

I found out about it a few days ago and have been trying to read the fine print. Let me tell you, I don't care how good your eyesight is 3 point type sucks.

Enough stalling; these are the details from the MTA Website:

• Create a brief video. Show us why you like riding buses and trains, and why others would benefit by doing the same. (If you’re filming on a bus, train, at a station or transit center, please use hand-held cameras only – no tripods – and be courteous to other riders.) Maximum length: 2 minutes.
• Submit an entry form. Fill out the official entry form with your contact information and video title. After submitting the form, you’ll receive upload instructions by e-mail for your video.
• Upload your video. Follow the upload instructions to present your video for judging.
• Contest deadline: July 15, 2010. See complete contest rules for further details.

What I could not find was the required video format? Is cell/mobile phone video ok? Should it be posted or not posted to a video web host site? The size of the video such as 640x480 or can it be in high def?

I don't know. I can't find anything other the the entry form. My understanding is that you fill out the entry form, the MTA will email you the delivery instructions.

Yeah, What Is In It For Me?

The prizes are a transit pass. Hold on, it ain't as cheezy as it sounds. MTA is raising the fare in July. No fooling.

• Five Honorable Mentions get an EZ Pass for one month. An EZ Pass allows you to hop on all of the mass transit systems, not just Metro. This is an $84 value.
• 2nd Runner up gets an EZ Pass for three months which amps up to $252 in value.
• 1st Runner up gets an EZ Pass for six months which in cash money is $504
• Grand Prize, A Free EZ Transit Pass for one year is $1008

So for two minutes of video pontification you can take the sting out of getting fair increases.

What Is the Catch?

Eh, yeah. Well really you should read the rules for yourself but the headline version is:

• You have to be 18 years of age or older.
• Immediate family members of participating transit systems are not eligible. The extra-marital girlfriends of certain MTA drivers seem to be exempt from that restriction but I wouldn't chance it.
• LACMTA aka Los Angeles County Mass Transit Authority will own the video. You don't get it back. You don't own it anymore. It will be used for publicity and promotion; in perpetuity also known as forever and a day.
  
• There is something about how they set the rules and the rules are not negotiable.
  
• You will be disqualified if your video disrupts or interferes with service, does not present LACMTA in a favorable light and, you know, the morality thing. So no, you shouldn't aim the camera at the driver without permission, point out the flapping window or ride naked.

One more thing. Don't record certain entrepreneurial activities on the Blue Line. Really that more personal safety than anything else. Just saying.

There you have it. Go forth and promote Los Angeles Mass Transit. Deadline for entry is July 11, 2010 at midnight. Get busy.

SXSW - The Battle for Your TV

Yes, I wish I could have gone to SXSW but those are the breaks. This is a video with Mark Cuban and Avner Ronan talking about what modality will most people use to watch videos.



Will it be a blending of traditional television or with the Internet divide and conquer. Why do we always think in absolutes? Personally I think mobile and personal tech will be one of the major delivery devices. I see a day when you use a mobile device to find content and then click a button to have it project on the wall if you want it to.

I'm not talking those 4" x 6" things we have now. Nope. Full screen, full color and 3D to cry for.

Yep. I'm patient.

Carly Simon's Your So Vain Video Contest

What a good idea! Carly Simon has re-recorded her classic song Your So Vain. Now back in the day there might have been a PR video created for clubs and entertainment venues to check her out before hiring her. Certainly she performed the song on the variety shows of the day but no there was no stylized music video.

There was no MTV and no conception that there would be a need for a video. Time moves on and Carly has re-recorded the song. Here is Carly explaining the contest:



Now before you go snagging hidden videos of your Ex or a Flickr photo of a Lear jet you should read the contest requirements.

From Carly's Web Site:

If you'd like to add elements of the original 1972 version of the song feel free, but your video has to incorporate at least some of the 2010 recording, making the most of the new footage that can be downloaded...

The Grand Prize Winner(s) will be awarded a screening of their video at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC, NY and will be flown to New York for the premier. The winner will also have their video featured on AOL Music at the discretion of AOL.

The Nutshell Version:

• There is an asset list of the recordings, videos and green screen effects that you can use. There is also a link to free background sources - sweet even if you don't enter the contest.
  
• You can record your own stuff to use in the video.
  
• Any other contents that you did not record must be legally obtained.
• If you are using either a standard 640x480 or a high definition camcorder that is fine, you can submit the final version in either form in an h.264 mp4 video.
• The stock footage was recorded in in 1080 x 720 HD and are mov files. You might have to convert footage into the format you need to edit.
  

Again, check out the details page for more info. Also read the official rules from the recording company who may not totally gronk this social media stuff.

You, however need to gronk that you can't record other people without their signed permission, no minor children and no other logos, trademarked images or Carly bashing will be tolerated. And no Pr0n!

Read the contest rules before doing anything. If you can't live within the constrictions, don't do it.

Lemme see anything else, oh yeah. The lyrics. Be careful where you get them online. Some of the lyric sites are spammy. No worries - the lyrics to the song are at the bottom of the Vain page where countless interviewers have asked her who is the vain guy.

This one is gonna be tricky: "You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte..."

Gavotte - an old formal French dance in quadruple time

Ok, start clouding up that coffee and make videos!

Dina Kaplan Interview at DCTP.tv

Over at DCTP.tv you can view a 15 minute interview with Dina Kaplan of Blip.tv


In this interview, Dina talks about providing content across mupltiple devices, the intentions of Blip.tv to present some of their web series to television portals and answers the question about making money via web or transmitted video.

Who is Dina? From the Blip.tv bio page:

Dina Kaplan is a co-founder of blip.tv and serves as the company's COO. Dina oversees business operations for the company with a particular focus on advertising and sponsorships, PR and marketing.

Before blip.tv, Dina was a news reporter with WNBC in New York, Wave3 News (NBC) in Louisville Kentucky and News12 Long Island and New Jersey.

If you haven't checked out Blip.tv you really should spend time understanding what they do and the resources that the service provides.

BBC's Digital Revolution - Barry Pilling Mash-Up Video

This is a mash-up of participants in a British Broadcasting Company (BBC) documentary on digital media and the people who create, use and distribute content. The BBC has a web page on the documentary and is asking for participants and others who want to put their two cents in.

I don't know the UK equivalent of 2 cents so forgive the conceptual mish-mash of currency.

Barry Pilling created the video and put up a Twitter tweet, I was looking for ideas and I found the tweet and checked out the video.



Yes. This is how this social media thing works. I'm free to observe and introduce this video with members of my communities and somebody else will see it and pass it down the line.

The BBC builds awareness of their project, not just in the UK but trans-nationally. Others have the ability to promote the program on faith it will be one of substance. Ok yeah, it is the BBC, there is less than the expectation that they will muck it up than American TV who wouldn't even bother with such a project.

This is a good thing.

The fact that I probably won't get to see it is a bad thing. See, I'm an American. I don't pay for a television license in the UK so I can't see programs like Dr. Who; not even on the web site.

Yes, there is BBC America but I don't have nor do I intend to have cable. I don't do torrents so I'm locked out. So yeah, that is not a good thing.

Now if the BBC could figure out a way to hook up with PBS for some income producing cross license fees I'm sure greenbacks could benefit all concerned.

The Newseum's Video Blogs

The Newseum is a museum of Journalism in Washington, DC. It is also a functional broadcast studio and education center. The Newseum has a section on the website for their video blogs.

The purpose of the video blogs is to educate the public about journalism and promote the museum. I think that if you want to build support for your organization or non-profit you have to do outreach. The Newseum certainly is doing that by the programs and in-house activities.


I wish that the Newseum would allow embedding of certain videos. Particularly the one about the Five Freedoms.

They could do more outreach by creating videos that talk about modern day concerns the public has about journalism and how they reflect back to the history of reporting. They have the source material.

Now take it one step further, allow others to post your video content. It would be a means to promote the center, its activities and why The Newseum is important.

Just a thought.