Remember LonelyGirl15? YouTube’s 5th birthday was last week and I’ve finally gotten around to watching the “YouTube Stories” series they produced– 2 minute interviews with select creators about their successes with the medium. The stories, and this interview with the director, contain interesting little insights about creating for YouTube that are worth checking out–

What kinds of techniques do you use to make these videos look so good and feel emotional?
When we all make YouTube videos, we’re creating for a screen size of about 630 by 350 pixels, so go in close. Use eyes, use foreheads, look at the way people move their mouths when they talk…all that says a lot, beyond just the words. Use that emotional power of the face to amplify what they are saying. Shoot as close to the face as possible, because we’re trained by thousand of years of evolution to respond to those movements of the face. And don’t forget hands, which can speak in the opposite way…or in sync…and reveal much. In the end, we want viewers to feel they’ve had a chance to meet these subjects over a cheeseburger or a beer and really feel them viscerally.

What is something about YouTube users you didn’t know before you started this project?
What I didn’t fully understand was how much the content creators have given their lives over to communicating with others. They’ve found their mission. Sharing their talent or passion with the world. Despite realities of family obligations, old jobs, the need to learn a bit more about technology, the people who shine come through because of sheer passion and faith. They believe that what they are doing on YouTube will change the world, and the effort that belief inspires in them usually gets to a positive outcome.

– Inside the Making Of “My YouTube Story,” interview with documentary filmmaker Stephen Higgins

The story behind LonelyGirl15

Search Story Tutorial

Parisian Love

“The recipients did not know that the video crew documented their snatch and get-away, sometimes trailing them for blocks. “I’ve never actually trailed anybody before,” said Henry Joost, an executive producer for Supermarche, the video production firm. “The only thing I know about surveillance is from movies.”" — full story in Fast Company

The campaign touches so many different platforms, it wins at social media bingo: a real world competitive game, tracking and buzz on Twitter, and a viral video on Vimeo. It’s a playful way to engage unsuspecting potential consumers in a game about design, ownership, and their product.

via fake TV

(via New Work)

UC: How did you get into directing music videos?

IR: One summer, I was home from college, and my friend Sean asked me to do a video for his new band, 3oh!3, and their song “Holler Til You Pass Out.” When the band got signed, we did another video, and then I started doing some other work for their label.

Holler Til You Pass Out – 3oh!3

UC: How has producing videos for music labels, as opposed to unsigned bands, changed the process for you?

IR: In general, its just more people, more opinions – which I actually really like. The best part of the process is the collaboration. So I enjoy working with everyone’s opinions, and/or trying to convince people of mine.

I think I’ve been pretty lucky, as a new director, in that my first major label video (again for 3oh!3) did well and was nominated for an MTV VMA. So even though I’m just getting going, everyone has been really supportive and trusting.

Sometimes, despite creativity and lower production costs allowed by new technology, many visual ideas still require a certain amount of financing. In this way, I think labels still allow for certain projects to be realized that wouldn’t be otherwise.

Don’t Trust Me – 3oh!3 – nominee for Best New Artist at the MTV VMAs

UC: What are your thoughts on the recent discussion of distribution of music videos online? (see Damian Kulash of Ok Go’s NY Times op-ed “WhoseTube?”)

IR: I think Damian Kulash is pretty spot-on. The tricky thing with music videos, these days, is that they are very amorphous as far as their purpose is concerned. On one hand, music videos are still, largely, commercials for the band and song. This was the model that launched videos in the first place.

However, I think there are two other important things to consider. One is that YouTube has emerged as one of the most prevalent ways that people listen to music. If you want your friend to listen to “Here It Goes Again”, and you don’t have it on iTunes, you just Google the track and it pops up on Youtube. That video, of course, has the song playing under it. And so whether or not you watch Damian and OK Go dance for 3 minutes on treadmills, you’re listening.

Because of YouTube, when a band doesn’t have a video out for a track people want to hear, the fans will make the video themselves. There are a mind-boggling amount of lyric-videos or photo-montage videos out there just to fill the void and provide YouTube with musical content to LISTEN to (not to mention the much more elaborate, and often amazing, fan-made videos out there).

A personal example-

After a few months of being out and many million plays on YouTube, Warner Music Group pulled the 3oh!3 videos offline, including their hit – Don’t Trust Me. In the downtime, three fan-made videos (all of people wearing “Kanye shades”) subsequently took its place. Each of these amassed at least 4 million views. So currently, the official Don’t Trust Me video, back online now, is the third most viewed version of the video.

UC: You recently started shooting videos on a DSLR.  How has it changed production/post?

IR: I’m wouldn’t say I’m “part of the DSLR revolution” or anything – its just a really good tool. We’ve used the Canon 7D a few times now for different reasons. For one video, it was to sneak some plate backgrounds that would have been impossible to get with the RED, which we used for principle photography. Another video, though, was shot entirely at night, using only a 35W LED panel shoe-mounted on the 7D and a car for a backlight (and some practical lights). I knew we were doing something special when we were shooting things the behind-the-scenes guy couldn’t capture on his HVX-200.

Never Shout Never – “I Love You 5″ from Isaac Ravishankara on Vimeo.

On the downside, the form-factor makes handheld tough and particularly shaky if you aren’t using a rig. Lens availability is great, but photo lenses aren’t manufactured to be doing the type of focus pulling I usually want. And the DSLR’s compress in-camera to h.264, which isn’t nice to an NLE program like Final Cut.

Another thing that I’ve found, is that there’s a certain mentality on set when shooting film vs. large camera HD (Red, etc) vs. DSLR. It’s as if the larger and more expensive the gear, the more care needs to be taken with what is in front of the lens. This though, is something that is likely to dissipate as people get used to shooting with smaller digital cameras.

All videos directed by Isaac Ravishankara – http://gotisaac.com/

*Brandon and Henry will call me out on this.

“You should follow me cuz I’m friends with Ashton” raps the New Dork, waving a copy of Fast Company with Ashton Kutcher on the cover (the same issue that floated around our old office for months). This viral Empire State of Mind parody nails pretty much every San Francisco tech entrepreneur cliché– it’s like bingo for people like us.

“Design should not be a one-way street, with artists creating work in a vacuum. We believe the best design, art and content comes at the request of a specific brief, mission or client. Speculative design competitions and processes result in superficial assessments of the project at hand that are not grounded in a client’s specific needs. Art always has something to say.

There are few professions where all possible candidates are asked to do the work first, allowing the buyer to choose which one to compensate for their efforts. (Just consider the response if you were to ask a dozen lawyers to write a brief for you, from which you would then choose which one to pay!)”

Read the whole letter here. Motionographer has always had its thumb on the pulse of the creative community and this call to arms is no exception. Although crowd sourcing (in the form of contests) was initially (and continues to be) hyped as a new, democratic production model, it is suffering from  inevitable backlash, and agencies and brands should take notice.

FrICTION – trailer

UC: Can you give us a little background on your new film?

CH: In the summer of 07′, I made an agreement with a private high school wherein I would teach film a couple hours a day if they would let me spend the rest of the time working on my own projects with my writing partner Jerome Schwartz. The arts program was struggling from a small number of students and a lack of structure. I had also noticed that the couple ‘running’ the program had a seemingly tenuous relationship; and both hadn’t grown out of the fame-craving phase. There were all of these resources available– food, lodging, transport, and a well of filmmaking equipment. So while driving in a short bus to pick up Jerome from the airport, I was struck with a crazy idea. We would write parts for the real couple, using their real names, real goals, real motivations, but with a dark imaginary twist (a love triangle with a student). We would simultaneously document the effects of the filmmaking process on the actors.

When Jerome arrived I pitched him the crazy-arse idea of making a feature film in the next 17 days; from conception to completion. We had $100 budget, meaning we shot on used tapes, and fueled our 20-hour days with cafeteria coffee.

UC: The back-story to this film seems as important as the film itself. Why was that important to you and how are you using it to promote the film?

CH: Given the insanely compressed timeline, the lack of budget, and the fact that almost everyone had no acting experience, I knew this movie couldn’t look or feel like a Hollywood film.  That list of shortcomings totally informed what the project would be, and became the backstory… ie. don’t hide the weaknesses, show them.  And that’s where the idea of having people play versions of themselves came from, which then evolved into including additional meta layers (fake reality, and reality).  So there’s actually three layers that all intersect; scripted, fourthwall (fake reality), and real.  Given the glut of films out there right now, making a movie that feels totally different where we apply this “fourthwall” technique hopefully helps it stand out.  Plus, what happened to everyone involved in the project because of the fourthwall technique is probably the key selling point of the film.

UC: Is your goal to seek traditional distribution for the film or are you going to go an equally non traditional route?

CH: There have been companies that have created film line-ups and toured before.  They were almost like mini traveling festivals.  This film has already been an experiment in so many ways, we figured, why not try a new method of presenting the film?  My hope is that the interactive experience of being able to both ask questions about the film and then connect with other audience members over drinks…will be an exciting and engaging experience. And like with the ever-evolving production process of FrICTION, I expect that both the tour and ways in which we connect with movie-goers will shift and re-form based on feedback.

UC: What are you working on next?

CH: While I’ve enjoyed the independent film world, the market has shifted.  I’m also interested in connecting with a broader audience.  So I’ve begun talks, and I’m at work on the script for next film. Without giving the plot away, it definitely won’t cost under $100, but the style will be similar.  Perhaps a little more refined and a bit more exciting (with some familiar faces).  I can’t wait to get started.

At least designing a card is the fun part, regardless of what it says. I’d love to get this book, MyOwnBusinessCard, a collection of real designers’ own business cards, published by Marc Praquin at Design and Design. There’s something voyeuristic about scoping the intimate details of creative professionals’ cards, but since they’re designers they really know what they’re doing. My favorite is painter/street artist Matt W. Moore‘s (I learned about the book via his blog), which is both a card and a sick sticker.

Sound good? Then check this out– the Open Video Alliance wants you to explain what Open Video means to you in a 60 second video, for the chance to win a free trip and pass to SXSW Interactive this year. Get the details here, and let us know if you enter– we’ll post your entry on Urgensia.