As YouTube continues to encourage creators across genres to continue honing their craft, it seems as though the homegrown cooking star genre is very ripe in fact it’s really heating up for some break out stars… (Please no tomato hurling.)

We’ve seen cover song artists, vloggers of course, and make up tutors really pop in terms of popularity… (among other genres) but the next YouTube bred cook has yet to be discovered.  Unless of course we’re missing somebody great, please let us know.

There are Vegan Zombies, Vegan Black Metal Chefs, girls who booze and cook, dudes that booze and cook… And more copycats who jump on the same schtick.  But who’s really compelling and makes great stuff???  That’s TBD IMHO.

While we’re not the first to scoop this trend, there are several ‘traditional’ media outlets covering this simmering story, including the LA Times and Time… Consider us first to cover the fact that it’s getting covered.

Epic Meal Time’s popularity is a little lost on me to be honest.  After the novelty of the ridiculous heart attack inducing recipe joke is had, seems to be a one trick pony.

After I mentioned this trend to my dad, he thought he’d take matters into his own hands and hired a high school student with a camera to help bring his vision to life.  He’s actually an incredible cook… And his iniativie has inspired me to help support his cause.  We’re gonna build his YouTube channel… so keep your eyes peeled, as we get SERIOUS!

Barry Good Food Tumblr / Barry Good Food YouTube Channel

In the meantime, check out the Creator Playbook, a streamlined, and very helpful guide to all creators looking to leverage the platform.  The second edition came out last week.

On a more pure social collaboration level, Stage 32, a new site for filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, crew, agents, etc., is quite live and active, with over 10,000 members in more than 120 countries.  While getting funding is part of what the site enables with networking, it’s also about casting, getting crew, finding directors and classes, and just getting advice.  We love the registration via Facebook and how easily it’s integrated there.

The founders of Stage 32 are in the filmmaker’s corner.  The two are Richard “RB” Botto, a screenwriter/actor/producer and Curt Blakeney, president of Edge Public Relations.  They’ve made it a very personal experience, with your home page containing all the things you have added and want to add, suggestions of networking, wall communications.

We’ll be watching in the months ahead to see how it grows, but it’s certainly active, with multiple projects being added at all hours.  Any social network is only as strong as the socializing it attracts, but the tools are here on Stage 32 for filmmakers to connect in meaningful ways — not just in a contest.

We shot with the hvx200 with letus adapter package and nikon still lenses. edited myself in final cut pro and did all color correction with FCP and magic bullet.

Sound mixed at Todd AO West. Got a great sound mix and a bunch of other favors and that was key to getting good production value. Very DIY production. I cast, pre produced, did everything with just me and a very small crew of friends and a few crew hands. It is interesting to note that despite the big SLR craze, you can get perhaps an even more filmic look with the adaptor packages on an HD camera. the letus does a great job of adding in that organic film grain look. I really dug it.

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

Problem is, this innocent little film contains an inordinate amount of F-bombs, as well as an entire monologue centered around tits.

Being the classy, considerate person that I am, I decided I would need to bleep some fucking words out.

I immediately began to dread the prospect of bringing my audio into ProTools, finding the right sound effect to use, then tediously placing it over the waveform.

But then I found this awesome tutorial by Andy Coon on FCProducer.com, and all my worries were bleeped away.  In a nutshell: you just overwrite the desired section’s audio with bars and tone!  Simple.

mRelease is the dopest app I’ve seen yet, or most relevant to media creators that is:

Once you have entered basic information about your shoot, for each release you just add some quick details about your subject, an image from the built-in camera or photo library, and get a touch-screen signature – it is that easy! The app creates, stores, and emails you a pdf file of the signed release, including the embedded photo of your subject.

We’re currently looking into the legality of the releases and how they hold up, becasue this is a true game changer.

Link via Alison Davis, thanks.

And if you’re going to get anyone to watch it, you have to have some good online ideas to build buzz. Well, The Cosmonaut , an internationally crowdfunded, creative-commons-licensed film produced by Riot Cinema has no shortage of nerdy, new-media ideas to promote their film. I have to admit, their latest idea is pretty dope. Their holding a trailer remixing context, to source the best trailer for the film. The details are all here, as well as a bunch of clips, graphics and music you can use.

I threw the actual trailer and one of the remixes below.

Trailer:

Remix

He created the template for the now famous GOOD Magazine videos we have all come to know as the industry standard for infotainment in short web video.

Max recently attended Sundance to support a short film, “Let’s Harvest the Organs of Death Row Inmates” that he and Chris Weller directed.

Max is a friend of Urgensia and creative consigliere to Urgent Content.