Official YouTube Blog: April 2012

See what happens when Gary Oldman directs Jack White’s live show

Friday, 27 April 2012

The American Express Unstaged series, in partnership with Vevo and YouTube, matches a musical act with a visionary director to create a unique online experience. Previous match-ups have included Duran Duran directed by David Lynch, Arcade Fire directed by Terry Gilliam, and My Morning Jacket directed by Todd Haynes.

Tonight at 6pm PT, Gary Oldman will direct the live stream of a very special performance from Jack White. At a time when White is embarking on a brand new solo project, with his album Blunderbuss performing well both critically and commercially, we're excited to see what he brings to the stage of New York City's Webster Hall!

Watch the show unfold on Jack White's official channel.

Tim Partridge, music marketing manager, recently watched "Metronomy - The Bay."

Bahrain Grand Prix, France goes to run-off ballot, Plane crash in Pakistan

Friday, 27 April 2012

Everyday on the CitizenTube channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Each week we post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week, as seen through the lens of both citizen-reported footage and professional news coverage.

We saw the controversial Bahrain F1 Grand Prix proceed on Sunday, despite continuing anti-government protests.
We monitored the presidential elections in France as Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande geared up their campaign efforts ahead of the May 6 French presidential run-off ballot.
We were shocked at scenes of devastation in Pakistan after a plane crash caused the deaths of over 100 people.
We watched George Zimmerman secure bail from Seminole County jail after posting 10 percent of his $150,000 bond.
We followed the GOP candidates as the race for the Republican nomination all but concluded with Mitt Romney's latest primary victories.
We observed students clash with police in Montreal as a protest over tuition hikes turned ugly.
We were saddened at the deaths of seven as flash floods swept away a church youth group in Kenya.
We viewed fading optimism that the presence of UN observers in Syria would decrease violence after 70 people were reported killed in a bomb blast in Hama.
Finally, we marked Earth Day with a selection of YouTube films uploaded to create awareness of the occasion.

Come back to see the news unfold on YouTube.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "War and Terror in Liberia: VICE Presents 007."

STRskillSchool is April’s YouTube Partner On The Rise!

Thursday, 26 April 2012

STRskillSchoolOn The RisehomepageRonaldinho/Neymar step overknuckle balls and free kickshard flick over your head

My name is Steve Roberts and I am a UEFA qualified football coach. STRskillSchool is me and pretty much all the videos are filmed, edited and performed by myself and I am self taught in film making. I have loved football (soccer!) from a very young age. I always dreamt of being a Pro Footballer but sadly didn't make it. Two years ago I thought I would make tutorials to share with players, as the content I found was incorrect or frustrating to watch. I now have over 100 videos teaching many parts of the game, which players, coaches and parents can enjoy. I have been so overwhelmed from the worldwide support shown on my Youtube channel. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in the past and thank you those who rallied round to help with the voting. My fans are the people who keep me motivated to create new fresh content. There are lots of new videos to come from me, so please subscribe and see what the future has to offer! Thanks again! On The Rise channelChristine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube Content Partnerships, recently watched “Birth to 12 years in 2 min. 45 sec. Time Lapse Lotte.”

America’s Got Talent YouTube auditions are back!

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

America’s Got Talentsubmit an audition videoJackie Evancho

youtube.com/agtAndroidiPhoneContest Infochannel’s rulesyoutube.com/agtSue McCauley, YouTube Entertainment & Film marketing programs manager, recently watched “America's Got Talent YouTube Special - Jackie Evancho.”

Helping every business play big on YouTube

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Rokenbok Toy Companyfirst videoone videoGoogle AdWords for video is now available to allGoogle AdWords for video

Find the right audience: AdWords for video provides a range of options to reach the right audience. For example, you can promote your video by keyword to appear in YouTube search results, or you can choose to show your ad against content your customers are most interested in - such as sports or music. Connect with your audience on YouTube and the Google Display Network, which includes millions of websites. AdWords for video links to your YouTube account so you can easily start a video campaign with your existing videos.

Measure the effectiveness of your spend: On average, we’ve found that YouTube video ads drive a 20 percent increase in traffic to your website and a 5 percent increase in searches for your business (Google Campaign Insights, 2011). With AdWords for video you can find out how viewers are engaging with your brand during and after they watch your ad. You can see how many viewers watched your entire video, visited your website, stayed on your channel to watch another video, or subscribed to your channel, after viewing your ad.

Only pay for engaged views: With TrueView video ads you only pay when viewers choose to watch your ad so you aren’t charged when viewers skip your ad if they aren’t interested or have already seen your video. This means your ad budget is focused on viewers interested in your video. By displaying a call-to-action overlay on your video you can talk about a sale or specific offer to your viewers, share more information about your business, or drive traffic to your website.

$50 million in free advertising.free credit hereAdvertiser Playbook and support.YouTube Advertiser PlaybookMy Business Storyyour first videoYouTube Ambassador programHear their storiesget startedYouTube for MarketersBaljeet Singh, YouTube group product manager, recently watched “Guitar Lesson from Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel.”

F1 Bahrain protests intensify, Violence spreads across Syria, Discovery Space Shuttle's last flight

Friday, 20 April 2012

We monitored the worsening situation in Bahrain, as protests of increasing intensity were held in Manama and protesters were hit by tear gas.
We watched the violence continue across Syria, as the head of the UN observer team described their mission as 'intractable'.
We marked 100 days until the London Olympics by watching the British capital city prepare for the biggest sporting event on Earth.
We witnessed a North Africa and the Middle East endure a week of turbulent weather.
We followed the likely GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, as he showed no signs of slowing down on the US campaign trail.
We viewed NASA's space shuttle Discovery making its final journey, ferried atop a 747 from Florida to Washington DC.
We observed a massive rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday against the candidacy of a Mubarak-era director of intelligence.
We saw French presidential candidate François Hollande receive a boost in popularity as Nicolas Sarkozy was caught on camera slipping off his watch while shaking hands with supporters.
We bade a sad farewell to Levon Helm, acclaimed drummer and singer with The Band who died this week aged 71, by remembering some of his classic performances.

Come back to see the news unfold on YouTube.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "FW: video of up close lighting strike".

MGM Titles Roar onto YouTube and Google Play

Monday, 16 April 2012

Roaring LionIHS Screen Digest studyWest Side StoryMoonstruckThe TerminatorRobocopRockyJonathan Zepp, Manager of TV/Film Content Partnerships, recently rented "Hoosiers"

Zimmerman charged with murder, Earthquake in Indonesia, F-18 crashes into Virginia Beach apartment

Friday, 13 April 2012

CitizenTube channel@CitizenTube@storyful

We watched the world's attention turn to Florida as George Zimmerman was charged with the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin.

We saw the ground in Indonesia shake as the country was rocked by a powerful earthquake, sparking tsunami fears.

We witnessed dramatic scenes in Virginia Beach as an F-18 fighter jet crashed into an apartment block, starting a large fire.

We observed tension and doubts surrounding the first days of a Syrian ceasefire, especially after attacks on a refugee camp across the Turkish border.

We followed another twist on the US campaign trail as Rick Santorum bowed out of the race.

We were on the edge of our seats as the final day of 76th US Masters golf tournament entered a playoff, with Bubba Watson eventually donning the fabled green jacket.

We viewed Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, erupt for the 24th time this year.

We saw unrest in Bahrain as police fired tear gas on crowds during protests, both in support of a hunger-striker, and against the F1 Grand Prix race.

We paid tribute to legendary 60 Minutes journalist Mike Wallace, who died this week aged 93, with a compilation of some of his classic interviews.

We watched the classic London Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge fall to pieces as a swimmer interrupted the race.

Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "Sandstorm."

Coachella 2012 - Live on YouTube

Thursday, 12 April 2012

One of the best line-ups in music? Three days of live concerts? In the desert? Say yes to Coachella 2012, coming to you all weekend on YouTube!

Since 2001, the the Coachella Music and Arts festival has brought thousands of fans to southern California to kick off the music festival season in style. For the second year, YouTube will be live streaming the action, with a three day broadcast of the festival, presented by State Farm.

We’re not sure if it’s the promise of a weekend in Palm Springs, but Coachella always manages to pull together one the most impressive and diverse festival line-ups. YouTube will be streaming more than 60 artists over the weekend, including The Black Keys, Swedish House Mafia, Miike Snow, Andrew Bird, Florence + The Machine, and one of this year’s biggest breakthrough acts, Gotye.

It all begins at 3:50pm PT this Friday, and you can check Coachella’s YouTube Channel for the latest schedule.

Tim Partridge, music marketing manager, recently watched "tUnE-yArDs - ‘My Country’."

Siblings on YouTube: Cooler than a polar bear's toenails

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Charlie did not have his brother Harry’s finger to gnaw ontwin babies did not have one another to chat withNational Siblings DayVlogbrothersCrash CourseElleBlairu look hautereality series togetherWorking Class FoodiesHungry NationJessica Mason, communications associate, recently watched "TEDxAsheville - Jeff Kluger - The hidden power of siblings."

Travel businesses on YouTube make it easier to get outta town

Saturday, 7 April 2012

researchhow to ride the Metro in ParisGeoBeats Channelpacking tipsAirbnbYouTube ChannelHow to AirbnbVirgin AmericaYouTube ChannelIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiavideo announcing Virgin America’s new Philadelphia routeNassau Paradise Island Promotion Board YouTube for marketers Google+ pageBaljeet Singh, group product manager on video monetization at Google, recently watched "DollarShaveClub.com - Our Blades Are F***ing Great."

Tornadoes in Texas, Storms in Japan, Final Four riots

Friday, 6 April 2012

We watched hellish scenes in Texas as a number of tornadoes were recorded tearing through the Dallas area.

We saw the most powerful storms in 50 years claim the lives of two people in Japan, and injure 160.

We were shocked at the behavior of some University of Kentucky Wildcats fans as they rioted on Saturday night after a 'Final Four' victory over Louisville.

We witnessed a plane crash shortly after take off in Siberia, leading to the deaths of 32 passengers.

We followed the GOP candidates on the US campaign trail, as Mitt Romney took another decisive step towards the Republican nomination with a hat-trick of wins on Tuesday.

We marked a historic day in Myanmar as voters celebrated the election of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament.

We observed riot police and Greek protesters clashing after angry demonstrations that followed a pensioner's public suicide.

We viewed protests and concern for detained Bahraini hunger striker Abdulhadi Al Khawaja as his hunger strike headed towards 60 days.

We felt the sense anticipation build in London as many test events got underway during final preparations for the London 2012 Olympics.

We witnessed the Mega Millions lottery jackpot hitting $640 million, with the first winning ticket confirmed as being sold in Maryland.

Come back to see the news unfold on YouTube. Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "First Video:F-18 Navy Jet Crashes into Virginia Beach Apartment".

Check out the nominees for April’s “On The Rise” spotlight!

Friday, 6 April 2012

On The RisehomepageGoogle+FacebookTwittermarydoodlesAnyoneButMeWebSeriesanaheimballet

nurberxo

strskillschool

ultraslo

On The Rise ChannelDevon Storbeck and Christine Wang, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “Improv Everywhere: Quadruplets.”

How we’re making even more 3D video available on YouTube

Thursday, 5 April 2012

we kicked off1080pHow it works

We use a combination of video characteristics such as color, spatial layout and motion to estimate a depth map for each frame of a monoscopic video sequence

We use machine learning from the growing number of true 3D videos on YouTube to learn video depth characteristics and apply them in depth estimation

The generated depth map and the original monoscopic frame create a stereo 3D left-right pair, that a stereo display system needs to display a video as 3D

4D5D6DDeb Mukherjee, technical staff, and Chen Wu, software engineer, recently watched "YouTube Rewind 2011" in 3D!

Coming Soon to YouTube and Google Play: Hundreds of Movies from Paramount Pictures

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Paramount Picturesfive-time Oscar winning movie about a boy’s adventures in Pariseveryday vehicles that change into terrifying robots,a charming high school slacker who takes a day off from schoolthe most perfect mafia trilogy ever madeComing to America

Introducing MusicBeautyLife, Next Beauty Guru Contest winner

Monday, 2 April 2012

JanuaryYouTube Destination BeautyMusicBeautyLifeMusicBeautyLifeYouTube Destination BeautyJamie Reichstein, lifestyle program manager, recently watched “A Heartwarming Military Reunion."

Official Blog