Official Blog
Learn the Secrets to Low-Budget, High-Creativity Filmmaking
Monday, January 18, 2010
"Guerrilla Filmmaking" is the art of making really cool videos on a shoestring budget, using simple or unconventional materials and a skeleton crew to tell a story in a compelling way. Our friends at
Howcast
know a thing or two about this. The company commissions filmmakers from all walks of life to make instructional videos about everything from "
How to Quit Smoking
" to "
How to Kiss Someone With Braces
."
As a special treat for YouTube users, Howcast Studios is gathering some of its most talented, innovative young filmmakers to share their tips and tricks with you, for free. On January 20, 2010, at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET, Tripp and Jenna Trouchet-Watt, Keith Heyward and Michael Sanchez will come together at Howcast's NYC location for a live-streamed conversation during which they'll reveal the secrets to being a self-reliant filmmaker known for maximum creativity on minimum budget. They'll talk about the supplies and skills needed to be a great DIY filmmaker, how to film and star in your own video, ways to use everyday objects for special effects, and how to choose friends to appear in your videos. They'll save the last 20 minutes of the hour to take your questions live. You'll be able to tune in to the roundtable via
Howcast's YouTube channel
.
Please register for this free event
here
so we know to expect you. The form also gives you an opportunity to submit questions now for the filmmakers, whom you can start getting to know by watching clips of their work:
Tripp and Jenna Watt
Keith Heyward
Michael Sanchez
Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched "
Easy Video Project Ideas
."
Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Through His Words
Monday, January 18, 2010
Dr. King, one of the United States' most beloved national heroes, led the nation through the struggles of the civil rights movement with great courage and impassioned oration. Today, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, the
Washington Post
is inviting people to share videos illustrating which of Dr. King's words inspired them most. We're showcasing videos on the YouTube homepage today that feature portions of his speeches -- both the
familiar
and the
lesser-known
-- as performed by users.
User
baratunde
recites a section of a speech delivered by Dr. King at Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, condemning the Vietnam War:
Just about every schoolchild in the United States, and many around the world, has heard Martin Luther King's speeches and listened to the messages within. Do you have a favorite section or phrase that you find particularly moving, inspirational, thought-provoking or even controversial? What are you memories or impressions of Dr. King and the words he left behind?
The Washington Post is still collecting videos from its readers and the YouTube community, which they will feature on
washingtonpost.com
. Visit
the Washington Post site
to submit your own using
YouTube Direct
.
Olivia Ma, News and Politics Manager, recently watched "
Nov. 2, 1983: Reagan Approves MLK Day
."
Gripping Videos, Calls for Help, Dominate YouTube in Wake of Haitian Tragedy
Friday, January 15, 2010
In the three days since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, we've continued to see hundreds of thousands of people using YouTube to share information and donate money to help those suffering in one of the worst tragedies in recent memory. Since Tuesday, the
American Red Cross
has been featured on our homepage, collecting donations through videos like
this one
, which encourages people to give via a Google Checkout link next to the video. The
International Red Cross
just posted an update to YouTube (embedded below), detailing the situation on the ground. Their message? Goods are on the way, but more money is needed.
Oxfam
,
Concern Worldwide
and
UNICEF
have uploaded similar pleas.
Others have come to YouTube with personal appeals.
First Lady Michelle Obama
,
Jimmy Buffett
and
Lenny Kravitz
are just a few of the figures who are rallying support on YouTube. And
people on the ground
continue to put a very personal face on the tragedy, filming their experiences with shaky hand-held cameras.
Journalists are also uploading videos that bear witness to the devastation. Reporters like
Dave Price
at CBS and
Rich Matthews
of the AP are uploading individual vlogs from the streets of Port-au-Prince, and clips like this one from the AP give a bird's eye view of the damage (warning: this is difficult to watch):
On the ground, videos like this one give us just a glimpse into what life is like right now for Haitian citizens -- through the eyes of a person struggling to make sense of the destruction:
We're keeping
CitizenTube
updated with the latest clips and are contributing videos to Google's Earthquake Relief
landing page
as well. Though it could never match the resolve of Haitian citizens struggling to survive in the streets of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere, the outpouring of support on YouTube and elsewhere is encouraging in this time of great crisis.
Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics, recently watched "
Haiti: Essential staff and good are on their way
."
Release Notes: Subscription News, Product Ideas Page, youtu.be Links for One-Off Sharing...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Happy new year! Our holiday "less-atorium" is long over -- we put a freeze on all but essential site pushes during Christmas and New Year -- and we're back in the business of enhancing the site and launching new features. There's lots in store for 2010, including these things which went live this week:
More subscription news:
Last week, we made
multiple subscription-related announcements
and we have another to add to the list: now, shortly after you subscribe to someone, their older videos will start showing up in your subscriptions feed. (Previously, you had to wait until they started uploading videos after you subscribed to them.) Conversely, when you unsubscribe from a channel, the person's videos will promptly disappear from your subscription feed, making more room for the clips you actually want to watch.
Product Ideas for YouTube:
A YouTube mantra is "launch and iterate." What this means is that we push out new features, see how the marketplace (you!) responds to them, and then make adjustments as necessary. None of this would be possible without your feedback, which we gather from how you use the site as well as from what you say in places like this blog, the forums, and Twitter. In order to help streamline the feedback-gathering process a bit (if that's possible!), we just launched a
"Product Ideas" page
where you can share your thoughts about how to make the site better and vote on ideas others have had. Right now, we're especially interested in learning what you think should be removed from the site in our fit of
pre-spring cleaning
. Click
here
to participate.
youtu.be links for one-off sharing:
We
announced youtu.be links
before the holidays, and people who've connected their YouTube account to their Twitter, Facebook or other social media profiles via Autoshare have already been disseminating these shortened links around the Web. What is new is that now, any video distributed using the "Share to Twitter" link on the playback page will contain this shortened link. Here's what it looks like when syndicated to Twitter:
YouTube Partner Program opens to users in the Netherlands and Italy:
Our partnership program, which recently
celebrated its second birthday
, just launched in the Netherlands and Italy, so if you are a talented videomaker living in those countries, we encourage you to apply to become a partner and turn your hobby into a full-fledged career. Click
here
for more info.
The YouTube Team
YouTube: No Place for Bullies
Friday, January 15, 2010
OceanKing97
is a 15-year-old using video to raise awareness about the plight of dolphins. His videos are earnest...and a little awkward (but who wasn't at 15, right?). Unfortunately, some people have picked up on his awkwardness and have posted negative, even hateful, comments on his videos.
Ever seen a situation like this, or been involved in one yourself? We thought we'd take a moment to share a few tips on what you can do if people post negative comments on your YouTube videos.
1. Delete harsh comments and think about blocking the user who posted them so they can't view your other videos or leave more comments. It's easy -- just use our
Help & Safety Tool
.
2.
Report
comments that insult your race, gender or a disability you might have by clicking on the "hate speech" button.
3. If specific threats are made against you and you feel unsafe (for example, if the person might know personal information about you like your name and location), tell your parents or teacher and consider whether you should call 911.
4. Avoid making negative comments and encourage your friends to keep their comments respectful too.
Thankfully, OceanKing97 isn't a real user
-- he was invented by the
National Crime Prevention Council
to help teach YouTube users about cyberbullying. Check out his video and
do your part to keep YouTube safe and fun for everyone.
Victoria Grand, Head of Community Policy, recently watched "
Haiti at Risk
"
In Aftermath of Haiti Earthquake, Reports and Donation Appeals Flood YouTube
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
As reports of unimaginable devastation continue to come out of Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck yesterday, footage of the disaster has been streaming onto YouTube, along with calls for help from nonprofit and aid organizations working on the ground. Haiti's president Rene Preval told the
Miami Herald
that the death toll is likely in the thousands, and images of
collapsed buildings
, a dilapidated
presidential palace
, and enormous
piles of rubble
in the streets bear witness to a truly catastrophic earthquake -- the worst in 200 years in the region.
We're keeping a running playlist of the video footage coming out of Haiti on
Citizentube
; there's a broad collection of citizen reports and news wire clips. We're also promoting videos from nonprofits who can help. The American Red Cross is asking for donations via a call-to-action overlay in
this video
, and Oxfam is using annotations in this one to direct you to their donation site:
As
personal stories
of the victims of the earthquake continue to pour in, our thoughts go out to all Haitians in this time of great need. We'll continue to update
Citizentube
with footage from the ground as events progress.
Steve Grove, Head of News & Politics, recently watched "
Haiti Earthquake Aftermath
."
Spring Cleaning Comes Early to YouTube
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Update:
Reminder: Please enter feedback
here
, in our new Product Ideas page.
+++
The excitement of the new decade and our upcoming fifth anniversary has the YouTube team itching to make the site experience better than ever before. We have all kinds of ideas about new things we could build and launch, but we are also taking some significant time in the coming months to do some early "spring cleaning" on the site design and user experience.
What will this mean to you? Well, it means you'll see some things about the site design evolving to be more consistent across the site. And some things that haven't worked as smoothly as we would have liked them to will get the attention they deserve. Lastly, we may determine that some things we tried out just didn't fly and remove them from the site.
We'll be using a number of inputs to build our "to do" list: usage data that shows the things you use the most versus things that very few people use; usability testing that can help us understand what's broken that needs fixing; and, last but not least, we'd like to hear from you directly...
What would you want to see fixed on the site? What would you remove completely, if you had your druthers? We'll use your feedback to help prioritize what we focus on, so we can all experience a cleaner, easier-to-use YouTube.
Please enter your feedback
here
and/or browse and vote on ideas others have had. We'll take a few weeks to digest your comments and will respond directly to the ideas you're most excited about.
Margaret Stewart, User Experience Manager, recently favorited
"Christmas Tree Rocketry: The Art and Science of Holiday Recycling."
Labels
3D
4k
accessibility
account info
activism
ads
africa
annotations
arts
awards
benefit
betas
bizblog
blogs
bulletins
buzz
captions
celebrity playlists
channels
chrome
citizen journalism
citizen reporting
citizentube
comedy
comments
community
community guidelines
contests
creator's corner
creators
curators
customization
dance
design
discovery
doodle
editor
education
embeds
entertainment
events
facebook
film
flagging
gaming
gmail
google
google tv
government
grants
groups
guidelines
hd
help center
holidays
homepage
howto
inspiration
investment
jobs
journalism
life in a day
live stream
marketing
meetups
mobile
moderator
movies
music
musicians wanted
news
nonprofits
open-source
partners
playlists
policy
politics
privacy
product update
quicklist
ratings
rentals
research
safety
science and technology
screening room
search
sharing
shows
social networks
sports
staff
stats and data
store
subscriptions
tags
test tube
travel
trends
tv
twitter
upload
vevo
video editing
video production
video volunteers
viral video
youtube api
youtube direct
Archive
2020
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2019
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2018
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2006
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2005
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Feed
Follow @youtube
Follow
Learn more in the
YouTube Help Center
.
Follow