I’m not often really blown away by a new site but this one has really impressed me. Jumpcut is a system which allows users to create their own videos online quickly and easily.
To make a video you just need to:
Upload titles and imagery.
Upload your video clips (it doesn’t seem to complain much about formats which is nice).
Upload background music.
Whack it all together using a very simple interface.
I managed to put one together in five minutes flat - and the best thing is it’s already up on the web ready to add to your site. None of that waiting three hours for it to upload nonsense.
It’s beautifully made, ridiculously easy to use and is something I’ll definitely be using for projects in the future.
Sites like this are another step along the road to allowing anyone to create without needing a ton of equipment. Good one guys.
UPDATE: Also just found Eyespot which does a similar thing; will let you know how I get on with it.
This month’s show is for Film and Documentary makers and looks at how new internet technologies are changing the landscape of this industry. Includes interviews with Patrick Walker from Google, Fabien Rigall from Future Shorts and Emily Renshaw Smith from Current TV.
For more information on the shows and to subscribe to the podcast, please visit the New Media 4Casts Homepage.
Brightcove - Set up your own online TV station, including advertising revenue and direct sale systems)
Comments, ideas and suggestions
Please let us know what you think of the issues raised in the show. Do you have any other interesting stories or experience in this field? What would you like to see covered in future shows?
I spent an enjoyable half-hour this afternoon interviewing Emily Renshaw-Smith from Current TV for the next show in the New Media 4Casts series for 4Talent. The show will look at the opportunities opened up by new technology for film and documentary makers. It’s been a really interesting one so far and we should be online within a couple of weeks or so.
Here’s the beef, taken from the email I originally received about the project:
“Current TV, which launched August 1, 2005, is the first national network created by, for and with an 18-34 year-old audience. The network shows young adults what’s going on in their world, in their voice. Current is also the first network in history whose programming is supplied in part by the very audience who watches it. It has developed the television industry’s leading model of “viewer created content” (VC2), which comprises roughly one-third of Current’s on-air broadcast, and allows the audience to submit short-form, nonfiction video “pods. Its award-winning programming ranges from the current trends in technology, fashion, music and videogames, to pressing issues such as the environment, relationships, parenting, finance, and politics. Current is available in 30 million U.S. Homes and will be launching in the UK and Ireland in March.”
“… We’re launching in 8+ million homes in the UK and Ireland in March. And we’re looking for filmmakers who can help us make an impact when we do. …”
They’re also running a competition - 1st prize is lunch with Al Gore. Not a bad contact to have in your address book I reckon. It’d be great to see a Midlands based filmmaker win this.
If you’re interested, get in touch using their website.
Here’s a very good example of how some parts of the TV industry still have their heads buried firmly in the sand when it comes to how online video is going to radically change their business.
“The Long Tail…is not an economic reality and it has almost no relevance to the economics of the television business”. A quote from Shelly Palmer, chairman of the national Advanced Media Technology Emmy Awards Committee
I’ve just been having a play with Brightcove, a system which allows anyone to set up their own online TV channel. It’s quite like YouTube but much more geared to content producers who want to charge for what they want to do and make a business out of it. It has other advantages over YouTube. I put together my own channel to test it out, and here are my initial thoughts:
Easy to sign up
Easy to use
Comes with its own offline software application (the PublishPod) which converts the video before you upload it, unlike the annoying YouTube process which forces you to do it yourself, degrading the quality.
It’s possible to set charges for each individual video. This is the first time I’ve seen this available in the UK, although I may be wrong.
The player skin looks better than the YouTube one
I’ll post more as I play with it. Here are the results - it took about 20 minutes in total from start to finish to set up the channel and upload this video.
Further to my last post, 4Talent have also released two videos featuring yours truly exploring the world of podcasting.
You can find them on the 4Talent website (click “watch the videos”)
NB Some people have had problems accessing the clips - let me know if you do and I’ll pass it on to C4.
