New to online video. It’s “Evil Fist”… He’s got short (under 20 second) clips that showcase his evilness (and drinking problem that leads to depression). Here’s his profile on YouTube. He even has his own EvilFist website.
Category Archives: Killer Video
Pranking the Coffee Mascot
Blogs can be fatiguing to maintain (sans revenue) until something like this comes along. Mascot Roommate. These guys prank their poor roommate who has a job promoting a coffee shop.
It takes the fun out of it to think it might be staged, but there's certainly tips that would suggest that. One thing's clear to me- it's not an ad campaign. Coffee Bean wouldn't sanction this (some of it's crude) and they certainly wouldn't serve the clips on a Mac account. So whether it's staged or not, we can conclude that the real prank is on the store and its customers.
That said, this would make a helluva viral ad campaign, wouldn't it? I think if I was the PR guy for Coffee Bean, I'd have our lawyers send a "cease and desist" letter. And if I was the head of marketing, I'd give 'em a check, pull down the "over the top" content (Mascot thrusting pole), and put some viral wind behind it.
Flash Faces & Parsnip Soup
These aren't videos, but they're both pretty interesting.
1) Make your own faces with FlashFace. (Courtesy of Aquadad)
2) View one of the weirdest yet compelling flash pieces: Home Star Runner's Parsnip Soup. (Courtesy of my brother, who knows weird. He's a regular contributor to News of the Weird).
Sasquatch Helps Market Beef Jerkey
I just about peed on myself looking at the videos on this Jack Link's Beef Jerkey campaign website. To see some really funny ads, click on the video camera hanging on the tree. They feature hikers taunting Sasquatch with various pranks.
You may also want to visit Sasquatch's MySpace. (Courtesy of Adrants). Someone please post the name of the agency that did this. Fantastic campaign.
Feature Film Released in Short Chunks Via Web (WorkingStiff)
Who needs Hollywood? "WorkingStiff" is an independent film being released via www.ProjectWorkingStiff.com in short chunks via the Internet. The release began Memorial Day, and is being rolled out in 3 to 5-minute increments until the complete 94 minutes has played. Each day’s episode is stored in the lineup until the whole movie has played. The story features Gene, a beleaguered corporate filmmaker who directs training videos for a large corporation. Facing a financial crunch that could cost him his home, he decides to use the company studio at night to produce an ”adult” version of the anti-sexual harassment training video he's shooting during the day.
The writer, Greg Joyce, has more han twenty years of experience. He earned his BA in English and Philosophy from Boston College and his Masters degree in Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University. For full credits click here.
This is a great example of an innovative distribution approach, and I suspect we'll see more of these projects where small film makers bypass traditional distribution channels and offer their work directly. Brightcove is the company powering the technology, and to RSS it (which I would highly recommend), put this in your feeder: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid18617683?action=rss
To dive deeper, check out the film's blog.
Bus Uncle: I have PRESSURE
I've always maintained that web video can't be longer than 30 seconds to 2 minutes, but this 6-minute clip (Bus Uncle) provide otherwise- it will entertain you silly and you'll soon be quoting it.
Some poor 23-year-old in a Hong Kong bus tapped the shoulder of a real estate agent who was talking loudly on his cell phone. The guy (now known in Hong Kong as "Bus Uncle") proceeded to yell at the teenager for 6 minutes using absurd dialogue that appears to have been taken from a low-budget Japanese film. Luckily another guy across the bus captured the entire episode, and posted it to YouTube (where it has been watched several million times). Search"Bus Uncle" to find the original as well as a Karaoke version, the rap remix and the dance and disco take.
According to this CNN article, "Now Chan is rarely seen without an entourage. A business sells T-shirts and handbags. "Bus Uncle" Web sites have emerged, while there is an entry on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. His words on pressure have become an oft-repeated catchphrase in this teeming city."
Watch everything you do, folks. When U.S. citizens are armed with video cellphones, your next outburst could become an Internet phenomenon.
Viral Idols? Television Producers Should Mine and Sign
This Transformer video is pretty funny. It slows down in the middle, but comes to an interesting (albiet violent) ending. I discovered it via TechDigest.TV (who does a nice YouTube roundup). I recognize these guys and their CD-covered wall, so I went back to the site in their YouTube profile. It's Smosh.com- and here's another bizaar one: Check out the first few seconds of this doll video. These mop heads celebrate immaturity with a contagious pride- it's highly overacted and definitely a guilty pleasure of web watching.
Having watched last night a Hollywood E! story on Simon Cowell, I started to think about the discovery process for new stars. Andy Milonakis, who has his own television show, found his fame when he released webcam recordings of freestyle rhyming. See his Wikipedia entry for more (by the way, he's 30 years old with a growth-hormone condition).
So here's something to ponder- will the next American Idol be discovered via the web? The Internet is more democratic than a television show that somewhat stacks the deck. If I were a television producer, I'd be mining and signing- and Smosh would be a good place to start.
Just When I thought Ad Agencies “Don’t Get” Online Video
I was getting demoralized lately as I've been making my way through loads of crappy online video advertisements. The kind that feel like you're listening to a timeshare pitch because you want the resort discount. Suddenly, I received an e-mail from Jim Meskimen that showcases his new ad series for VW.
You may not recognize the name Jim Meskimen but you've heard his voice and probably seen him. He pretty much does every character on the world-famous JibJab clips. He's a comedian and impressionist like you've never heard before. He's also a really nice guy from what I can tell from our e-mail exchange since I won "runner's up" in his "caption the cartoon" contest (my co-worker won… grrrrr).
Now he's playing a German spokesperson for VW. And if you watched these without me telling you that, you'd never know it. The most exciting part? Most of this was improv!
#2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDN0wyw_d4A&search=vw%20fast
#3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd6P36gPkRg&search=vw%20fast
#4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ykeGaZCnNw&search=vw%20fast
#5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEOh8oynr4Y&search=vw%20fast
10 Viral Videos That Have Exploded on the Web (Time)
Time's pick of 10 videos that have exploded on the web. Interesting that the "cheerleader through the basketball hoop" has been brought down from YouTube.
Awaiting the Merger of Popular and Profitable Sites
A week ago today I made one of my most annoying videos yet- GoogleHeads. Here's Googlehead on Revver.com. Here's Googlehead on YouTube.com.
I point this out for three reasons:
- Blatent self promotion
- So you can see the difference between Flash and Quicktime- quality and speed. For best results click the ad after the Revver version. 🙂
- Most importantly, note the difference in views. By recent count, more than 13,000 people had viewed it on YouTube. On Revver only 350 (which is actually a pretty good number for Revver considering the low traffic).
Right now it's hard to say what 350 views is worth to me on Revver is but let's say conservatively it's about $4. If YouTube's model had a similar content creators I'd be enjoying a few hundred bucks. However YouTube neither optimizes advertising nor shares it with content contributors.
YouTube apparently fears that inserting ads might upset their "community," so they're mostly running very low-profit syndicated ads from Google Adsense and other sources. Google Adsense is decent way for bloggers and small site owners to make marginal cash (I've made a whooping $50 on Revverberation and CubeBreak since I started). CubeBreak is far more profitable from affiliate income from Revver.
But Adsense is crazy for a site that has been drawing 14.5 million a month. If I were their venture capitalist I'd be pushing for more profitable video ads (maybe 15 second ads every third video), or at least I'd be partnering with a player like Advertising.com or Doubleclick for rich media ads until I built my own salesforce. The YouTube "community" represents 45 percent of the online video viewing so I doubt people would flock away to another site. It's still desirable content for free.
One day the profit-sharing sites and popular sites will merge. And that's when this space will get fun for amateur creators (who can make decent money) and viewers (who can start seeing something more interesting than people rambling about their day on the webcam). Eventually people will lose their appetite for low-budget cheesy stuff like Googlehead, but hopefully not before I've made a lil' cash.