Another good usage of online video as a new marketing channel. The Boston Symphony Orchestra has started Boston POPS.tv, where they show recordings of their orchestra.
I think it’s a good idea, it really gives them the chance to reach new (and younger) target groups. Video lively transports the tension of a big classical orchestra. They have a nice video player with chapter functions and additional text commentary.
Berlin based web TV station Hobnox goes online today!
Right now they’re running four channels, all connected to youth culture. What separates them from other web tv stations is the massive amount of self produced content. They’re having a handful of hosts, running different show formats. They recruited some german MTV-faces for that. Reminds a little bit of G4, although they are shifting the focus from game-related-content to music, film and street culture.
To push the whole web2.0-participatory thing they are having a contest where you can win 25.000 Euro to realise your project!
After Vimeo there is another company called Akamai, which is pulling of streaming HD.
Right now they are running a demo portal called HD WEB. According to the company, right now only 10-20% of the users have the needed bandwith to receive the streaming HD files. If you don’t have the bandwith you can still download the clips to test the awesome quality.
Go watch the stunning Sigur Ros Heima Trailer as an example.
MySpace airs a new exclusive web series today. It’s a co-development with Iron Sink Media which, according to MySpace, was developed with the MySpace audience in mind.
The series follows the lifes of 8 friends after their graudation from college. All the characters from the series communicate with the audience through vlogs and mySpace profiles, moreover the fan community will have the oppurtunity to affect the storyline.
I have to admit, that the first webisodes looks very boring. The concept seems to be mainly about showing some beautiful girls fighting each other. But have a look yourself.
via NewTeeVee.
Do you get eye-cancer watching poor YouTube quality?
Vimeo High Def is here and it’s going to change something! And don’t forget to hit the Fullscreen-Button.
Williamsburg Nights in HD from Blake Whitman on Vimeo.
Brad Inman, head of Tunhere, a full service Internet video solutions provider, names four characteristics in a short interview on Beet.TV.
According to Inman, these characteristics are 1) good storytelling, 2) Authenticity, 3) Localization, 4) Information . This counts for branded content equally as for editorial content.
Have to think about first, then I’ll make my own list :-)
What do you guys think?
Uboating.de is a new web based cinema magazine from Germany.
Every issue features a new movie with trailers, making of, interviews and more background information. I was impressed by the quality of the given information. All this supported by a beautiful design. Really shows what’s possible with web TV formats.
The first issue covers ‘A mighty heart’ by Michael Winterbottom, with Angelina Jolie, starting today in German cinemas.
I allready posted some thoughts about web fiction formats some days ago. Today myspace is screening the 12 final episodes of lonelygirl15 season 1 exclusivly, which is interesting because the soap got big on YouTube.
That myspace has an exclusive contract with the series is another sign that web fiction formats become adult. The production value of the formats rises and also the story lines get better.
Another aspect of this process is the development of web fiction formats as a marketing tool for products. See Robotskin as an example:
I’m not sure how the web audience reacts to this kind of product placement but at least the idea of a “Pflege-Roboter” is quite special.
There’s a new web tv station out there called Sly-Fi. Besides the slick interface, they have well edited clips - a combination of concert recordings and artists interviews from the music bizz.
“Sly-Fi grabs you and carries you off to big and small stages, into the crowd of dancing bodies on festivals and in hot clubs. It beams you into the artists’ world of thoughts, shows you new paths and perspectives, lets you explore off the beaten track without pointing to the roadmap. It’s different from just being different. It’s wild, curious and without shame. Concert recordings, interviews, reports, soap operas that are not slippery, sitcoms that don’t need a laugh track, do-it-yourself formats without the slapstick. Faces, sudden flashes of inspiration, grand and small gestures. Starting now, forever on Sly-Fi.com”
Mashable has put together a massive list of online media tools from which 150+ are connected to video usage. Categories include Online Video Communcation, Online Video Editors, Online Video Converters, Video Hosting, Mobile Video Apps and many more!
