Sanford and Son Stole My Bald Decapitated Head September 4, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 23comments
Park Your Own Subdomain Free at OfNalts.com (who needs TinyURL?) September 4, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 11comments
I don’t recall if I’ve ever announced that you can park your own free subdomain (username) at ofnalts.com, which you can “point” at any website or URL. It makes that complex YouTube video URL (or other long URLs) short, simple, memorable and pretty.
I use it in lieu of TinyURL because I can link to my YouTube videos easily inside a Twitter post… and it’s fun to create my own name instead of using a random code on TinyURL. BTW- you can now park a vanity TinyURL name, but most of the good ones are gone. Alan (fallofautumndistro) already snatched tinyurl.com/youtube! And I parked a few YouTube celebrity names, but had them point to other people’s channel pages. Moo haa haaa. Try tinyurl.com/renetto. Or tinyurl.com/spricket24.
This free little OfNalts application was created by Tim Breslin (of Xlntads). Tim saw a lot of YouTube usernames starting with a word and followed by “ofnalts.” This was prompted because I needed an account for Jo and naltswife didn’t look right. So we went with wifeofnalts. Tim Breslin, while we’re on the subject, is the guy I tried to convince to create a multi-site upload tool before there was TubeMogul. But he blew me off.
Insert footage from “It’s a Wonderful LIfe”: Sam Wainright to Jane Bailey: Still got the nose to the old grindstone, eh? Jane, I offered to let George in on the ground floor in plastics, and he turned me down cold!
Where was I? Oh- Here’s how ofnalts works…
- You simply go to www.ofnalts.com, and click “register” (ignore the username/password prompt).
- Then you put in your username (whatever you want), password twice, and e-mail address. But no worries- you won’t have to wait for a confirmation e-mail.
- Next you enter your long URL and hit confirm. Now you own http://yourname.ofnalts.com.
- Now your personalized [insert name].ofnalts.com is listed on the bottom of the ofnalts page, and you can use it anywhere to redirect people to the complex URL. Note you don’t use www.
Sounds more complicated than it is. Once you use it once, you’re hooked.
And a subdomain on ofnalts is a lot more charming than the overused tinyurl.
You’ve Stressed Daisy Whitney Out September 4, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 8commentsNow you’ve done it. You’ve stressed poor Daisy Whitney out with your provocative comments on my recent post.
Look at the poor thing- she’s changed her hair, and the out takes reveal a near panic attack at the end. I’m going to have to invite her to do a YouTube collab with Uncle Nalts to see if I can help her find her happy place.
We can argue whether Daisy is a Marianne or Ginger, but frankly I almost made
her Mrs. Howell after she failed to include me in the “top web video creators” poll.
Any time you want to use this photo, just visit http://daisywhitney.ofnalts.com/
Low-Flying Camera Hits Creme Puffs September 4, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 7commentsWhat happens when you have go glide a camera along a giant table of entres and deserts, and the director keeps saying “keep low.” Smack- the camera hits a creme puffs, and a few other sweets before the spot is done.
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Profiterole,” an article in the recent DV magazine written by Stefan Sargent, recounts the blunder that took place while shooting a spot for Alveston Kitchens.
Morning Radio Mysteries: Drunk Ghost September 4, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Killer Video, YouTube , 4commentsThis is just brilliant web comedy from Blame Society Films (creators of Chad Vador). “Morning Radio Mysteries: Drunk Ghost” is packed with dialogue and jokes for a very fast 2:24, and features a Scooby-Do like parody that goofs on morning radio comics but doesn’t rely on that one gag.
This is a sequel to “Morning Radio Mysteries: Sidekick Kidnapped,” when the gratuitous human laugh track “Buster” gets snatched.
Wonder Why How-To Videos Boom Despite Economy? September 3, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 13comments
When PR Pro Laura Hart (Beck Media & Marketing) contacted me in early August about how-to video site “Wonder How To,” she suggested a WVFF blog post on top video sites, and told me her client’s website had 145,000 videos. I was impressed with her pitch (she had bothered to read the blog), and promised to write about the category again and WonderHowTo. When I preditably forgot, and she reminded me gently a month later — only she had to update her stats. The site now has more than 200,000 videos.
It’s no surprise that how-to websites are booming and video makers are creating more instructional (do it yourself- DIY) videos. In a tough economy, we’ll be outsourcing less and relying on our own lack of competency. Just as we’ve grown accustomed to Googling answers, we’re now surfing video to learn new tricks, software tools, and hobbies. Or maybe we just want to learn how to smash a bottom of a beer bottle.
Most importantly, DIY is mostly evergreen content. Years from now we’ll still want to build a hover board from scratch (see “hot” section for more like it). There are a number of how-to sites, and much of WonderHowTo’s content is right from YouTube or Metacafe. But it’s well indexed around an important application for video, and it’s frankly hard to find DIY video via YouTube and even Google.
Other how-to websites include HowCast, Graspr and Life 123 and 5 minutes. I haven’t reviewed them all because I haven’t decided to plunge into the maybe-more-profitable-but-less-exciting DIY space. But if I were to start these, here’s what I’d do:
- Hedge your bets, and post everywhere. Use TubeMogul and be sure to market your content via sites (like WonderHowTo) that may not require you to host it there, but would list your video.
- Keep it short. Nobody has ever said “that instructional video went too quickly.” Chapter it if necessary, and provide places for people to pause.
- For the love of God keep it simple. No expensive production necessary.
- Focus on topics that are unique- the space is already crowded with obvious things like home repairs and software… find something in which you’re uniquely qualified to teach.
- Want to really set yourself apart? Entertain! It has worked for most popular chefs.
- Don’t stop by posting on these sites. Find blogs around your topic area and let them know the videos exist. Preferably lead them to sites that share revenue.
- Sell yourself. Have a simple website that credentializes you as an expert- and even better have a book even if it’s a self-published short one.
P.S. Here’s a recently featured how-to video: How to get into any pub by pretending you’re a disk jockey.
Why Squeegees Is Hysterical and ABC’s Financial Quagmire September 3, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 16commentsThe New York Times writes another “web video is a losing proposition” article, and boasts countless of examples of overbaked web series that lost their shirts. I think Squeegees is a perfect example of the problem with online video and monetization. Writes Brian Stelter:
“Squeegees,” a 10-episode series by Stage 9 (a digital subsidiary of ABC) about a merry band of high-rise window washers, illustrates the challenge. The show made its premiere in April on five Web sites. On the most prominent site, YouTube, the second episode showed 312,000 views as of Sunday, helped by prominent links on YouTube’s home page in April. By the fifth episode, the view count had dropped to 3,000.
Squeegees is absolutely hysterical (see them on YouTube). I learned of it for the first time last Friday from a friend, and we watched nearly ever episode. It’s well written, well acted, and reminds me of Stella (a short-lived modern 3 Stooges, staring the brilliant Michael Ian Black).
But it’s perhaps “too television like” for the early, habitual adopters of online video. It’s brilliant comedy but simply doesn’t currently appeal to online-video viewers that engage daily with YouTube. Will the mainstream viewers prefer Squeegees to Nalts? Absolutely. But that’s going to take time, and even Eisner can’t afford to float expensive production until a monetization model appears in the next few years (driven mostly by ads, and subsidized by pay-per-view if it’s easy enough and offers additional value).
Squeegees has about 1,500 subscribers on YouTube despite uploading 6 months ago (admitedly YouTube is not a primary channel for the content, and here are the rest of the distribution channels for the web series).
But remember that YouTube is the most popular online-video site, and the default residence for regular consumers of online video. For now (with an emphasis on NOW), I’d rather be the 80th most popular YouTuber than the King of Hulu. I’ve gained more subscribers in the past 24 hours than Squeegees has since it launched. Am I better? No. But I market myself, appeal better to current obsessive online viewers, and I probably spend less per episode than Squeegees spent to cater breakfast on a one day shoot.
Content well produced like Squeegees will eventually leave us amateurs in the dust. But in the mean time the marketers of this content are probably beating their head against the wall and missing some things that are obvious… keep costs down, leverage existing cewebrities from YouTube, collaborate, appeal to current audiences, and evolve the style over time.
Squeegees’ producer, “Stage 9″ describes itself as “seeking filmmakers who create high-quality series at a fraction of the cost of film and television.” I don’t doubt that Squeegees was produced at a fraction of a television series, but that’s still too much. I don’t yet see an advertising model that can substantiate actors, writers, directors, sets- except perhaps a single sponsor that gets more than CPM and uses the content to attract prospects to a site that converts them to customers. But if I was Stage 9 I’d start with the advertiser, and develop content that fits their goals and demo.
That said, I’m ready for a cameo, Squeegees! And that goes for any other killer content creator looking to boost its visibility on YouTube! All I ever wanted in life was to make someone famous so they can ignore my calls when they hit.
Best Sarah Palin Parodies, Spoofs and Satires September 3, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 12comments
I’ll admit. As much as I laughed at LisaNova’s recent parody of Sarah Palin (Republican John McCain’s vice-president running mate), I also beat myself up. My own Sarah Palin spoof was done in haste as we rushed to visit the inlaws for Labor Day. So that gave me time for just one take, and sloppy editing. And I was so focused on getting the Tootsie/Dustin Hoffman part right, I let myself slip into a Southern accent instead of the Minnesota accent I was trying for.
But I felt better in seeing that I was among 10 videos and online parodies identified by Telegraph (a UK paper) in this article.
If I cared more, I would have marketed my video to a few pro-Obama blogs and discussion groups, but it seems as if they’re already starting to find it on their own (see Democratic Underground).
Cameos Important to Promoting Content September 1, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Killer Video, Viral Video, YouTube , 56comments
Someone once said that a new blogger stays on his/her own blog, while a seasoned one comments and reads others. The same is true for video — appearing on other people’s videos is as important as making your own. Especially if that creator is more popular, more talented (which is mostly the case for me), or gets featured.
I was poking around via TubeMogul and was pleased to see the episode of “Retarded Policeman” in which I appeared has a 4.79 rating (out of 5), making this YouTube’s top-rated comedy of the week (and among the top of the month). It was also featured in YouTube’s comedy section (thanks YouTube).
This rating is surprisingly higher than The Retarded Policeman’s debut episode, according to TubeMogul, and tied with the recent episode with Michael Buckley (WhatTheBuck). See full honors below in “more.”
I think this tells us that the initial 24-hour period is most vital because it’s when the majority of the comments come in- and mostly from loyalists so they’re positive. Over time, other people find the content and rate the video down (although comment/rate far less frequently). I saw this with Mall Pranks, which has a fairly low rating now that it’s been paraded around on other sites. I’ve often wondered if it would help to turn off comments after the first several hours, although I suspect that would be penalized since the honor/rating is probably a function of views x rating (with an emphasis on the latter).
So what’s this mean? The power of collaborations and cameoss can grow your audience. In the past few days I’ve gone from 96 on the “most subscribed” to 90th, and added several thousand new subscribers (up to nearly 52K). This is due in part to MediocreFilms, part to MrSafety for his cheesy boob shout out. And the appearance in Matt Koval’s YouTube-homepage-featured video (YouTube in 1985) helped too.
I just shot two clips for collabs last evening. Me laughing and pointing for Spricket24 (I have no idea) and another short clip for Brett the Intern. Hey- forget my own videos. I just want to be like ShayCarl and pop up in everyone else’s like Michael Caine in 1970s movies.
Parenthetically, ratings don’t always translate to views. My recent video impersonating Sarah Palin is the top rated comedy of the day (TubeMogul says it’s a 4.62 rating), but received <20K views (I kinda thought the pro Obama folks would viralinate this one). Comments were mostly kind — except for those that assumed I’m a flaming liberal just because I wanted an excuse to dress up in drag.
Oh now I’m getting obsessed with stats again. I think I’ll go immerse myself back in Gustav coverage.
YouTube Cewebrity Dance Off August 31, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 15commentsLeave it to the hyper talented Davideo Designs (see his website at www.davideodesign.co.uk) to create this magically delicious “YouTube Celebrity Dance-Off” competition. The poor guy solicited clips from YouTubers, and patienty waited. Finally he decided to go with special effects listed below.
After SMPFilms decided to bust me in his recent video (which will probably be deleted before you see this), I can only celebrate that his face was placed over an older woman. How perfect.
It also features sxephil, charlestrippy, lonelygirl14, geriatric1927, brookers and me.
- Music is “Flight of the CEEDEE”, from Davideo’s “Ghouls go Wild” performed on his cherished Korg Triton.
- Visual applications used were Photoshop to prepare assets. After Effect for the compositing. Monet for the motion tracking of heads. Boujou for the 3d tracking of the aeroplane. 3d Max for the Plane render with Afterburn for the Red Arrows style colored smoke trails.
- Then edited together with a Sony Digital Pictures NLE ala Vegas.
- Total time to complete according to Davideo= 20 Coffees, 30 cigs, 2 bowls of rice crispies, 2 cakes, 3 pints of water, and no sleep.