Staff Blog

by Sam Morrill
December 21st, 2009

Yo Vimeo!

For This Week in Vimeo, I'd like you all to meet two fellow Vimeans who make up the great motion graphics team that is impactist! Not only do they make awesome content, but they're married too! So, you know it's all love. And that's really what Vimeo is about.



Take a look at their most recent creation, which was recently featured on The Vimeo HD Channel.

I also want to give a special shout out to a fledgling group, which I think has loads of untapped potential. Typically, "Post Secret" refers to a project in which participants anonymously reveal secrets about themselves written on postcards, which are displayed in a public space. To shake things up a bit, arienna chamberlain has started a group of "Post Secret" videos on Vimeo. We recently highlighted one such video. There's nothing quite like letting it all pour out on the World Wide Web, is there?



Lastly, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to the Best of animation/stop motion/puppets channel. This channel, curated by josh lyon is chock full of great content. It is definitely worth a look. To give you a taste, check out this video by Monogrenade.

As always, whenever feel the urge, a great way to stumble across new material that you're interested in is by taking a look at our Vimeo Categories page. There's even a slew of subcategories to help you zero in on whatever it is you're looking for. Check it out if you haven't already.

Happy holidays!
Sam

by Stephen Niebauer
December 18th, 2009

Hello Sweet Vimeo Community!

Just a quick blog post to introduce our new widget additions. We created some super-sweet Blog Badges!

You can embed these bad boys on your blog or website and they will link right to your Vimeo profile. Here's the one I chose:



So, head on over to the Widget page and check out our cool Blog Badges!

Have a great weekend!

by Andrea Allen
December 14th, 2009

Hi Vimeans,

This Week in Vimeo, I get to highlight some of my favorite Groups and Channels, and one special person.

Say hello to Lonny Quattlebaum.



Lonny is from my hometown, Wichita, KS. He's a really cool guy that not only makes fun everyday-life videos, but also makes really amazing, high-quality, professional videos. Lonny is the curator of the Wichita! Channel and is very active in the Vimeo Community. Plus, Lonny has the best surname OF ALL TIME. Chant it with me -- Quattlebaum! Quattlebaum! Quattlebaum!

Featured Channels:




Oops is a Channel created to showcase the Vimeo Community's missteps, stumbles, tumbles, and mistakes. Check out some oopses and shout out your own oops vids for consideration!



Enjoyable Hummingbirds is one of my absolute favorite Channels. User, Russ Thompson, who is so good with hummingbirds, they eat from his hand, curates this Channel and loves to show you a close-up, HD view of hummingbirds. These videos are best watched in fullscreen mode.

Featured Groups:



Same Video, Different Use is a Vimeo Group. The idea is that everyone who joins and wants to participate will take the same video, remix, edit, and colorize it anyway they want to create a whole new video! It's a lot of fun to see the results.



Another interesting Group I'd like to draw your attention to is The Obstructionist. The Group members who upload videos must adhere to a strict set of rules set up before each project. As Paul, the creator of Obstructionist says, they've been "Placing arbitrary restrictions on your creative expression since 2007."

That's all I have for you this week. Please check out these awesome Groups and Channels and go let Lonny know how cool his name is. And don't forget to submit your questions for Blake to ask at CES!

Vimeo XOXO,
AA

ps QUATTLEBAUM!

by Daniel Hayek
December 11th, 2009

Hello Community of wonderful video creators!

It's almost the end of the year and you might have a lot of seemingly random footage left over from the grand adventure that was 2009. What to do with all these fragments of your life? Well you could create a memory bank video. A memory bank is sort of video memory scrapbook to look back on and reminisce about days now past. Here are some examples made by your friends in the Vimeo Staff.

Andrea put one together last spring, Steve got all kinds of sappy about his summer, Karen wowed us all with her great video skills, and Brad created a unique video all his own. We encourage you to explore the music resources available here and to use the original sound of the video with thoughtful editing.

Try to keep your video under 4 minutes or so and make sure to submit your video to the Weekend Project Group. Please only add videos that were made for this project specifically.

The most thoughtful, well crafted video will be chosen for the following prizes- Plus account (for Basic users) or 25,000 HD Embeds (for Plus members.) The runner-up gets an extra 1 GB of upload capacity (for Basic users) or 10,000 HD Embeds (for Plus members.)

Submissions are due on Tuesday (12/15) at 11:59 PM (EST).

Have fun with this one!

Extra, extra!

Remember to swing by Brooklyn Bowl, tomorrow, December 12th at 9PM, for our meet up and Eye Candy for Strangers event. For details see here.

UPDATE-

Thanks to everyone for their submissions it was very cool seeing a whole years worth of events told by so many storytellers.

This week's winner is Fredrick Limi with his unique submission 100 yard dash. Congrats Fredrick, you get a shiny new Plus account! The runner-up is Josh Reichlin with his 2009 Memory Bank. Enjoy those extra HD embeds Josh.

Thanks again for all your submissions. Here's to an awesome year of rich memories in 2010!

by Blake Whitman
December 9th, 2009

CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, is one of the world's largest technology showcases for all the coolest new gadgets and gizmos hitting the market in the near future. It's an insanely large tradeshow where all the top manufacturers of all consumer electronics go to push their newest and best stuff.

We've decided that this year our crack team of investigators (moi) will be scouring the tradeshow floor to give you guys the inside scoop on what's happening and what's coming out. As a highly trained investigative reporter, I'll be asking the hard questions that everyone want to know. Then, each day, we'll be producing entertaining little reports recounting the latest and greatest news from top camera and gear manufacturers as well as meeting friendly community members we're sure to run into along the way.

We'll be updating more on the blog here before we go, but we wanted you guys to start thinking about specific questions you might have for companies that will be at the show. Are there any specific cameras you want to know more about? Any new technology that filmmakers must know about? Any gear you want us to test and check out? Ask your questions here in the comments section and we'll try to get all the juicy info for everyone!

And while you're at it, might as well subscribe to the CES - behind the scenes channel we created for the show for all the updates.

Stay tuned for more updates and list your questions below!

by Daniel Hayek
December 8th, 2009

Hello Vimeo!

It's time for another edition of (drum roll please)... This Week in Vimeo!

Member spotlight:



Many of you know that Vimeo is full of video professionals who use this lovely website to showcase their work including not only demo reels but also casual, everyday moments from their lives. Megan Leigh Sweeny runs a production company with her husband, Brian, based out of Denver, Colorado. Megan uses Vimeo to showcase some of her independent production company's work , to chronicle fun cross country adventures, and to document her sweet dog, Owen! So check out her videos to see some great camera work and editing.

Featured Channels:



Super Macro is the Channel of choice when it comes to showing the little things in life, up close and personal. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to cozy up to some insect critters this is your ticket to see them closer than is probably comfortable. You'll find yourself noting an astonishing amount of detail all from the safety of your computer screen.



One of the great things about video is ability to see stories from different perspectives but what if you could watch multiple frames a at once!?! Enter Split Screen Stuff the Channel. Why settle for just one camera angle or story when you can watch many at once. You'll find your attention floating from frame to frame as your mind tries to make sense of such a rich information experience. Dig in video addicts!

Featured Groups:



RED cameras are technological tour de forces that capture images with a crisp detail almost hard to believe at times. Why not check out some videos shot with these powerhouse cameras that have been posted here on Vimeo? RED Users is a gathering place for users and fans of these cameras to showcase their work and discuss the intricacies of shooting with such fine instruments.



It's not often that you find a Group dedicated to modern architecture on Vimeo but the Skyscrapers Group is the exception. Compiling videos of some of the worlds most stunning engineering marvels this Group features a large variety of videos that highlight not only the architectural feats of these vertical palaces but also the human story behind some of today's most staggering structures.

Tip of the week:

Upload a Custom Thumbnail-

When you upload to Vimeo our system automatically generates a selection of thumbnails from the uploaded video content. It's a great feature but what if you have a very specific image you want for a thumbnail or if you want a higher resolution image than our system can generate? By uploading your own custom thumbnail you can get a higher resolution image and it can be exactly the picture you want. This works really well for showing a title card you'd rather use or a specific frame from your video footage. To learn how to take advantage of this option just watch this video made by Matt and myself.

Well that's it for this week. Happy explorations and have a great week everyone.

Big hugs and hearts from all of us here,

Vimeo

by Blake Whitman
November 30th, 2009

Howdy Folks,

With so many awesome people and the wealth of incredible content on Vimeo, we've decided to start a weekly blog post to shed a little light on what's cool. Every Monday, This Week in Vimeo (said in deep gameshow host voice) will showcase an outstanding Vimeo member, overlooked Groups and Channels, and keep you up-to-date on the inner workings of Vimeo HQ. So without further ado...

Member Spotlight:



For those of you unfamiliar with the legend that is Remyyy, you are definitely missing out. Besides being one of the first members of the Vimeo community, and one of my very first contacts, Remyyy is a talented video artist and an exemplary community collaborator. Back in the day when Vimeo was young, Remyyy inspired thousands of members to start trying new techniques of filming and editing with his unique filming and lyrical editing. He created one of the ever-popular Same Video, Different Use Projects that called upon users to remix the same source footage into something new and fun. He recently stopped by Vimeo HQ to give some bad french lessons and we even hired him... for a second.



Team G is a "massively inclusive" collective of creators specializing in some of the best music videos I've seen in a while. Whether it's floating islands with exotic flowers, near perfect homages to retro Italian cinema, or art direction that leaves you questioning reality, Team G is a product of talented creators and we're psyched to see their work on Vimeo. I have a feeling we've only seen the tip of the iceberg from these guys, so I'm recommending this channel now so you can get in while the getting's good.



I'll bet you though 3D was impossible with online video. Well, you would be wrong. Very wrong. The 3D channel is a collection of 3D experiments by users just like you. The content ranges from tests, to short films, to animation/motion graphic work and while some videos work better than others, it's a very cool channel and worth the time to explore. So grab your 3D glasses and get into it! Yes, you need the red and blue guys.

Eclectic Method's Goes Crowd Sourcing

Eclectic Method is a trio of live audio/visual masters who remix music videos, TV and movies into amazing live performances. They've performed at two of our meetups and are responsible for the Tarantino Mixtape which has over 1600 likes on Vimeo. They are insane, but like, the good kind of insanity. Anyway, now you can add you videos for the Method to remix into their live performances and videos, giving you the chance to collaborate with them. So add you stuff and maybe you'll see it at their next live performances (which are not to be missed btw).

What's coming?

Right now we're hard at work on tons of cool new stuff, but we're very very close to launching iPhone/Android support for all Plus users' videos. Look out!

Have a great week and as always, be creative.

Love,
Vimeo

by Sam Morrill
November 25th, 2009

Yo Vimeo!

Time for another Weekend Project! Cue the not-yet-written Weekend Project theme song!

For this week's edition, all of us at Vimeo decided to incorporate two things we all depend upon for precious nourishment: food and stop motion animation!

So, whether you're chowing down on some turkey in Highland, Michigan, or snacking on chapulines in Oaxaca, Mexico, we want to see what's on your dinner table. And to jazz it up a little, we want to see it animated in stop motion.

Personally, about 90% of my diet is comprised of bagels and cream cheese or some combination of the two, so I put together this little ode to my favorite food.

The only rules are that your video focus on food and that it be a stop motion piece. Also, make sure that you add your video to the Weekend Project Group and please only add videos that were made for this project specifically.

And, of course, we're giving thanks! The winner will come away with a crisp Plus account (for Basic users) or 25,000 HD Embeds (for Plus members.) The runner-up gets an extra 1 GB of upload capacity (for Basic users) or 10,000 HD Embeds (for Plus members.)

Submissions are due on Tuesday (12/1) at 11:59 PM (EST).

Buen provecho!

Sam

UPDATE:

First I just want to let everyone know how great this week's batch of submissions was. Not only were there more than forty submissions, but their overall quality was really outstanding, so hats off to all of you!

Now for the winners:

Coming in second place is the epic Foodmation by Sid Black! Mr. Black shall receive a heaping 1 GB portion of extra upload capacity from now on.

And the big winner this week is Rafael Mayrhofer with his raw, if not slightly unappetizing piece, Leberkäse. As good as this video is, I'm not sure how eager I am to try Leberkäse anytime soon. Rafael comes away from this Weekend Project with a fresh Plus account to sink his teeth into!

I would also like to take the opportunity to mention a couple other choice videos that were right up there at the front of the pack: DON'T PLAY WITH MY FOOD. by Candace Lau and Fruits Digest by Myles Lewando.

Great stuff everyone, thanks for submitting!