• coolness
  • For YouTube, the Future Looks Virtual

    The many proofs of that include a session earlier this week in which Neil Mohan, YouTube chief product officer announced YouTube would add 360 degree live streaming and an audio equivalent, kicking off with some select parts of the Coachella music festival in Los Angeles this weekend.

    Mohan says 360-degree video gives a viewer “an unmatched, immersive experience” and “spatial audio allows you to listen along as you do in real life, where depth, distance and intensity all play a role.” YouTube has otherwise offered 360 degree videos for the last year or so. It’s a big growth area.

  • coolness
  • Congrats to JT @ 77 Films!

    Jay Thames’ “Texas City – The Darkest Day” is based on the true story of the Texas City disaster. On April 16, 1947, an explosion — considered an “industrial accident” — destroyed Texas City. This film aims to tell the “real story of diverse everyday people (including the writer’s grandfather), who became unsuspecting heroes on that fateful day.” The true-story aspect will no doubt hit close to home with audiences, whether they have a direct connection or not. And we know how much the Academy likes a historical tale of heroism.

  • Ad agencies
  • Impact of crowdsourcing video content on advertising

    Dawn Hudson, the National Footbal League’s chief marketing officer who has held executive roles at ad agencies and at PepsiCo, agrees. One reason that crowdsourcing is no longer as threatening to agencies is because shops still play a role, she said. “You still need people to organize it,” she said. Crash didn’t happen “because consumers decided to do it. This program happened because somebody had the idea, organized it, made it happen, provided the vehicles.” She added: “The agency world is as relevant as ever, if not arguably more relevant, as more crowdsourced individual ideas have come to pass.”