YouTube Goes Widescreen

If you visit YouTube often you might have noticed something new recently, the most popular video sharing site on the planet has (finally) gone widescreen 16x9 aspect ratio.

As all HD cameras shoot 16x9 this only makes sense. Also, most of the newer sites Out There such as Hulu.com or TheWB.com, etc are widescreen too. And even some of the ones that have been around a while like Blip.TV and Vimeo are widescreen (and this made them more popular with filmmakers and film fans).

YouTube still accepts 4x3 video - it just letterboxes it with side bars. This is what it's doing with all the legacy video on the site as well, including the entire first season of "Pink". Although we shot "Pink" Season 1 the exact same way as Season 2, we uploaded to YouTube and other places in a 4x3 letterboxed file (per their instructions at that time). So all those earlier episodes play back fine, but not full widescreen like the new content.

Here's a link to the most recent episode of "Pink" in widescreen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlpeCKmRbk&feature=channel

And here's the embed:



Notice the embeded video is still 4x3 letterboxed. It doesn't appear they allow widescreen embeds yet - or maybe they're using it to drive traffic to their site? A good idea if so.

Another cool thing is you can select the "Watch in High Quality" link on the bottom right below the video box (on YouTube only, not embedded video). It takes a tad bit longer to download, but the resolution looks twice as good. BTW, it is NOT HD though. It is downconverted to an SD resolution, but it still looks very good.

(To see "Pink" in HD the only current way is on Vuze.com. And we are also putting some sample HD episodes on Vimeo as well.)

In a small, weird way this is similar to re-watching your favorite movies in Blu-Ray. We just re-watched "Pink" Season 2 in widescreen (and in High Quality mode) on YouTube and it was a much better viewing experience (one note too: you can also click the "full screen" button and watch that way and it looks pretty darn good).

Sooner than later most online video will be 720p HD, but for now at least YouTube and other sites are taking steps to make the current viewing experience the best it can be.

UPDATE: Since we posted this you can now actually embed the widescreen videos. Here's the same episode above, but in widescreen (although this blog layout is narrow and it crops the right side off):



UPDATE #2: You can now watch select videos on YouTube in HD. Our last two promos we uploaded in 720p HD - and now there's a "Watch In HD" button on the bottom right of videos. So look for it and definitely watch in HD!

PINK on Vimeo

Filmmakers out there likely know about Vimeo.com, but others may not. It's a really cool video sharing site that allows HD uploads - one of the only ones we know of with this feature (you can also embed the video files on other sites). The viewership on Vimeo seems to mainly be other like-minded filmmakers and artists, etc. - not necessarily "regular video joes", but they have around 1 million registered users we've been told (a fraction compared to YouTube). But nonetheless it is a great place to see creative works and get feeback on your own stuff.

We've held off putting PINK on there since we've been releasing our HD content through Vuze.com. But we've decided to go ahead and put a few episodes on Vimeo as "samples" of the series - and to showcase what can be done with the great filmmaking tools we're using (ie. Canon XH-A1 camera, Canon HV20 camera, Letus Extreme 35mm adapter, etc.).

You can check it out here:
http://vimeo.com/2271692?pg=transcoded_embed&sec=2271692

Or the show is also on the Vimeo HV20 page (thanks Eugenia):
http://vimeo.com/HV20

Again, it is in an HD Flash player, which is very cool. You can play it fullscreen or even embed it on your website, blog, etc. like this:


PINK 2: Daddy's Little Girl from Blake Calhoun on Vimeo.

Holiday Break

The show will be taking a break over the upcoming holiday season (after next episode #20). However, we do have some cool stuff in store while we're "off". New episodes will come back first of the New Year. Thanks for watching the show!

PINK 18: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

New episode...

Web Series: Here to Stay?

Are web series here to stay? Or just a passing fad. We're not sure.

Of course the short serialized film format has been around for many years. Back in the 1940s and 50s theaters would show weekly serialized short films before feature films. "Zorro", etc. use to be very popular and get kids back to the theater the next Saturday. And actually, these serials were the inspiration for George Lucas to create "Indiana Jones". So the idea or concept is not really new.

What is "new" is the space they're working in now: the Internet.

Recent polls say people are willing to spend more time watching video online, even feature films now (probably due partly to broadband and higher quality computer screens and mobile devices). This is great, but does that mean they don't want short serialized web content too?

It's been said that watching something 7-minutes long on the web is like reading War and Peace. What do you think?

Of course we are finding that fans of PINK are willing to watch longer episodes or should we say often request longer episodes. In the near future we will release the shows on a DVD (and likely Blu-Ray) and they'll all play back-to-back, which will work well for this style of serialized mythology (should play like a movie).

But in the meantime the webisodes will keep on coming...

Prom Queen Now on DVD

Prom Queen was one of the first dramatic web serials on the Internet and now you can buy it on DVD.


















Get it at Amazon for only $17.99

The guys who produce the show (Big Fantastic) are friends of PINK. We all try and support each other, so if you're a fan of their work please pickup a copy today.

Thanks!

PINK Ep 15 Now Online!

PINK on IMDb.com!

"PINK" is now (finally) listed on the Internet Movie Database website (IMDb.com).

Here's the link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302137/

Been trying since July 2007. They wouldn't accept it since it's a "web series". But now, they changed their tune we're happy to report.

If you're a cast or crew member please add your name. If you're a fan please go to the site and rate the show, and/or start some chatter on the forum. That can definitely help us continue to build the audience.

Thank you!

Web Producers Go Steady

Interesting video here from TV Week about web shows and advertisers (specifically mentions "Pink" and our deal with Vuze.com)...

Web shows and Web sites are starting to go steady. Michael Eisner’s latest Web series Back on Topps runs exclusively on Foxsports.com before other sites get it. The same goes for the popular show Pink, which plays on Vuze.com before it releases to other sites. For more details on why Web producers are going steady, check out this week’s episode of the New Media Minute.

You’ll also learn what new media executive Jordan Levin, the former CEO of the WB, thinks about the advertising investment in online video.



Direct link to story.

SheTeeVee Blog Post on PINK

Nice mention of PINK on the SheTeeVee blog:
http://mwgmedia.com/blog/?p=121#comments

PINK 13: Viva Las Vegans

New episode now online!

PINK on Times Square Billboard!

Our PR company got PINK on the Reuters digital billboard in Times Square! It was up for about 12 hours on the premiere date 9/16...

Thanks YouTube (again)!

The good folks at YouTube have featured the new Season 2 of "Pink" and we just want to say THANK YOU!

You can check out the new episode here.

PINK Now on TheWB.com

You wanna watch "Friends", "The O.C.", "Roswell", "PINK"?!?

Very cool news... PINK is now on TheWB.com!

http://www.thewb.com/shows/pink/

Check it out when you can. They even cut a cool promo for the show! It is weird, but great, to see PINK along side these big network shows.

PINK 2.0 PREMIERE!!!

PINK Season 2 premieres TODAY on Vuze.com and tomorrow everywhere else (including YouTube, Myspace, Revver, Blip, Metacafe, etc.). We have a cool agreement with Vuze where they get a 24 hour exclusive window - and there you can see the episodes in HD.

So please check out the first new episode!

Thanks!

Season 2 Promo Now Online!

Season 2 premieres 9/16/08.

PINK on TheWB.com!

Season 1 of "Pink" will premiere on TheWB.com at the same time Season 2 premieres on YouTube, etc. Then Season 2 will roll out on the site later. If you haven't heard about TheWB.com then check out these videos below and definitely check out their new website. Basically, they're taking the WB TV channel and putting it online. You can watch full episodes of your past and present favorites like FRIENDS, THE OC, SMALLVILLE, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLATER, etc. along with new original web series like "Pink" or our new show "Exposed"...





Check it out TheWB.com.

Countdown to Season Two

We're just a few short weeks from the premiere of Season Two! We're now rolling out some cool behind-the-scenes interviews, a teaser trailer and a teaser scene. Next we'll have a recap of Season One - then the first new episode of Season Two will be online on Tuesday 9/16/08.

PINK Now On Hulu.com

Hulu is owned by FOX and NBC. So we're very happy to have "Pink" on the site. Later in September it will all be in HD too (and will eventually include our new Season 2 episodes).

Check it out:
http://www.hulu.com/pink-the-series

Thanks!

Some Pictures from Comic-Con

We had a Street Team (aka Hot Chicks) at Comic-Con handing out and applying temporary PINK tattoos. They supposedly handed out around 4000 and applied 1000. Hopefully some of you reading this post were there - and now that's why you're here!