Back in March, we announced an exciting partnership between The Vancouver Film School and YouTube to award full-tuition scholarships to three YouTubers from around the world. The May 9 deadline for the competition is now 10 days away, so consider this your final (gentle) reminder to enter.

The Vancouver Film School's motto is "Results Matter," so we challenged you to create a short film, animation or creative pitch addressing the theme "What Matters To You" and to name the Vancouver Film School program you wished to attend. The competition is open to filmmakers, directors, actors, writers, animators – anyone who can seem themselves benefiting from programs like Acting Essentials, Classical Animation, Digital Design, Film Production and Writing for Film and Television (to see the full list, visit www.vfs.com).

For those of you who still haven't entered, here are some thoughts to consider. First, this competition is about finding students with creativity and drive, not with a perfect set of skills. If you already knew how to make a film, write a screenplay or design a game, why would you be going to school? So don't be intimidated by the competition - if you have a great idea, express it!

Second, this competition isn't about why you want to go to Vancouver Film School. It's about what matters to you in the world. Is it family? Is it peace? Is it the environment? Is it love? Is it travel? Tell us a story through your film, animation or pitch, and let this question inspire you. If your work shows you have creativity and drive, you could find yourself in the top 10. The YouTube community will then vote for three winners.

It's not often you get a chance to go to a prestigious, international film school for free, so stop reading this blog and start creating. You have 10 days left!

Good luck!

Sara P.
YouTube Film

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Welcome to Trendspotting Tuesday, week four, in which we take a not-so-straight-faced look at the genre known as "mockumentary."

From quirky pseudo-sports to rock bands that go all the way to eleven, countless subjects have been given the mockumentary treatment. Filmmaker Christopher Guest is arguably the master mockumentarian, having perfected many of the genre's conventions in films like Spinal Tap and Best in Show, while the Ricky Gervais-created British TV show The Office has spawned international spin-offs in America, Germany, France and Quebec.

Online video makers have not been slow to document – or perhaps that should be mockument – the antics of characters who take themselves, and their hobbies, a bit too seriously. With over 9,500 videos on YouTube tagged as "mockumentary," you can expect plenty of deadpan voice-overs, fictitious "facts" and painfully embarrassing interviews.

YouTube users have posted mock-docs created as film-school projects, high-school projects and no-frills backyard productions. And while they don't all reach the giddy heights of hilarity that Christopher Guest can wring out of an over-earnest interviewee, it's obvious that people are having fun with the format. We've gathered together some of our favorite mocks for a Trendspotting Tuesday homepage takeover and this misinformation-packed playlist. Perhaps it will provide you with the inspiration to create a mock-classic of your own.



Tune in next Tuesday for another take on the trends that make our video community unique. And if there's a trend you'd like us to highlight, leave a comment below or drop us a note on the Trendspotting Tuesday channel, where you can find playlists from our previous trendspotting features.

Cheers,
The YouTube Team

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Energy independence has been one of the most talked-about issues of this election — and if you've filled up your gas tank lately, you know why. With oil exceeding $115 a barrel, and gas prices expected to reach a national average of $4.00 a gallon by the summer, the need to reform our current energy policy is no longer just an environmental issue, it's becoming an economic necessity.



Most Americans agree that we should decrease our dependence on foreign oil, but precisely what steps should be taken? Should we begin drilling in untapped oil reserves in states such as Alaska? Should we invest in alternative forms of energy, such as corn-based ethanol? Should we concentrate on developing more hybrid technology? Or, as some suggest, is the energy crisis really an economic crisis in disguise and so should strengthening the dollar be our first priority?

Senator Joe Biden was among the first politicians to bring the conversation about reforming U.S. energy policy to YouTube. Back during his moment in the You Choose '08 Spotlight, he asked voters what they would do to break America's dependence on oil. He received many responses, including this one from Razela, who suggests that the government offers tax incentives to automakers based on gas efficiency standards. Check out Senator Biden's response to Razela's video.

To learn a little about the economics of oil, watch this video from CBS News, in which Josh Landis and Mitch Butler of the Fast Draw team give a quick but thorough overview of what factors determine gas prices—complete with pictures.

Addressing the issue of alternative energy, Ethan Block of WhatShouldYouKnow offers some interesting facts (and opinions) about corn-based ethanol. Meanwhile, hoping to dispel the stereotype that oil companies only care about profits, John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company, presented one of the keynote speeches at the first Low Carbon Fuels Conference in Sacramento this April.

Michelle Kaufmann's YouTube Channel is dedicated to helping individuals make their daily lives more "eco-friendly." In this video, Kaufmann shows us how to make eco-friendly candles from renewable resources like soy and beeswax.

If you're environmentally conscious and looking for a laugh, watch this "eco-parody"of the film There Will Be Blood, made especially for Earth Day. And finally, watch this video from shiftinaction, in which environmental advocate Van Jones reminds us that energy independence isn't an isolated issue — it's connected to every issue facing America's future.



Yours,
Steve G.

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Last month, we posted about our efforts to make YouTube as open as possible and shared a few examples of partners who were integrating YouTube content into their applications. Today, we'd like to point out another example.

Google Docs is a free, web-based word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation application that allows you to share and collaborate with others in real-time. The Docs team just announced on their blog that you can now search for and insert YouTube videos into your presentation slides. This means that you'll be able to insert your favorite videos in your presentations and play them to your audience when you're giving your presentations.

To see this new feature in action, check out this published presentation.

Haven't heard of Docs? Watch this video that explains what Google Docs is in plain English:



The YouTube Team

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We are constantly amazed by the YouTube community's creativity and skill, so we wanted to create something special that showcases all of the crafters, chefs, artists, techies and other masters that fearlessly share their genius on the site. Enter the Guru Challenge, in which a variety of experts ask you to show off your creative instincts (and do a little showing off of their own). Take them up on the challenge, and you might find your video featured on the home page for all to see -- not to mention the props you'll get for being favored by some of the best in the business.

Our first Guru Challenge-er is Zoo York, a cutting-edge skateboarding and apparel outfit. These guys seem to have endless imagination and came up with a clever way of spreading the word about their product (hint: it involves throwing cockroaches on suit-types). But now they want to hear from you. Make a response video and show them how you use your creativity to publicize yourself and what you love.



Influential designer, street-style maven and Zoo York supporter Marc Ecko kicks things off with his own response video:



So accept the challenge and show these guys how you spread the word about the things you care about most. And remember: Play it cool, don't disrespect, and you just might find your video blowing up in a New York minute.

Spread it!
Sadia H.
YouTube HowTo & Style

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Today, the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival kicked off its seventh year in lower Manhattan. Like YouTube, the festival is known for its eclectic mix of content, with a little bit of something for everybody. Which is why we're excited to let you know that IFC, a long time member of the YouTube community, will be bringing you red carpet coverage, celebrity interviews, Q&As; and more. Another reason to pay attention to this year's fest? YouTube's own ArtieTSMITW, aka Brandon Hardesty, will be making his big screen debut in the official Tribeca selection, Bart Got a Room.



To hear more about other films and events taking place, read on...

For lovers of independent cinema, the 24 films in competition represent filmmakers from 18 different countries, more than half of whom are at the festival with their first ever feature film.

For those who prefer bigger budget fare, Gala screenings include the Wachowski Brother's much-anticipated adaptation of the 1960s animated series, Speed Racer, and the comedy Baby Mama, from Manhattan's own Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

For music lovers, there's the Breaking the Band music showcase, curated by Grey's Anatomy and The OC music supervisor superstar, Alexandra Patsavas, featuring performances by The Hold Steady, The Virgins, Republic Tigers and Bad Veins.

For sports fans, the festival is teaming up with ESPN once again to present a showcase of films focusing on the spirit of competition.

Sound good? Then stay tuned to the Film & Animation Featured Videos page for IFC's daily coverage.

And to any YouTubers lucky enough to be there in person: send us your videos so we can share!

Ah, the ease of festival-going these days…

Enjoy,

Sara P.
YouTube Film

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If you spent any time watching YouTube recently, you might have seen a slew of videos uploaded by voters, news organizations, and the candidates surrounding the Pennsylvania primaries. A lot has happened on the campaign trail since the last primary in Mississippi over a month ago, and so we partnered with C-SPAN to see what issues are on voters' minds right now.

During the last three weeks, many of you around the country submitted responses to the question "What issue matters most to you in this election, and why?"; your videos touched on such issues as healthcare, education, the economy, and immigration. Among the most memorable was this video from a teenager concerned about the Iraq War, and JoeFelice's video called "Where's Washington", which uses a clever pun to discuss the importance of checking governmental power.

In the past week, the C-SPAN bus rolled across Pennsylvania to ask voters the same question, and hundreds of people weighed in. See the clips below from college students, parents, military veterans, local and state politicians, and other citizens who agreed to go on-camera to voice their hopes, fears and dreams about the country's future.



In this video, star tuba player Michael Stephan shows off his musical skills and then voices his thoughts about the skyrocketing costs of college tuition. In this passionate response, Councilwoman Elizabeth Goreham says that the environment is our No. 1 issue — and that she's not particularly happy with how politicians are currently addressing it. Several of the most powerful responses were also among the shortest, like this clip from Alex, a sophomore at Temple University who was diagnosed with cancer last year and has healthcare issues top of mind, or this one from Ada Tate, who's most concerned about gun laws.

C-SPAN broadcast some of the best responses on their national television program Washington Journal, highlighting a range of opinions about the issues that come up most often. Check out our playlist to watch more of these and other related videos.

With Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain scoring victories yesterday in Pennsylvania, the race moves on to Indiana and North Carolina on May 6. Keep an eye on our You Choose '08 page to see which issues are weighing most heavily on voters' and candidates' minds.

Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics

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It's Earth Day today, and as part of our ongoing Trendspotting Tuesday series, we're marking the occasion with a round-up of videos that reflect grassroots environmental action in the YouTube community.

Whether it's by showing you how to update your home in a more sustainable way, talking about "must-have" green items, or sharing tips on how you can be more ecologically responsible, the YouTube community is bursting with advice on how to alter your lifestyle to help the environment. Take the Earth-loving boys of GivingItAGo, for example. They have been working towards being self-sufficient for almost a year now, with their backyard doing triple duty as a vegetable garden, compost heap, and chicken coop. (They've even named their sunflowers after YouTube users. How sweet is that?)

Or watch aaron333's "veggie car," in which an Atlanta couple tells the story of how and why their car runs on vegetable oil. You might also want to check out Bulletprooffilm, who interviews the ffounders of Noon (a company that makes bags with solar panels which generate on-the-go power for iPods and cell phones), and green architect Michelle Kaufmann, who demonstrates a creative alternative for disposable chopsticks.

And that's just the tip of the ever-shrinking iceberg. If you're looking for ways to show our planet some love on this Earth Day and beyond, this playlist on our homepage will give you a great place to start:



Seeing green,
The YouTube Team

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Few issues in the public dialogue inspire as much passion as the issue of immigration. While most Americans recognize the importance of protecting the country's borders, there is still enormous debate about how we should treat the roughly 12 million undocumented workers currently living in the United States. The questions around immigration cut to the core of American identity, and the debate often finds itself at the nexus of politics, culture, geography, and security. Immigration isn't merely a political issue - it's a personal issue.



One of the most poignant examples we've seen of the immigration debate on YouTube has come from 9500Liberty, a channel started by Eric Byler to highlight the immigration battle taking place in Prince William County, Virginia. 9500 Liberty is the address of an intersection where immigration protests became heated after local policy makers debated an ordinance denying certain rights to local immigrants.

Most famously, Rep. Tom Tancredo brought the issue of immigration into the primary presidential race. In this video, he asked YouTubers if they've been impacted by immigration. He received quite a number of video responses, like this one from hccowboy, who shares a personal story of how immigration has affected his workplace — in his opinion, for the worse. In a very different video response, tonymynd, whose parents came from Mexico to the United States illegally, argues in favor of treating all immigrants, regardless of their status, with respect.

The Courage Campaign has produced a series of videos in which people recount their immigrant stories. In this one, writer Arianna Huffington talks about her experience as an immigrant — and why she believes immigrants are sometimes used as political scapegoats. Meanwhile, this video from kocotv of a recent immigration protest in Oklahoma captures the raw emotional intensity of this debate.

And finally, as divisive as this issue is, some YouTubers have nevertheless been able to approach it from a comedic perspective. In this video from LatinoComedyProject, the popular "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" campaign becomes the set-up for a rather "un-PC" sketch about immigration.

To watch and hear more about this issue, check out our playlist below and of course feel free to join in on the conversation yourself.



Yours,
Steve G.
YouTube News & Politics

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We just launched beta versions of three new feature updates to improve overall management of your messages, contacts and videos. These tests are already being served to a small percentage of randomly selected users, but anyone can choose to opt in and test them out. Once logged in to your account, click the following links to start using the beta versions of the new Inbox, My Contacts and My Videos features.

NEW INBOX

Along with a slick new interface, the new YouTube messaging system sports significantly faster loading times and a smarter message throttling system (in other words, non-spammers should see "Sorry, please wait to send more messages" a whole lot less). Video comments, responses, shared videos, friend invites and personal messages can now be seen in one unified view, and a new counter will show the number of unread messages in each category. You can now send a message to multiple recipients, and other people can no longer see whether or not you have read their messages. Friend invites are now easier to manage, with the newest invites appearing on top of the list, new pagination controls, and fewer page refreshes all around.

MY CONTACTS

For the new My Contacts beta we changed the layout and functionality to make creating contacts and organizing your friends, subscribers and subscriptions much easier. You can select multiple contacts at once to view details, apply labels and send messages. You can also add a real name and email address to the info listed for a contact to make it easier to identify your friends when sharing videos or messaging (since you may not always remember that your friend Daniel is really vidcritic517). In addition, your Friends label is now reserved exclusively for users who you have confirmed to be your friend.

MY VIDEOS

The new My Videos beta includes a complete redesign of all video management tools for: uploading and editing videos, favorites and history. You can see details for all of your videos in one view and batch-select videos to perform multiple actions like adding videos to playlists and favorites. Sorting filters for time, date added, views and ratings have been added for your uploaded videos, favorites and viewing history. The new 'Info & Settings' page for your uploads has also been improved with collapsible menus for editing video information, thumbnails and options for broadcasting and sharing your videos.

We'd love to get your feedback on these new features before we launch the full release, so please post a comment here, upload a video or shoot us an email and let us know what you think!

Happy testing,
The YouTube Team

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