StudioNow - Making the Cut

StudioNow Partners with Sony Creative Software

StudioNow has a large contingent out here at the NAB for an announcement that we are very excited about:

StudioNow and Sony Creative Software's Vegas Pro have formed a partnership that we think is a tremendous win for both sides.  Sony Creative Software will be promoting StudioNow as a service through which their Vegas Pro users can access video projects for on-demand work and in turn, Vegas Pro users will have a customized, branded profile and interface that will allow them to access projects and showcase their work.

We are currently accepting registrations through the a co-branded StudioNow-Sony Vegas page at vegas.studionow.com.  We expect to launch the customized, co-branded experience for Vegas Pro members within the next 21-30 days.

If you are at NAB and would like to learn more about what we're doing, feel free to email me at john at studionow dot com.  I would welcome the opportunity to meet up with you.

-John

New partner for StudioNow...

Yesterday, we announced a partnership with Emma, an email marketing and communications service that caters to over 10,000 small businesses nation-wide.  Emma will recommend StudioNow's web-based, 24/7 video editing and post-production services and will soon begin offering the capability for its customers to send video emails to their customers.

We are very excited about this partnership as it will only mean good things for our editors as we have another direct source of traffic and projects.  To learn more take a look at the coverage on internetnews.com and the full press release.

Capture the Spirit of Jypsi in our new Contest...

We have a new contest up for the StudioNow Editor Network.  This time for Arista recording artist, Jypsi.  We invite any approved editor to participate.  The details are as follows:

Client:   Arista Nashville
Project:   Jypsi EPK
Deadline:  10:00 PM CST; Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Length:   3-4 Minutes 6-7 Minutes
Audience:  YouTube/MySpace and other online media outlets
Prize:  $750 to the winning editor

Hurry! The deadline for entering this contest is 8:00 AM CST, December 27, 2007.

To sign up, just click the following link:    Count Me In and submit the contact form that you find there. You will have access to begin downloading the assets by 11:00 AM tomorrow morning (Thursday, December 27). Before signing up, we ask you to take a moment to review the project information and guidelines provided below.

Description:

The client is looking for a compelling visual piece for Jypsi’s website/MySpace that captures the power of the foursome's music along with the true essence of who Jypsi is.

A talented, exciting group that is on the verge of breaking out, Jypsi is the embodiment of their name: the minstrel spirit, the wanderlust, the tightly woven family bonds, the individuality, and a striking sense of fashion and self-expression. Jypsi is a reverence for history while remaining ultra-contemporary. Jypsi is about feeling, about energy, about possibility … on the edge and over the top.

For even more insight into Jypsi, please visit their website and myspace page through the links below:

http://www.myspace.com/jypsi
http://www.jypsi.net

We are looking to present the best edits from our network to the client for review. Only 1 will be chosen as the winner. The winning Editor will receive $750 along with public recognition on the new StudioNow blog

The client has provided a variety of different assets for use within the piece including photos, several music tracks, and a variety of behind-the-scenes and performance footage.

Project Guidelines:

1. Reply to this email by 8:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 27, 2007.

2. You must complete the project by 10:00 PM CST; Tuesday, January 1, 2008 This contest is entirely voluntary. However, please do not agree to participate if you do not think that you will submit an entry. The success of our contests depends on our knowing how many completed projects to expect by the contest deadline. We WILL NOT consider late submissions or submissions from Editors who do not sign-up to participate through the 'Count Me In' contact form.

3. The winning editor agrees to provide up to two rounds of revisions for the client.  Typically the client has a few tweaks here and there to get it just the way they like it.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays from everyone at StudioNow!

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Charlie Corts!  Charlie is the winner for the StudioNow Contest for editing the Dave Barnes EPK.  Charlie is taking home $500 and is going to be included in a press release regarding the success of the project.

Charlie is making a couple of tweaks to his entry for the client, and when it is final, we will post it here for all to see.

Thanks to everyone for participating!  We will have many more contests in the future.

A New Contest for StudioNow Editors

We're launching a new video editing contest for the StudioNow Editor Network, and anyone who is an approved member of the Network is invited to participate.  So what are the details?  Check them out below:

Client:  Razor & Tie
Project:  Dave Barnes EPK
Deadline:  Friday, November 30th 10:00 pm CST
Length:  3 Minutes
Audience: YouTube/MySpace and other online media outlets
Prize: $500 to the winning editor
Project Page

Description: Dave Barnes is one of the most talented young artists on the scene today. The client is looking for a compelling visual piece for Dave’s website/MySpace and his fans that shows who Dave really is. The primary focus will be on highlighting Dave's musical talent and featured tracks from his new album. At the same time, however, they want to make sure that Dave's endearing/humorous side shines through.

We are looking to present the best 3 edits from our network to the Client for review. Only 1 will be chosen. The winning Editor will receive $500 along with public recognition on our blog.

The client has provided a variety of different assets for use within the piece including photos, several music tracks, and a variety of behind-the-scenes and performance footage.

Click Here to visit the project page and review the project in more detail

How Do I Participate?

It's easy! After you have reviewed the project details, just click the following link - Count Me In - and submit the contact form that you find there. You will have access to begin downloading the assets on the afternoon of Monday, November 26th.

Before signing up, we ask you to take a moment to review the guidelines provided below.

Project Guidelines:

1. Sign-up to participate by 10:00 AM CST on Monday, November 26, 2007.

2. You must complete the project by Friday, November 30 10:00 pm CST. This contest is entirely voluntary. However, if you agree to participate, we fully expect you to submit a completed project by the contest deadline and expect that you will make your best effort to do so. We WILL NOT consider late submissions or submissions from Editors who do not sign-up to participate through the 'Count Me In' contact form.

3. The winning editor agrees to perform up to two rounds of revisions for the client.  Typically the client has a few tweaks here and there to get it just the way they like it.

For more information on Dave please visit the following links:

http://www.myspace.com/davebarnes
http://www.davebarnes.com

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Preview assets before you download

Ever wondered what exactly you had to work with before you downloaded the assets? 

Now you can actually preview the photos (we don't have previews for videos yet, but that won't be far behind) that are associated with a project... BEFORE you download them, even before you accept a project. 

All you have to do click on the assets tab of the project and mouse over the link to the assets, and a thumbnail will pop up.  Click on the link above browse around to see what it looks like on a sample project. 

We are hopeful that this will make your job of evaluating and editing the video just a little bit easier.  As always, let us know if you have any feedback.

Where we are now & where we are going

I want to take a moment to talk about where we are in terms of getting projects out to our ever growing Editor Network.  As most of you already know, we are still in private beta for the StudioNow Editor Network.  In fact, several of you are participating in this testing process.  For those who aren't already participating, we want to give you brief overview of what the testing process looks like right now and how it works.

Currently, editors who have agreed to participate in the beta testing of our Editor Network receive an email when a project is available to be edited.  This email provides some basic information relating to the project (including project title, file size of assets, and commission to be paid upon purchase) along with a link to the project page on the StudioNow website.   

On the project page, you can review the project in more detail and decide if you want to accept and edit the project.   If you decide to take the project, click 'Start Project,' and the project will be assigned to you immediately and made unavailable to other editors.  When you accept a project, you are expected to complete it within 48 hours.

So far, this method is working very well.  We have a great group of test editors who are working hard and creating fantastic movies for our customers.  That said, however, we recognize that this is not the ideal solution.  As a result, we are moving toward what we are calling a 'bulletin board' system. 

The bulletin board will be an environment where you will be able to view all of the available projects at one time, and accept (or check out) projects that you want to work on.  Projects will still largely be offered on a first come, first serve basis.  Instead of receiving an email every time a project is available,  however, you will be able to view the bulletin board at your convenience and control when you are notified. 

Only want to receive alerts when projects that qualify as Music Videos, Weddings, or Sports are posted?  How about only when projects that pay a commission of more than $200 are posted?  Want to be notified every time a project is posted on the board?  Or would you rather only receive a daily summary?  Perhaps you don't want any notifications at all. These are the choices that you will be able to make and control with the bulletin board that we are designing. 

The bulletin board is still in development so there are details that are still being defined and tweaked, but we are excited about it and think that it is a step toward providing a better experience for our editors.

Look for the release of the first version in the next 30-60 days.  As we continue to work toward the release of the bulletin board, if you would like to become a test editor, please visit our contact page for test editors and let us know that you want to participate.  By participating as a test editor, you will also be one of the first to access the bulletin board when we release it. 

John Wallace
VP, Production

Welcome

Welcome to the StudioNow Blog, a forum to discuss StudioNow, digital media, and video editing & creation. 

StudioNow is an innovative new service that matches business and consumer content with a network of talented editors and post-production professionals to create high quality, professional movies.  StudioNow Editors earn a commission off of every purchased movie.

StudioNow launched in March of 2007 and has already created hundreds of fantastic movies.  Satisfied customers range from individuals and families to major corporations and record labels.  We've already had over 600 editors join the StudioNow Editor Network. 

As you might imagine, however, when you are dealing with large media files and a virtual network that is literally all over the world, the growth of our company has not been without its challenges.   A lot of work remains before we fully realize our vision for what StudioNow can be.  We see this blog as an opportunity to share our challenges as well as our successes with you.

While the content of this blog will be geared primarily toward editors and the members of our StudioNow Editor Network, we also see it as an opportunity for our valued customers to get a glimpse "under the hood" and learn more about what makes StudioNow tick.

Finally, we see this blog as a tremendous opportunity to hear from you and learn more about what we can do to provide a better experience for you, our Network.   As such, we welcome your comments and feedback as we work toward our goal of making StudioNow the ultimate online resource for post-production professionals.

John Wallace
VP, Production

P.S.  If you are reading this and are not a member of the StudioNow Editor Network and would like to join, please visit our editor sign-up page.  If you have already signed up to join the StudioNow Editor Network, but have yet to be approved, please visit your editor page and click the link to 'upload to your portfolio' or complete the 'One Flew South' test project.  We cannot approve you to join the network until we see your work.  If you have submitted samples in the past, and have not yet been approved, feel free to email us at editor_relations@studionow.com.