The title says it all this week (see the video). But there’s more behind these handy intrux if you’re a budding filmmaker.
First off, last week was SXSW, a major networking event for the music industry but more interestingly, from my point of view, it’s also now an “interactive” festival geared toward web developers, bloggers, new media entrepreneurs and more. (See my Twitter feed for a couple of nice links to wrap-ups.)
At the same time, I was looking around this week for a GoC topic and found Howcast, a website that’s like Instructables in that it provides how-to’s (such as the one above), and different in that it’s the #1 global mobile platform for instructional video and develops filmmakers by having them create said videos.
My favorite topic area is Technology, of course, but there’s a wide selection ranging from How to Not Suck at Socializing to Baby Sign Language to Finding a Green Hotel.
Interestingly, about a month ago Howcast announced that it was expanding its Emerging Filmmakers Program (EFP), “offering filmmakers a tiered program that will allow them to get more involved with more challenging — and rewarding — video-making.” EFP provides their filmmakers with a fully researched script, professional voice-overs and embedded graphics, then gives them feedback on every upload thus allowing them to refine their skills. Pretty cool for those of you out there who are looking not only to improve your work but to get more eyeballs on it.
How does this all connect?
Well, if you’re an emerging filmmaker, you can get tips on how to attend SXSW from Heather Menicucci of Howcast. Meanwhile, you can work on your skills by making videos for Howcast (you have a year, after all, until the next SXSW). Then you can connect your laptop to your TV to look at your work and show it to others. Beautiful!
Or, you can simply hook up your laptop and watch a few videos on Hulu. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. In my opinion, the factory (the filmmaker) did a good job. What do you think?