Going Viral - The Game Changer

The main purpose or idea behind the kind of videos that I create for my youtube channel, it's the hope that they will be shared, or passed along. In the internet world, we call this "going viral".

BIKE VIDEO GOES VIRAL:


The first real youtube video that we made, "Huge Bike Jump Into A Pond 35 Feet Into The Air", we made it with the idea that it would go "viral"... The first day it got around 1000 hits, within the next couple following days, it was getting around 80,000 hits a day :) It ended up on the front page of collegehumor.com and todaysbigthing.com, and gawker.com, which are all huge in the internet world, for those who are not familiar with those websites :) Since then it has been passed on facebook 40,846 times... but who's counting? :) 3 months later the video is almost at a million hits. We reached the 800,000 hit mark though within almost 3 weeks, and since then it dropped. I have below the graph of how the bike video went viral because of it being posted on these major sites.

HUGE BIKE JUMP HITS STATISTICS:

After the bike video went viral, it dropped pretty gradually, as you can see in the graph... However since that time, for the last two months it has consistently been hitting 2000 hits a day since that time, on its own because of the number of people that got exposed to it originally.

BREAKDANCING VIDEO GOES VIRAL:

After that video, the next "viral" video that I made was the "breakdancing to classical music". I put that one up... and it did alright... It slowly grew... however it then ended up on huffingtonpost.com, which is one of the biggest blogs/news internet sites in the world. Here is a graph I got off of youtube where you can see exactly one the video went viral, and how after that it dropped.

BREAKDANCING VIDEO:

WORLD's WIDEST SLIP AND SLIDE:


Just recently my youtube video, "Worlds widest slip and slide" went viral. It had been online for a month and a half, and it had gained around 9000 hits.. however, the day smosh.com posted it on there website, which was yesterday, it went from 9000 hits to 58,000 hits over night. I have no problem waking up to that :)

Smosh.com posted it on their website, on their facebook, and they twittered it as well, and they have over 100,000 followers, so it was huge for me.

Here's a graph below of how fast the hits rose on the video itself.

SLIP AND SLIDE VIDEO AFTER SMOSH.COM POSTED IT:

Now when a video goes viral on your youtube channel.. It doesn't effect just that video, it effects every video on your channel... significantly.

First off, on the slip and slide video.. Youtube has allowed people who upload videos to put "annotations" at the end of them. These annotations are buttons, that people can push to go to other links, or videos. At the end of the slip and slide video, I had 3 other videos pop up with links/annotations, to other videos on my channel, to the HUGE BIKE JUMP VIDEO, the WASHINGTON ENCHANTMENT video, and THE RABBITS FOOT video.... Because of this, these 3 videos get the next most hits on my channel. To show you an example of just how many hits, this is the effect it had in one day, because my slip and slide video went viral.

WASHINGTON ENCHANTMENT VIDEO:

RABBITS FOOT VIDEO:

HUGE BIKE JUMP:

So those videos above were the videos that were linked with the SLIP AND SLIDE video that was on smosh.com. So they had the most hits out of my channel, however, that didn't stop people from wanting to see more on the channel.. Now looking at other videos.. that had no connection at all to the SLIP AND SLIDE video, except for the fact that they were on my channel... Here's the graphs for those that I got off youtube.

WAIMEA CLIFF JUMP video:

CANADA INCEPTION video:

FLYING IN SLOW MOTION:

So once again there is a HUGE effect in play because of one video going "viral".
This also has a different reflection on my subscribers, and my main channel views.

SUBSCRIBERS OVER THE LAST 14 DAYS:

MAIN CHANNEL HITS OVER LAST 14 DAYS:

CONCLUSION:
So, what's the conclusion? Well,.. have more videos go viral :)

Just looking at all the statistics.. Here's what the statistics prove...

1. My youtube subscribers triples, and continues to rise exponentially.
2. Annotations videos that feed off the main viral video get 9 TIMES MORE HITS THEN NORMAL. If you look at the bike,Washington, and rabbits foot video, this is true without question.
3. EVERY OTHER video on my channel gets double to 4 times more hits then normal.
4. My main youtube channel views triples.

It always seems like part luck though with this.. because so much is dependent on cyberspace once that video goes out there.. however, there are certain formulas that do work, and I would like to be considered one day, one of the youtube channels that can constantly produce "one hit viral wonders" on a regular basis, time will tell :)

Websites like collegehumor,smosh, and huffingtonpost have changed the game for me, by them posting there videos on there main pages, it has gotten my name out there so much further then anything I could have done on my own, it's been the game changer, it's given me the chance to compete with the big dogs.

Kauai - The Lost World - Questions

I posted a video I shot in Kauai today, and within the first 12 hours I've gotten over 30 emails of people asking several different questions as far as how things were pulled off, camera settings, etc. This blog is in response to those ask questions.


For those of you who haven't seen the video yet, here it is.



Common questions:

1. With your glide cam how do you get the shots that are going over the cliff, and high up in the air, are you using any other equipment like a book stick or something? OR just holding it the whole time?
I am ONLY using the glidecam 4000 for all the shots in the video. I even use it as a tripod aswell, for the shots where the camera isn't even moving. I DO NOT use a vest, or harness, or anything of that nature.
For the shots where the camera goes over the waterfall the first 30 seconds into the film, and other similar shots... I personally am afraid of hights that big.. In fact that waterfall is 180 feet high, and anyone of any recent times that has jumped off it has died... So to get that shot, and any similar shot... I walk through it several times on my own, just to make sure I know the terrain (it was all rocky), then I walk through it slowly with the camera/glidecam several times to get the movement down, and then I film it 10-15 times just to make sure I get it right. This whole process on several of my shots can take anywhere between 1-15 minutes.

2. How do you get the camera to fly over the water, rocks, and sand so smooth?
I have been filming with the glidecam for the last 5-6 years now, almost every other day, which is no exaggeration. So a lot has come with experience. I didn't start out smooth, but anyone can make it smooth with time/practice. It's like riding a bike :) When I film on the sand, because you sink, I have learned to walk a certain way, (kinda looks funny, ha) that makes it so I can still have the glidecam work the same way as I was walking on flat cement. The same thing goes for walking over big rocks, I've just learned to walk on them and pace my self so the camera consistently stays smooth.

As far as the shots that fly over the water.. There is no fancy tricks about it, if it looks like we are flying over the water, that means I got wet filming it :)

For all the glidecam shots, I use a wide angle lens, 16mm is the focus length I normally use. That also gives us a much wider perspective, and makes us look like we are a lot higher then we are, just because of the lens perspective. I'm not holding the camera up higher then I normally wouldn, generally speaking anyways. I have never once put it on a pole or anything fancy like that.

3. What camera do you use? And why?
I use the Canon 5D Mark II. I think without a doubt its the best camera quality out there for its money, and because i'm a photographer as well, it allows me to do that on the side :) Also, because the camera is super small, it allows me to be a one main film crew, and take it anywhere I go, and blend in with anyone else, as far as I'm not carrying around a big camera where I go.

4. How do you treat the footage you shoot? What do you do to it in post/editing?
I generally do nothing to it, except for some times raise the contrast a little. Almost 95 percent of the shots are exactly as they come out of camera. I try and shoot everything in camera how like it, just because I don't like to spend a lot of time coloring it later, because I don't have a ton of experience in that world. So in camera, I always set the white balance for sure. The shutter speed I try and get as slow/low as possible, ideally it would be 30, often times its to bright for that. And then I have a "picture style" I have set in the camera that gives me a "saturated look" that brings out the colors a lot more then typically what the camera would do.

5. Do you use any filters or effects in post to make your shots smooth?
Every video I do, it depends. For this Kauai video, I would say on about 10 percent of the shots that I filmed on a glidecam, I used a filter that comes with Final Cut called "smooth cam". It zooms into your image a little, and smooths it out. It works great, however, keep in mind that you must have shot it smooth first in order for it to work to begin with :)

6. As far as the "exact" picture styles that I use on my Canon 5D, or any dslr for that matter, i use these settings.
Sharpness: 0 | Contrast: -1 | Saturation: 1 | Color Tone: 1

There is an awesome blog online that shows different examples of picutre style settings, and how they effect everything, you can check out that blog, and video in the two links right below.

http://vimeo.com/10423259
http://www.alexandrosmaragos.com/2010/03/dslr-cinematography-canon-eos-7d-new.html

I hope that helps, please let me know if you all have any other questions, and I will do my best to answer them :)

-Devin

Take on me :)

I have noticed a trend... I only write blogs when one of two things take place... Either, 1, something amazing is going on. Or... Number 2, something super dramatic took place. Well.. Today I am writing in regards to number 2... Ha!

Yesterday I flew in from Hawaii to Portland. I have been shooting a documentary down there on an amazing surf photographer who passed away 5 years ago. With that, I have invested in a great deal of video and audio equipment to film the entire movie.

I was just going home for Christmas... So I filled up my biggest suitcase with all of my equipment, all my sound equipment, camera equipment, including every lens that I own, and I had it all padded down. It was to much stuff to bring as a carry on.. And I had the option of bringing my hard drives I have been shooting everything on as a carry on, or my camera, and right now my footage is worth more because of all the time I have put into it.

Either way, on the flight back we had a layover, then I got put on standby.... Which meant my bags that were on the airplane continued onto Oregon... Without me... I then went straight to United Airlines while I was at the airport, and I asked if I should have my parents come pick up my bags in Oregon, since I wouldn't be there. She told me that there would be no way that anyone could get them, not even my parents, that they would have to use my ticket stub to get them. She told me they were totally safe...

When my plane arrived in Oregon, my parents and I went straight to pick up the luggage. We saw my small suitcase behind a rope.. my mom walked right through and picked it up... without any security guards... hmmm... what's with this security of how they promised it would be impossible for anyone else to grab the bag? We then talked to United and asked if they had gotten the bag... They looked through there systems, and said it had for sure arrived.. they could even scan that it had gone on the conveyor belt 3 times before they put it behind the line.... From there they didn't know where it went....

So we filled out a report, and had to come back the next day... Met with the police, where they have been reviewing all the security cameras... When we got home this afternoon, around 4.. I get a call from another police officer who had found my bag in a car rental parking garage at the airport, he didn't know the bag had even been stolen at the time, he just saw my name and phone number was on it, and called asking why I had left it.... He then told me he checked before hand and all that was in it was some padding that I had put in to protect my camera stuff.

So yeah... that's where I am now... The bag had everything that I have acquired over the last 6 years of pursuing video.. so it's not the ideal situation.. Right now it doesn't look like United is going to cover it... But we will see..... If not, plan on me making a youtube video about the whole thing, and know that I will be very clear on expressing myself ;)

My whole life/career was in that bag.. that was stolen....

I fly to Tahiti in two weeks to continue on the documentary that I have been shooting in Hawaii... and as of now.. I have no equipment to make that happen....

Anyways,... bring it on :)



p.s. on the super positive side of life, I brought my laptop and all the hard drives of all the footage I have shot over the last 8 months with me on the plane, so none of that was stolen/lost :)

The New Light Project

I have embarked on something I call "The New Light Project". This is a personal endeavor in which I am very passionate. It consists of showing the everyday things around us in a new light through the use of cinematography, music and, of course, the subject that is being captured.

Stephen Anderson and Lance Montgomery are two phenomenal composers that I came in contact with while attending film school and they have agreed to join me on this adventure. However, I am interested in collaborating with anyone who is passionate about whatever it is that they pursue in life.

The New Light Project will be distributed via YouTube on a regular basis with the intent of showing viewers how I have come to see the world.

Here is the second video of the series, the first one being the one I filmed in Canada a couple weeks back.



Also, make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel as well for all the videos :)

The Dark Divine book trailer

Here's a link to a book trailer I shot for Kineto pictures, for the book, "The Dark Divine".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxMy_TE88-0




It premiered during the opening advertisements in several theaters in Utah before the latest Twilight movie, on the big screen :)

We only had 3 hours to shoot the entire spot because of the location we used. We shot in a church yard in Salt Lake City.

Kineto Pictures was the production company that made it happen.
Damian Dayton produced the spot.
MIke Stone directed it.
I was the DP.
And David Thorpe was my right hand man/gaffer.
We also had an excellent makeup artist Dawn Weidauer. And that was our crew.


As far as technical stuff goes...
We shot it on the Canon 5D Mark II. With a Nikon 50mm, 1.8f, and a Canon 24mm-135mm, 3.5-5.6, with image stabilizer.

Shot it all on my glide cam as well.

The Dreams We Live

For the last couple of weeks I have worked on a film shoot that gave me the chance to travel all over Utah from Moab, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Park City, and several other places.

From this commercial shoot, like all film shoots ironically, I was reminded how much I really love what I'm doing... As I was sitting at Delicate Arches in Moab, waiting for the sun to rise so we could start filming... I thought to myself that I could have ended up with a 9-5 job, working in some cubical... but instead my office ended up being the world :) It really doesn't get much better then this :)















It has given me awesome opportunities to travel all around the world, from the Mayan pyramids, to filming in helicopters above the Hawaii volcanoes, to not only filming bobsleds, but also riding in them at 71 miles an hour, as is what happened last week :)

I really do love my job, I love working with the talented people I do, and learning from all of them. I love that it is a bunch of friends trying to make something for the rest of the world to see. It is exactly what I used to love doing as a kid, making movies with my friends, except for now the only thing that has changed is someone else is paying for it, :) and I get paid in the process as well, to do what I love! :)

In highschool, one of my favorite bands was called "The Starting Line". One  of their songs they sang was called "Given The Chance", it's about how they were living their dreams as singers/a band, for me, I feel the exact same way with the opprotunities I have been given with film. I love it.. And I can't see my self doing anything else... It's the only thing that makes sense.

Here's some of the lyrics from the song. It explains how I feel about film making perfectly :)

 The Starting Line "Given The Chance"

What can i say
that can explain
all this time
i'm loving life
theres not a day
that i can't say
all this time
i'm living out my dreams

the feeling is screaming out
the words of the things i think about
hearing them coming back
from the crowds mouth is perfect
and when the curtains close
i'll realize how fast time could go
thanks for everything
you know how much this means

what can i say
that can explain
all this time
i'm loving life
theres not a day
that i can't say
all this time
i'm living out my dream

what this is to me
is more than words could mean
i guess dreams do come true
this song itself is living proof
what this means to me
is more than it may seem
i guess dreams do come true
this song itself is living proof
what this is to me
is more than words could mean
i guess dreams do come true
this song itself is living proof

what can i say
that can explain
all this time
i'm loving life
theres not a day
that i can't say
all this time
i'm singing out
singing a song about
a dream that has come true 

Also, as a side note, here is the info on the Utah Tourism Commercial we did these last couple weeks...

Ad Agency: Struck
Production Company: Saint Cloud
Director: Julian Acosta
Line Producer: Jared Harris
Director of Photography: Travis Cline

The commercial was shot on the Redone, all on a steadicam or jib.

My role/position on the shoot was as B camera, and a grip.

N sync music video remake!

So here's the deal.... I started making music videos with my parents video cameras when I was a tad little kid.. I've always loved it.. and that's one of the big things that got me into film/what I do now....

Anyways.. Lately I have been so caught up on all these odd end film jobs... That I've strayed away from my roots,.. So in an act of desperation to represent, I got some of my friends together a day ago, we shot a music video in 6 hours, with no real preperation, then I edited it the next day, and then released it today. 


Also, one last note. It was a huge refresher on life though, and all the other things that I love about it, as far as just being around great people.


Here is the link....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HindoFr6o9Q



p.s. You should also all subscribe to my youtube channel :) I plan on making a random music video like this at least once a month, if not more, just because it's a huge breath of fresh air! Holla!


This video was shot in a total of 6 hours on friday evening. It was shot on my canon 5D Mark II. We hurried with lighting, so everything outside is all natural, and we had a couple lights inside.


The locations we were going to originally film in.. it was raining that evening, so with the choice to cancel, or move somewhere else, we turned to a highway overpass, where we filmed most of the music video. Thanks again for everyone that was a part of it.

Porter Rockwell Documentary- Now in bookstores :)

In March/April I was the main DP for an hour long documentary that was just released in bookstores around the country called "Stories from the Life of Porter Rockwell". It was made through a production company called Issimo who I often do freelance work for. Jared Cook was the main director on the project as well. It's the first dvd I have ever been the DP for that was sold in stores.

It was an awesome experience for me, especially because of the character and time period in which the documentary was based on. I was involved with shooting a great deal of the reenactments for the video.

Here is the trailer for the video itself.



As far as the technical stuff goes, the reenactments where mostly shot on the Canon 7D, with my Nikon 70-200mm lens, 2.8/f. and a Nikon 50mm, 1.8/f. With a Canon to Nikon mount.

If you want to purchase the dvd, which, just for the record, I don't make a profit off of that, but I still think it's a great doc regardless, here is a place you can get it online.

http://deseretbook.com/store/product/5046730

The Story of Orabrush/short doc

On Wednesday we filmed a short documentary on how YouTube has made the company Orabrush successful. I have been filming all of the viral videos for the company since they have tried viral marketing, and it has proven to be very successful.

Here's the video...



For this project it was Jeff Harmons idea to do the video because it was also YouTube's 5 year anniversary. So what we did was we interviewed the founder of Orabrush, and Austin Craig who is the spokesman for all of the YouTube viral ads.

For this doc I filmed, edited, and directed it. It was a super low crew, and we had to have the video done in just a couple days so it could go up online Saturday morning.

It's been awesome to see where Orabrush has come so far, our first video we made 8 months ago has over 11 million hits now, and it rises greatly each day. We would never have imagined where it would go, and continue to go from that first video.

We filmed it all on a Canon 5D Mark ii, which was my first time actually shooting on the camera, and I'm very impressed with how it handles things, especially low light. You must know the limitations of the camera though, and nothing hand held looks good at all because of what is called the rolling shutter, or the jello effect. Only digital SLR cameras have these problems currently, at least where its very noticeable.

Also, we used ALL natural lighting, with no crew. I used
mostly my Nikon 70-200, at a 2.8/f, a Nikon 50mm, and a Canon
28-135mm 3.5f, and a Zeiss 35mm at a 2.0f.The ISO I used was
anywhere between 100 and 1600, without any notice of grain/noise.
All the sound was recorded onto a H4n, through a shotgun mic. I
synced it manually.

Binaca commercial.

We filmed a commercial for the breath spray company Binaca this week. The owner of the company, Dr, Fresh, and one of there head marketing people from the company flew down from LA to where we shot the commercial in two different studios in the Provo Utah area.

Binaca contacted Joel Ackerman, who had written all of the Orabrush commercials, they hired him on to write and direct these two spots that we filmed.

I was the director of photography, and editor for both of the spots.

We also had a cow in the commercial, it was super small, but loved to go to the bathroom everywhere regardless of it's size :/